| Methodisms Mother Church celebrates sanctuary restoration by Erik AlsgaardUMConnection Staff Two hundred nineteen years ago, Methodism in America took root at the Lovely Lane Meeting House in Baltimore. There, Francis Asbury was elected a bishop at the 1784 Christmas Conference and a denomination was born. Today, Lovely Lane UMC, at 2200 Saint Paul St. in Baltimore, is considered the Mother Church of American Methodism. For years, however, the church stood in a state of disrepair. Ceiling paint in the sanctuary dome peeled. The carpet was frayed. Seats in the sanctuary were a mess. No longer. On a snowy Dec. 14 afternoon, nearly 400 friends and members of Lovely Lane gathered to celebrate the restoration of its sanctuary. The $1.2 million project restored the sanctuary to its original appearance of 1887, including repainting the interior of the dome, reupholstering the seats and replacing the carpet. We have done something great, something amazing here, said the Rev. Nancy Nedwell, the churchs pastor. We are here to thank God for what has been done, what is happening and what will be. Church trustee Duncan Hodge recognized the architects, designer, painting expert and construction manager Henry Lewis. Hodge commented on the reupholstered seats, the increase and enhancement of the lighting and the new sound system. Nedwell presented Hodge with a plaque depicting the star Sirius, the brightest one in the sky. When people walk in here, what they will see is what people saw at the dedication on Nov. 6, 1887, Nedwell told a reporter before the service. The only difference is that the building has electricity, which it didnt have at first. The painting in the dome of the sanctuary depicts the sky at 3 a.m. on Nov. 6, 1887.  The Rev. David McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Seminary in Washington, preached at the celebration. We are thankful for those who did this for us while Baltimore lay sleeping, he said. These stones remind us of the churchs role in American history. In the year they broke ground for this church, the Statue of Liberty was raised and they built the walls of the Washington Monument, he said. McAllister-Wilson recounted a brief history of significant American events and compared each with a milestone in Lovely Lanes history. He noted that the church displays American innovation, from the Tiffany windows to the floor vents. The current building is the fifth for the congregation. In 1977, the congregation began a feasibility study that concluded the building needed major repairs. Total cost of the renovations is pegged at between $5 million and $6 million, with the sanctuary improvements the most expensive piece. Bishop Felton Edwin May told a reporter that the renovation was the beginning of the renaissance of United Methodism in the Baltimore area. The bishop said that people would remember the day as a moment in history when Gods people understood that God has moved into the community. Looking up at the sky painted in the dome, McAllister-Wilson told the congregation that it reminds us both of the limits of our own mortality and the possibilities of eternity. The sky is the limit, he said. Let us resolve to ensure that Lovely Lane does not become like Stonehenge, where tourists come as visitors, mystified and uncertain what these stones mean. We must have, in Bishop Mays words, holy boldness, the confidence to dream king-size dreams with our eyes open and to step out across that vast frontier that is in the mind of God. John Coleman Jr.
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