| Shrine erects statue of Strawbridge By Melissa Lauber UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT In the countryside of Carroll County, the legacy of Robert Strawbridge is now enshrined in granite. On June 6, United Methodists will reclaim and remember their roots when the statue of one of the denomination’s most venerated lay pioneers is unveiled and dedicated. The statue is a reminder of the often overlooked maverick of early Methodism. In 1882, more than a century after he died, it was written that 'Baltimore Methodism has for some time been spoken of as worshipers of Robert Strawbridge.' Strawbridge performed communions and baptisms to people in need, much to the consternation of Francis Asbury, Methodism’s first bishop. 'Very probably Strawbridge has failed to receive the credit he deserves, in the early accounts of the establishment of Methodism in America,' said historian William Warren Sweet, because 'his Irish independence was too strong to bow to their authority.' The $20,000 statue on the grounds of Strawbridge Shrine outside New Windsor, will be part of a series of memorials and shrines to early Methodism. On June 6, two other markers will be dedicated and the Strawbridge house, in which Elizabeth Piper Strawbridge made the first Methodist convert, will be rededicated. The house has been refurbished and the entire shrine, which also includes a log chapel and a reconstruction of the John Evan’s House, the site of American Methodism’s first class meeting, are now open for tours. The statue was installed on the morning of April 20. Daniel Hartzler, president of the shrine’s board of directors, oversaw the installation of the statue, which will be dedicated to the honor and memory of his parents and in-laws. Prior to the installation of the 6-foot tall, white granite figure, which was made in China, Hartzler’s daughter, Sandy Brothers, posed on the pedestal as Elizabeth Strawbridge, holding an antique Bible from Lovely Lane Museum in Baltimore. 'We wanted to show people that their generosity could lead to another statue, a companion statue of Elizabeth,' Hartzler said. 'That is our dream.' It took a team of seven men with a truck almost an hour to place the statue in its permanent location, outside the Strawbridge House on a 32-acre parcel of land.
Ken Steward, an internationally known Strawbridge reenactor who posed for the statue, then called on God to make each of Strawbridge’s spiritual descendents 'living stones' who serve Jesus, 'our rock and our salvation.' A Strawbridge Celebration
June 6
At 2650 Strawbridge Lane off Wakefield Valley Road near New Windsor. Between 3 and 3:15 p.m. a shuttle bus will provide transportation to a dedication of a memorial at the original Log Meeting House at 4 p.m. A dedication of the limestone entrance stone, and the Robert Strawbridge statue will follow. Tours will be given of the Strawbridge House, the Log Meeting House and the John Evans House. Music and refreshments will be provided by area church and community groups. For more information, call (410) 635-2600. | 
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