| Spiritual Life Center opens at Benevola  BOONSBORO Benevola UMC completed its building projects with the consecration of the new Spiritual Life Center Sept. 21. The congregation also celebrated the churchs 145th anniversary.
In keeping with the theme of Tapestry of Tradition and Fibers of Future Ministry, a stitchery circle presented a heritage quilt to the church. With the construction of the Spiritual Life Center, the whole building has been made fully accessible. The Rev. Ron Foster from Bethesda UMC, preached at the consecration service, which was led by the churchs current pastor, the Rev. Helen Steiner Smith. Former pastors and those who entered the ministry from Benevola UMC also participated. Prior to the construction of the Spiritual Life Center, Benevola UMC had built a new parking lot and outdoor pavilion with a play area. Artifacts discovered in demolition MONKTON In 2000, Hereford UMC acquired an old building known as the Tipton House, believed to have been built around 1833. After negotiations with county and preservation officials, church leaders decided the building was unsalvageable, and in June they tore the building down. But that wasnt the end of the story. Scott North, the Monkton builder the church hired to deconstruct the house, saved the old beams, flooring and the original log walls. Mark Gardner, on the churchs building committee, found other treasures, including old prescription bottles, one labeled strychnine with liqbwc_superuser still inside the corked bottle. He also found an undated letter from Carl telling about his basic training with the 8th Infantry Division in Colorado. Tearing down the building, believed to be one of the oldest documented structures in Hereford was controversial. However, the church feels really good that we found somebody to salvage what they can, Gardner said. Church members envision using the cleared space to build a Family Life Center to replace the current education building. Music man attracts community to church  EDGEWATER Sept. 14 was an important day for the community and congregation of Mayo UMC. They were still basking in the attention their organist, James Fitzpatrick, received when the local newspapers reported that hed appeared on Hee Haw and The Grand Ole Opry 20 years ago.
Then they added a celebration of their 125th anniversary with a silent auction and food tasting, followed by the monthly concert at the church, which attracts an audience from as far away as Washington, D.C., and Virginia. How did Fitzpatrick travel from playing on TV for millions of viewers to playing in church for 200 people each week? In 1992, he filled in for a friend who was the churchs music director, as an interim. Ill hang in there a few weeks til the church finds someone else, he told himself. They never found somebody. 125-year-old church keeps on going  PARKTON Bentley Springs UMC, which with Mt. Zion UMC makes up a charge, averages 20-40 people in attendance on Sunday mornings. However, neither the size of the church nor the stormy weather stopped 150 people from having a grand celebration for their 125th anniversary Sept. 13.
The stone church is located in a valley that in earlier times was known to possess waters with medicinal values. In the 1930s five different waters found in the different springs was bottled and shipped. The land on which the springs were located was owned by Charles W. Bentley, who donated some of it for a church and cemetery, according to lay leader Lorraine Davis. The 30-by 46-feet church was built from huge fieldstones gathered and hauled from nearby fields. The church was dedicated in 1878. Its outside remains unchanged. | 
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