Allen-Lee UMC accessibility project
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Allen-Lee Memorial United Methodist Church is a congregation with a rich history. Founded as Prospect Methodist Church in the 1830s, the congregation moved to its current site in the town of Lone Oak in Meriwether County in 1844.
Young John Allen (1836-1907) had a dramatic conversion experience at Prospect in 1851. Eight years later, he left for China where he served in Shanghai for the remainder of his life
Dr. James Wideman Lee (1849-1919) also grew up attending Prospect Methodist. His mother, Emily, is buried at buried at the church. Lee was a prominent Methodist pastor and writer.
His son, Ivy Ledbetter Lee, is considered the founder of public relations. J.W. Lee's grandson, William Seward Burroughs, wrote such novels as "Naked Lunch," and his son, W.S. Burroughs Jr. was also a novelist.
When the current building was completed in 1939, it was named for Young J. Allen and J.W. Lee. The church has a history room with rare photographs and documents and a collection of items related to the Allen family's years in China.
The church building is a peaceful, worshipful place with stained glass windows and classic lines – perfectly planned for worship in the 1930s. This was before the days of concerns about handicapped accessibility. The only ground floor entrance leads to two stairwells – one upward to the sanctuary, the other down to the fellowship hall.
The church has taken a bold move to try to make the building handicapped accessible. A small addition which will blend with the existing building is planned. The addition will have an elevator with stops on the ground and on the lower and upper floors. There also will be ADA compliant handicapped restrooms.
Currently, about $100,000 of the approximately $250,000 needed for the project is in hand. Church members are regularly holding fundraiser and giving sacrificially to make Allen-Lee a place where any person can enter, worship and serve.
Young John Allen (1836-1907) had a dramatic conversion experience at Prospect in 1851. Eight years later, he left for China where he served in Shanghai for the remainder of his life
Dr. James Wideman Lee (1849-1919) also grew up attending Prospect Methodist. His mother, Emily, is buried at buried at the church. Lee was a prominent Methodist pastor and writer.
His son, Ivy Ledbetter Lee, is considered the founder of public relations. J.W. Lee's grandson, William Seward Burroughs, wrote such novels as "Naked Lunch," and his son, W.S. Burroughs Jr. was also a novelist.
When the current building was completed in 1939, it was named for Young J. Allen and J.W. Lee. The church has a history room with rare photographs and documents and a collection of items related to the Allen family's years in China.
The church building is a peaceful, worshipful place with stained glass windows and classic lines – perfectly planned for worship in the 1930s. This was before the days of concerns about handicapped accessibility. The only ground floor entrance leads to two stairwells – one upward to the sanctuary, the other down to the fellowship hall.
The church has taken a bold move to try to make the building handicapped accessible. A small addition which will blend with the existing building is planned. The addition will have an elevator with stops on the ground and on the lower and upper floors. There also will be ADA compliant handicapped restrooms.
Currently, about $100,000 of the approximately $250,000 needed for the project is in hand. Church members are regularly holding fundraiser and giving sacrificially to make Allen-Lee a place where any person can enter, worship and serve.
Organizer
Winston Skinner
Organizer
Grantville, GA
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