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Rock Run United Methodist Church is a one story building, with stone walls and a slate-covered gable roof, located on a 1.24 acre plot of land at the corner of Craig's Corner Road and Rock Run Road near Level, Maryland and approximately six miles south of Darlington, Maryland. It is a sister church to Darlington United Methodist Church, which forms the Darlington-Rock Run Methodist Charge and is a part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, headquartered in Columbia, Maryland. It was listed on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties in 1977 by the Harford District Commission with code title HA 565.〔Harford District Commission〕 The Church also includes a cemetery behind the building along Rock Run Road. An old school house used to reside on the property. ==History== The founding of Methodism in Harford County, Maryland can be traced to Francis Asbury during his travels in 1785. It was then in that year that Ms Rachel Barnes Stephenson offered her home as a place of Methodist meetings. This was located near the Rock Run along the Susquehanna River, now located within the boundaries of the Susquehanna State Park. During one of the meetings, her nineteen-year-old son, William Stephenson, was converted. Meetings continued through the following years from 1785 to 1811. It was in the year 1795, approximately ten years after William had been converted to the Methodist faith, that he was ordained as a local Methodist preacher. Some of the duties that were required of him included marriage and burial and also attendung to the needs of the sick. In 1830, he and his wife traveled throughout Harford County on horseback to those who were almost secluded from other religious societies. In 1811, 125 people were members of the Society. It became apparent that more room was needed and the first church was built on land given by Rev. William Stephenson and Mr. Thomas Nathaniel Smith, on the east side of the old Stafford Road (now in the Susquehanna State Park) near a spring. Local field stone were used in the construction of the walls. The building was completed in 1813 and served as both a church and a school house for nearly 30 years. The Rev. William Stephenson is considered respectively as the first minister of the Rock Run Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1843, with approximately 145 members, the current stone church was constructed and it was at this time that Craig's Corner Road was named Stafford Road. The land for the church was donated by Stephenson's nephew Mr. Joshua W. Stephens, who also built the church building. Due to the ongoing segregation of the area, a balcony was included inside for the use of the local colored people. However, it was removed in 1869. Messrs. Oliver Ege and Thomas Swetze were the ministers of the church in the year the Rock Run Church was built. It was in the year 1848 that the mortgage for the building was paid off, which was written in an old letter by Miss Hannah S. Stephenson to one of the former pastors. In 1893, a 50th Anniversary celebration was held at the church with the current minister, Harry D. Mitchell. In preparation for the festivities, the church was painted and decorated, accordingly. In light of the celebrations, former ministers who served Rock Run were in attendance. Stained glass windows were added to the building in 1908 during Reverend Beall's term as pastor. And in 1912, another renovation occurred that included new carpet. The pulpit furniture that currently resides in the chancel were given in the same year and a painting of a scene regarding the three crosses of Calvary was also completed. It does not currently exist. In 1932, shortly after the merge with the Darlington and Thomas Run Methodist Charge, a sesqui-centennial celebration was held. It was at this time that the Rev. Raymond E. Manley was the pastor. In 1945, Thomas Run Church closed its doors which resulted in Rock Run and Darlington United Methodist Church as the remaining churches in the Methodist Charge. Four years later, in 1949, the church was re-decorated, with new carpet included, and the addition of side doors on the Northeast wall. Chester Soyer was the pastor at that time. With much needed improvements to the building along with the growing needs of the Sunday School, the church formed a committee in 1959 to oversee the construction of a new Christian Education wing, which was completed in the spring of 1962. This was during the time of the Reverend Luther Starnes. In the fall of 1967, the church sanctuary was again re-painted and the lighted cross was included and placed behind the pulpit. During the week of March 3–10, 1968, the Church celebrated its 125th Anniversary with bishop John Wesley Lord, Dr. Edward H. Porter (the District Superintendent of the Baltimore Northeast District), and both the Reverends Luther W. Starnes (former pastor from 1960 to 1962) and Paul Lee Grant (1966 to 1970). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rock Run United Methodist Church」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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