MILBURN CHAPEL A Cumberland Presbyterian Congregation
About Us
William McKinley was President of the United States in 1900 when Milburn Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church was first organized on September 4, in West Paducah, Kentucky. September 4, 1900 was Founders Day at Milburn Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The church laid great stress upon the "Whosoever Will" gospel. The church was organized following a brush arbor meeting which took place about a mile and a half south of the Fisher School. Rev. William Thomas Millburn of Pryorsburg, Kentucky was evangelist for the brush arbor meeting. He also organized the church and became the first pastor. Because of this, the church was named after him.
In 1902 the congregation entered the newly constructed frame building which was thirty-three feet by fifty-five feet. Records reveal that indebtedness was paid and the church was dedicated on the third Sunday in October 1902. Electric lights were installed in 1938. Before this improvement, lamps were hung from the ceiling as the lighting system. At the beginning of each service, someone had to climb upon a ladder and light the kerosene lamps. The church went to two Sunday services a month or halftime, in May of 1944. The old church built in 1901 received new exterior siding in the spring of 1946. In April 1947, under the direction of Rev. Johnson, the church began preaching services every Sunday.
The building committee was authorized on March 11, 1963, to negotiate on the construction of a new sanctuary. The old church was auctioned off and sold in parts. While the new church was being constructed, services were held in the fellowship hall. Groundbreaking services were held on June 2, 1963. The first service was held in the new church on October 20, 1963
On October 12, 1997 the session of Milburn Chapel voted unanimously in favor of relocating Milburn Chapel to a parcel of ground that was given to the church in the 80’s by Gov. Julian Carroll. At the following spring meeting of Covenant Presbytery the session submitted a report seeking permission to sell the church and to relocate the church to the current property. Permission was granted by the presbytery to do such.
The ground work began in the fall of 2004 and was completed in December 2006. The first service in our present building was the last Sunday of 2006. What was a vision of Milburn Chapel in 1997 became a reality in 2006. The new facility was dedicated on January 13, 2008.
Who Are Cumberland Presbyterians?
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is the third largest Presbyterian denomination and its beginning dates back to the period known as the "Great Awakening". An outgrowth of the Revival of 1800, the founders disagreed with the Presbyterian church on issues such as predestination and the educational requirements for ministers on the frontier. They believed the scriptures supported a "who-so-ever will" gospel with God’s grace available to all who would accept it.
Three ministers founded the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1810 in a log cabin located in what is now Montgomery Bell State Park in Dickson, Tennessee. The church grew rapidly, spreading the gospel in the expanding frontier and supplied ministers to meet the needs of the many pioneering families.
Rev. William T. Millburn
CELEBRATING 123 YEARS
