OGLETHORPE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (ATLANTA, GA.)
Records, 1949-1997.

RECORD GROUP NUMBER 046

ACCESS: Unrestricted

REPRODUCTION: All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

COPYRIGHT: Information on copyright (literary rights) available from repository.

CITATION:  Oglethorpe United Methodist Church (Atlanta, GA.) records, RG 046, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.  

Oglethorpe United Methodist Church was founded as Oglethorpe Estates Methodist Church in 1949. Reverend Stephen Dill, a student at Candler School of Theology, was the church's first pastor. The first services were held on Jul 4, 1949, in an apartment at the Oglethorpe Apartment Complex on Johnson Ferry Road, Atlanta. The church had twelve charter members.

Although land for a dedicated church building was purchased in the mid-1950s, for several years services were held in a former library building purchased from Lawson General Hospital. A building committee was formed in 1959, and the name of the church was changed to Oglethorpe Methodist Church. The new building, located at 3445 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, was dedicated on June 2, 1962.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the church struggled to attract members and achieve financial stability. Oglethorpe United Methodist Church closed in 1996.

(Historical information taken from "Church History," box 3, folder 2.)

The bulk of the records in this collection document the activities of Oglethorpe United Methodist Church during the 1980s and 1990s. Included are weekly church bulletins, financial correspondence and some financial records, attendance records, membership records, and property records. There are also membership register with entries from 1949-1971, and a membership record book with entries from 1949-1992. A history written in 1974 provides background information on the founding of the church and its early years.

The records are mostly administrative in nature, but there is limited information on two outreach activities. The first is the Interfaith Outreach Home (IOH), a joint initiative in which 34 North Atlanta churches and synagogues participated. The IOH facility was constructed in Doraville, GA to provide transitional housing for homeless people. The second is the Oglethorpe Child Development Center (CDC), a preschool located at Oglethorpe United Methodist Church. These records primarily concern the transfer of the CDC to Brookhaven Christian Church in 1996.

For additional United Methodist church records in Pitts Theology Library, see the online subject guide.

BOX/FOLDER   DESCRIPTION/DATE

1/1		Administrative Board, 1989-1993
1/2		Annual Reports, 1980-1991
		Attendance Records
1/3		     1989-1990
1/4		     1991-1993
		Bulletins
1/5		     1988-1989
1/6		     1990-1991
2/1		     1992
2/2		     1993
		Charge Conferences
2/3		     Treasurer's Reports, 1950-1970
2/4		     1978-1981
2/5		     1983-1985
2/6		     1986-1988
2/7		     1989-1990
3/1		     1991-1992
3/2		Church History, 1974
3/3		Deeds, Plats, Receipts, Contracts, Title of Building and Contents, 
		1954-1970, 1978
3/4		Door Dedication Plaque, 1980
		Financial Records:
3/5		     Correspondence re: Financial Matters, 1993-1996
3/6		     Financial Statement, 1979
3/7		     Pastor's Expense Report, 1990-1991
3/8		     TrustCo Loan, 1994
3/9		Interfaith Outreach Home, 1990-1992
		Membership
3/10		     1988-1992
3/11		     1993-1997
4/1		     Members Transferring Out, 1969-1984
4/2		     New Members, 1977-1987
4/3-4		     Record Book, 1949-1992
4/5		     Register, 1949-1971
4/6		Oglethorpe Child Development Center, 1995-1996
4/7		Weekly Reports, 1992 [incomplete]