Church history - Avondale Pattillo UMC

The Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church, Decatur, Georgia, was officially formed on July 1, 1971, by the merger of the Avondale and Pattillo Memorial United Methodist Churches.

Avondale Methodist Church was originally organized in 1910 as the Ingleside Methodist Church. The pastor was Rev. L. G. Johnson.

As a happy result of rapid growth, Ingleside Methodist relocated to a large lot near Scottdale and changed its name to Milton Memorial Methodist Church.

As the former Ingleside (now Milton Memorial) Methodist congregation moved to a new location in 1939 and changed its name to Avondale Methodist Church.

Starting in 1957, the congregation temporarily worshipped at the former Avondale High School at 150 North Clarendon.

In the early 1960's, the Avondale congregation purchased the property where the church now stands, just outside the city of Avondale Estates.

The merger of Avondale and Pattillo Memorial Methodist churches on July 1, 1971, was made possible by circumstances that seem providential. The Avondale Church had voted to relocate at the same time that the Pattillo Memorial membership was declining due to members moving to other areas. By a nearly unanimous decision, the churches merged.

The name Avondale Pattillo was chosen, with the former church names appearing in alphabetical order. The churches even merged boards, committees, and officials, with leaders being co-chairs/co-presidents for that first year.

The plan of merger called for new church facilities to be constructed at what was then 3266 Mountain Drive, Decatur, property that Avondale UMC had already purchased. The front face design of the church was patterned after the style of downtown office buildings in nearby Avondale Estates. Both churches liquidated church holdings to provide capital for the "Building Fund". Construction of the new church was estimated to be $600,000.

Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church, Decatur, Georgia

The Avondale and Pattillo Memorial Churches had many things in common, which made possible the successful merger.

A groundbreaking ceremony (Rev. Eberhardt is pictured with the ceremonial shovel) for the new sanctuary was held October 17, 1971.

The merged congregation joyfully celebrated its opening service in the new sanctuary on Christmas Eve, 1972. Rev. J. W. Eberhardt, Sr., who had served as pastor of the Avondale Church, became the first pastor of the merged Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church.

A new spacious yet cozy Friendship Hall was built at the back part of the property in 1975 and a professionally staffed weekday Kindergarten and Play-school was organized.

Though called Friendship hall when built, it has been known as "Fellowship Hall" for many years. The sign on the building even says "Fellowship Hall".

During Reverend Hoover's pastorate the church bought a new parsonage at 2971 Majestic Circle, Avondale Estates. The former parsonage was then used as housing for the Associate Pastor. Later, named "The Gathering Place," it has been home to Sunday School classes, Disciple Bible Study classes, group meetings, and other church activities.

In the winter of 1985, the Educational Building sustained severe damage due to broken water pipes. Ceilings and floors had to be replaced and, furniture refinished. Church members worked many long hours helping make the necessary repairs.

From June 1986 to February 1990 several major projects were undertaken. The sanctuary and education buildings had to be re-roofed. The sanctuary was renovated and two new Sunday School classrooms, a new choir room and a sacristy were added. Drainage problems at the Friendship Hall had to be corrected and new paving and landscaping done. A new sound system was installed in the sanctuary, as well as a security system in the office and sanctuary area.

Reverend Gilbert Steadham arrived in August 1987 and served as our Minister of Visitation. His ministry became a vital part of our church as he visited shut-in and sick members.

During 1990 we continued to make needed repairs to the parsonage and church. A new furnace and air conditioner were installed in the parsonage down-stairs and a water problem in the basement had to be corrected. The parsonage also had to be re-roofed.. A security system was installed in the Educational Building. A Bible Study Class was formed and a Revival was held for the first time in several years.

In 1991, the church held a "20 Years of Sharing" celebration and created a special one-time logo (at right) for the occasion.

With the strong support and urging of Rev. John Barnes, in 1999 the church raised funds to pay off its mortgage. The church had a joyful mortgage paper burning "ceremony".

That same year, the church created a web site, offering religion resources as well as information about the church.

The United Methodist Disciple Bible Study program resumed, at the urging of Rev. Barnes, who also taught one of the classes. The church also enhanced its web site, hosted on the General Board of Global Ministries Web server.

In 2002, Rev. Tavye Morgan encouraged and the Adminstraive Council voted to lease part of the campus facilities to the International Community School, which was seeking a charter in DeKalb County. The church supported the children, many of whom were refugees and recent immigrants, with donations of books, clothing, and supplies.

After considering several options, a task force proposed and the Administrative Council approved adoption of an official church logo, which is featured at the upper left of most web pages on this site.

In both 2004 and 2005 the church was recognized as being a "Church of Excellence in Outreach". Among the church's many efforts:

On March 10th, 2005, Avondale Pattillo UMC replaced its 33-year old steeple. The old brown wooden steeple had accumulated woodpecker holes, bees, bats, hornet nests, and several rotted timbers. The old one was solidly built, though -- the chairman of the Trustees had to use a pry bar and a lot of muscle to tear up the steeple, which was held together by hundreds of nails.

The new white fiberglass steeple is a 6 foot square at the bottom, 27 feet high, and weighs about 1,500 lbs. Avondale Pattillo decided to switch to a white color to better match the top front church as well as stand out better from the road.

To also make the church facade more visible from the road, we removed a tree in the front.

In 2006 we added a photo blog of albums at Flickr, which proved very popular. We also added a church news blog, which replaced the online newsletter. News items often linked to photos and slide shows at Flickr.

In 2007 we made several exterior repairs to the Sanctuary building and renovated the parsonage. We also gave the campus buildings a fresh coat of paint while at the same time changing the gark green on the lower exterior to a pale green, which lightened up the look.

Over the years, the location of the congregation has changed and the county even changed the address of the current church property. We are blessed that people of several nationalities and ethnic groups now enrich the community and our congregation. We do not know what marvelous things the future holds. But the opportunities seem unlimited. This we do know - ours is a great heritage and we are blessed indeed to be a part of what we expect to be "an endless line of splendor".

Ministers of Avondale Pattillo UMC
Minister	Years
Rev. J. W. Eberhardt, Sr. Rev. Charles E. Hoover Rev. R. Neal Windom Rev. Hoyt D. Purcell Rev. David B. Jones Rev. Jim Turrentine Rev. Jack Summers Rev. John F. Barnes Rev. Tavye Morgan Rev. Donn Ann Weber Rev. Dave Allen Grady	1971-73 1973-79 1979-84 1984-86 1986-90 1990-94 1994-96 1996-2000 2000-06 2006-07 2007-

History