This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.

                                                                                



79S20401 MDM-D



By:  Hughes                                                       H.R. No. 155







R E S O L U T I O N

	WHEREAS, Members and friends of Smith Chapel United Methodist 

Church in Mineola celebrated a significant milestone on June 26, 

2005, when they commemorated the 120th anniversary of their 

church's founding; and

	WHEREAS, Although a 1915 fire destroyed the church's earliest 

records, the origins of Smith Chapel are believed to date back to 

1885, when a group of area residents joined together to form what 

was then known as Davis Chapel; they initially met in an old school 

building and, in summer months, outdoors under a brush arbor, but 

contributions made by W. H. Smith and other generous supporters 

enabled the purchase of land in 1915 and the construction of a 

one-room frame building soon thereafter; the name of the church was 

changed in 1916 to honor Mr. Smith; since then, renovations, 

additions, and new structures have addressed membership growth, and 

today the small building that earlier served the congregation now 

stands adjacent to the current sanctuary and its Fellowship Hall, 

Education Hall, and parsonage, and a church bell inherited from the 

1957 merging with Crow Methodist Church continues to call 

worshippers to Sunday morning service; and

	WHEREAS, Until 1950, Smith Chapel was served by traveling 

preachers, or circuit riders, whose five-church schedule allowed 

monthly sermons for the Mineola congregation; throughout the 

ensuing years, the church has benefited from the strong faith and 

leadership of a number of esteemed members of the clergy; and

	WHEREAS, Since its inception more than a century ago, Smith 

Chapel United Methodist Church has served many residents of the 

Mineola community as a source of inspiration, guidance, and 

fellowship, and it is a pleasure to join in honoring the church at 

this special time in its rich history; now, therefore, be it

	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 

Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby congratulate all those 

affiliated with Smith Chapel United Methodist Church in Mineola on 

the 120th anniversary of the church's founding and extend to its 

congregation sincere best wishes for continued success with all 

their worthy endeavors; and, be it further

	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 

prepared for the church as an expression of high regard by the Texas 

House of Representatives.