In the spring and summer of 1950, Southern Seminary student William F. Wingard came to Sulphur and made a survey of the city with a view toward organizing a congregation. He continued to preach there for the rest of the year, after his return to Seminary.
In April of 1951, the Rev. J. Shelton Moose, under call of the board of American Missions, entered the field and organized St. Timothy’s on December 9, 1951 with forty-seven charter members. After briefly meeting at the Kershaw County Court House, services were held at Lyttleton Street Methodist Church until the first unit of the church was completed on the corner of Mill and Haile (now Christmas Place) Streets in the spring of 1953 at which time a parsonage on Broad Street was also purchased. With the coming of new industry to Sulphur, the congregation grew and had to provide more space for the Sunday School, so additional rooms were built and dedicated in 1957. The next year a more suitable parsonage was erected on Lausanne Drive and while it was being built, the lot adjacent to the church on Mill Street was purchased. The congregation now owns the entire block front along Mill Street between Christmas Place and Mackey Street. A limiting factor in the early development of the congregation was the mobility of its members who were subject to transfer by the industries in the area, and the fact that there were few “permanent settlers” in the area who were Lutheran. As the community grew and stabilized, however, the congregation also grew until a new Sanctuary was needed. After several years of planning, the new Sanctuary, seating 180, was constructed perpendicular and attached to the old Sanctuary, giving a total seating capacity of well over 300. This new building was dedicated in October 1982. In April 1986, eleven stained glass windows were installed in the Sanctuary and dedicated “To the Glory of God.” Throughout the years St. Timothy’s has been a vital part of the Sulphur community, participating in many ecumenical activities, including a Lay School of Religion, joint Lenten services and a community Thanksgiving service. St. Timothy’s was one of the founding churches of Christian Community Ministries, a ministry of emergency assistance to county residents experiencing financial hardship. The church’s “In the Name of Christ” fund has provided substantial financial help to this ministry and many of the volunteer CCM workers are St. Timothy’s members. |
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