Mark your calendar for Sunday, June 1, 2025, at 11:00 am, for a special Combined Worship Service in the Sanctuary, followed by a barbecue lunch as we celebrate 25 years in our church home at 471 New Market Blvd!

We are featuring a few folks who were around when we moved to 471 New Market Boulevard here throughout the month of May. Check back for updates!

Hayden Uzelac

Q: What are your earliest memories of Boone UMC?
A: I was born in December 1999, and the church opened in the summer of 2000. So I have essentially spent my entire life attending Boone United Methodist Church. My earliest memories are attending Boone United Methodist Preschool. Also Vacation Bible School. Sometimes during the summer, I would go with my Mom to work in the Church Office for a few hours. Or, sometimes I would get out of school and help her. She would do things like stuff bulletins, and I would see how it operated.

Q: How do you believe Boone UMC has changed you as a follower of Christ?
A: I would say Boone UMC has been very central in establishing my faith. Whether it was attending Sunday School as a kid or listening to sermons, there have been a lot of takeaways that I have made and thought more about. It has established me as a person through all of the friends I have made through Sunday School, Club 45. I have made lots of friends and connections through some of the older people through the congregation.

Q: What are your favorite memories of life at Boone UMC?
A: One of my favorite memories was the Back to School Barbecue and playing on the inflatables. I also enjoyed working with Mom in the Church Office. Recently, I have enjoyed the volunteer and creative work I have done. Starting in 2012, I helped out with VBS. Then, I will always treasure the mission trip I took in April 2024 to Selma, Ala., with my dad and several others. We were there to repair homes that were damaged by a tornado. It also gave us a chance to spread God’s love to that community and strengthen our own bonds.

Neil Hartley

Q: What was your involvement in moving to 471 New Market Boulevard?
A: We built the picnic shelter here two years before we began building the church. I pulled the building and electrical permit. Audrey and I did the wiring. A lot of other people did the labor.

Q: What do you remember about the early days of being in the new building?
A: I remember it was all fresh and new. We had more areas that could lend themselves to the community. Over the years, that has really blossomed

Q: What would you like to see for the next 25 years?
A: More of the same! I plan to still be here, and I am sure I will notice great improvements over what we have now, which is really good.

Did You Know?

Thank you to Elizabeth Kingsley Rutledge for compiling these notes of interest with help from Vern Collins, Denise Stanley, Jim Deal, and others about our building and its adornments:

– Several of the stained glass windows in our Chapel, Narthexes, and Sanctuary (surrounding the dove above the Chancel) came from the original 1923 church. They were not destroyed in the fire in the early 1980s.

– The horizontal windows along the top of the Sanctuary were taken from the rebuilt church on King Street, following the fire.

– A portion of our pipe organ came from the old church and was donated by Ellen Payne after the fire in the early 1980s. The trumpet pipes were given by Ralph and Ricky Jacobs.

– The black advent wreath holder that we use at Christmastime was given as a memorial for Katrina Windsor, a Watauga High School junior who died in the early 1990s.

– Cornerstone blocks near the upper front entrance to the church are from earlier buildings.

– Arvil Sale made and donated the creche set that is used every Christmas.

– The large wooden candlestick holder near the altar was given in honor of Charlotte Stanley.

– The fleur-de-lis above the Chancel are from the old church.

– Our baptismal font was saved from the fire and has scorch marks to prove it.

– The old pulpit in the Chapel and dark wood benches are from the original white wooden church.

– At the top of the stairs in the Chapel is a replica of the white wooden church, made by the late Ben Horton.

– The 14-foot cross, hanging in the Sanctuary, was custom made by two church members, Charles Stanley and Johnie Council.

– The communion rail from the old church was fashioned into prayer rails.

– Outside near the left-side Education Wing entrance is “Dottie’s Bench,” given in memory of Dottie Reneau.

– The large evergreen tree to the right of the Office-side entrance was planted in memory of Tom and Farrar Cottingham.

– The cross and flame on the front of the church was given in memory of Peggy Richardson, Linda Stevens’ mother.

– The cross that is in the Columbarium once adorned the top of the dome roof of the old church. When the roof burned, it collapsed into the Sanctuary but was undamaged.

– The Bible that now sits in the Office-side Narthex was once in the Sanctuary of the old church and was undamaged by the fire.

– The brass cross on the alter was given by Fred and Pricilla Robinette.