1949 Upper Crabtree Rd. Clyde, NC 28721
Who We Are
Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world
We are a welcoming, loving family of believers open to all who come through our doors. Our congregation is small but very active. We average 15-20 in worship but we are growing! When you come through the door the first time, you will be our guest. When you come through the second time you are family. Love is the mark of our church family.
We are a mission-minded church reaching out to the Crabtree/Iron Duff community and beyond. We serve regularly at the Canton Community Kitchen and support community outreach ministries such as Haywood Christian Ministries and the Canton Missional Network.
We have a vibrant music ministry and welcome anyone to enrich our worship with a musical instrument.
Our Pastor is Reverend James Marsh. He and his wife, Leigh, came to us in July of 2018. He answered God’s call on his life to ministry in 2016 after a twenty-year career in law enforcement. He is currently in the Course of Study program at Duke University.
Salvation, Membership, Discipleship
We welcome all who want to visit with us to do so as long as you like. If there comes a time that you feel God has called you to join us as a member we would be honored to receive you into our fellowship.
One becomes a member either by profession of faith in Jesus Christ or by transfer of membership from another congregation.
Baptism is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” Baptism is a rite of initiation into the Christian church. We believe baptism is a means of claiming God’s grace for one’s life. We recognize baptisms done at any age and by any Christian church. We accept sprinkling, pouring or immersion as appropriate methods of baptism. If you have not been baptized, we would be honored to speak with you about your baptism.
A profession of faith is the act of saying, in essence, “I want to be a follower of Jesus.” Sometimes this is called being saved, being born again, or receiving new life or new birth. If you have not made a personal commitment to follow Jesus, we would love to talk to you about putting your faith in him. Call Pastor James right away by sending us a message in the contact section bellow.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:21
We recognize professions of faith made in other Christian churches. If you are relocating from another United Methodist Church, we simply welcome you and notify your former congregation that you are transferring your membership. If you are relocating from another Christian denomination, we recognize your baptism and profession of faith and ask only one further question: “Will you be loyal to the United Methodist Church and uphold it with your prayers, your presence, your gifts and your service?”
History of the Church
Mount Zion United Methodist Church was organized in 1850. The original church stood approximately where the outdoor pavilion now stands. The original log church burned several years later. The current structure is believed to be the oldest brick church structure in the county and “was...referred to as “The Brick Church” for many decades. Early 1881 was evidently the beginning date of the brick-making, for it took a long time to make enough brick by hand to construct walls three and four brick deep.
“The brickyard was near the main road which passed in front of the church. There the men of the church toiled with others of the community for months – digging, mixing, shaping, fixing – growing closer in friendship and understanding.” Because of its rich history, the members of the congregation compiled the necessary information to be listed on the Registry of Historical Places in 1986.
“Mount Zion was first a church on the Waynesville Circuit of the Asheville District of the Holston Conference. The Circuit was moved to the Franklin District in 1866. When the Western North Carolina Conference was erected from the North Carolina and the Holston Conferences in 1890, Mount Zion was included in the new conference.
In 1899, the Waynesville District was formed and Mt. Zion was part of it for nearly a century. In recent decades, the Waynesville District became part of the Smoky Mountain District encompassing most of the area from Haywood County to Murphy, NC.
In 1939, the church became “Mount Zion Methodist Church,” dropping the “Episcopal” and “South” when the three independent branches of the Methodist Church in the United States joined together. The Evangelical United Brethren merged with the Methodist Church in 1968, and “United” was added to the name .The current name is Mount Zion United Methodist Church.”
Mount Zion United Methodist Church is presently part of a two-point charge with Fincher’s Chapel United Methodist Church located at 2883 Hyder Mountain Road.
A paragraph in the Mount Zion History, introduces one of the most beautiful aspects of the Mount Zion United Methodist Church sanctuary:
Once the war (World War II) was over and the economy revived, changes were made to improve Mount Zion. In the period around 1952, the most dramatic change was in the windows.
"Simple, yet beautiful, stained glass windows replaced the clear ones, and two were added to the front of the building where there had previously been no windows. They were given in memory of J. Taylor, Sarah, and Ben Kirkpatrick; Milas, Laura Ann, and Dr. Willie Kirkpatrick; John and Nora Kirkpatrick; John B. Best; Columbus and Emeline Rogers; Asbury, Lorena, and Mary E. Rogers; James Marion, Elizabeth and William Lafayette McCracken; Winfield, Mary Jane, Lula Anne, and Ina Ferguson; Imogene, David, Sara, and Joel B. James; Henry and Matilda Smith; and Ellen McCracken." (Mount Zion United Methodist Church A History: 1850-1982; Frances Rogers, pg. 29. See link bellow for the entire book)
Ellen Davis served as chair of the committee to design and purchase the windows.
“Our members, new and old, are extremely proud of our church, and the fact that it has endured these 155 years – a thriving example of the important role a small community church can play in the life of its community. We are most grateful for the priceless heritage that is ours!”
Christian people value tradition: “Do this in remembrance....” Yet we follow the one who said, “Behold, I make all things new!” As we gather each Sunday for worship surrounded by the stained glass windows, we are reminded of those who came before us in the faith and we look to the future to those who will continue to share the faith for generations to come.
Mount Zion was designated as a Nazareth Project Church by the Waynesville District (Now Smoky Mountain District) of the Western North Carolina Conference for its vital ministry and potential.
A mountaintop moment for the congregation occurred in July of 2018. Rev. James Marsh had written a sermon laying out the perseverance through the centuries by the will of God to protect the scriptures and their integrity.
While no one knew his sermon topic for that week, he was unexpectedly asked to visit an elderly relative of the Rogers Clan, one of the founding families that still thrives at Mt. Zion after nearly two centuries. He presented James with an original page from the Matthews Bible published in 1537 by their direct ancestor, John Rogers, assistant of none other than William Tyndale.
Both Tyndale and Rogers would burn at the stake for their efforts to translate the scriptures into the English of the common boy at the plow. Ray Rogers has traced the family tree of the Rogers family. He found that John Roger’s descendants eventually immigrated to the New World and some of them settled in the Upper Crabtree community. Rogers is an ancestor of many of the current members of Mt. Zion.
Needless to say this precious heirloom was a very powerful sermon illustration of the Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers, and the flowers fall but the word of
God endures forever."
In an effort to be good stewards of such a precious artifact, the Church has stored the document in an undisclosed location for security purposes.
Ray Rogers wrote the following summary about the document:
“John Rogers was born in 1500 and educated at Cambridge University to become a rector with the church of England. He wanted to translate the Bible into English so that the common man could read the word of God.
The English royalty forbade this, so John moved to Germany and assumed the name of Thomas Matthew to escape detection. He worked with Miles Coverdale and William Tyndale on their translations of the Bible.
John went to Antwerp, Belgium in 1537 to get the Matthew(-Tyndale), or Rogers, Bible published. There were only 1500 copies printed. King Edward VI, a Protestant, came into power in England and this allowed John to return home to his country. His translation became the official Bible of England.
The Rogers Bible was translated from the original biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek straight into English, and was not a translation of a translation. Many scholars consider this Bible the first "true and legitimate" translation of the Bible into English.
Queen Mary I later came to reign over England and she destroyed many copies of this Bible, but a few copies survived.
I acquired one page of the Bible and had protective glass installed to preserve the paper, which was made of rags and Linen. The wood-pulp paper of today would not have lasted for almost 500 years.
Bloody queen Mary Had John Rogers thrown into prison and later burned at the stake in 1555, but his work survived. There is an eyewitness account of the burning. It is written that the martyr put his hands into the flames and showed no pain.
You have this precious treasure of our Christian heritage to enrich Mount Zion Methodist Church and memorialize the many members that carry the name of our ancestor, John Rogers.”
