AMY SZPARA

LAPLACE – The smell of fresh paint, the shine of crisp white walls and the cleanliness of the inside of a brand new building welcomed the crowd of worshippers. With them they carried hymnals, the Holy Bible, paintings, flags and other pieces that would add the finishing touches to the new church. Their excited faces turned from side to side to take in the beauty of their new church home. That was the scene at the new First United Methodist Church Sunday morning, as the congregation flowed into their new building and moved into their seats. After listening to a brief sermon at their old church in the Riverlands Shopping Center, the church members stripped the room and drove to their new church on La. Highway 51 in LaPlace. Before leaving one church and moving into another, Methodists must deconsecrate the building. A prayer is said, and the last of the church artifacts are removed from the place. Then, they can move into the new location. As part of their last service at the old church, members of the congregation told of their memories in the building. “We went into it not knowing how it would be, since it was a storefront,” said Drue Lewis, choir director. “In 22 months, we started a whole bunch of new ministries there, though.” Originally on Main Street, First United Methodist sold their building to New Home Ministries and moved into Riverlands Shopping Center. Because of a lack of parking space and no room to grow at the old church, the congregation moved into a temporary place while the new church was being constructed. Dick Hall was the chairman of the building committee. As the members went through the front doors of their new church, Elsie Montz carried in the Bible. “I’m the oldest member,” she said. “Not in age, but in years here.” She has been a member of the church for 53 years, and her parents were two of the original members. Montz carried the Bible into the location at Riverlands Shopping Center, and she wanted to carry it into their new church. The Highway 51 location is their fourth church site. In 1938, the original church was built on land donated by the Lasseigne family on Main Street. That church was destroyed by Hurricane Betsy in 1965, and the church which still stands at that location was built then. The new building will hold 400 people, and of the 250-300 members, about 125 attend regularly. Woodwork including the pew ends, modesty panels and altar railings was done by Jack Coleman, who works out of his workshop in LaPlace. “It’s an exciting day for us,” said Wanza Lewis. “We’ve been cramped in that little room for so long.” The Rev. Kenneth Graham invited his congregation to begin Sunday by welcoming one another to the new church. After the members hugged each other, Graham began the service. Later that night, a crowd of 90 members had their first supper in the kitchen, a supper they have once a month as a church family. Services are held at First United Methodist Church on Saturdays at 6 p.m., a contemporary service that includes the music of the River of Life band, and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Sunday school is held at 9:15 a.m. on Sundays. There are also a number of prayer groups, youth activities and other opportunities for worship.