Olivet United Methodist Church celebrated 100 years of service and worship on Sunday, July 30, 2000 during the annual homecoming service. A 94-page “History of Olivet United Methodist Church” edited and printed by Joyce Cooper was distributed to all attendees. The first section (1900-1971) was compiled by Mamie Hipps, Faye Stranathan, and Jimmie Sherrill Cooper with the remainder (1972-2000) being compiled by Jimmie Sherrill Cooper and Joyce Cooper. Joyce continues to keep the current activities recorded.
One of the most rewarding projects of the Olivet UMC involves a visit to the Native American Youth at the Unity Regional Treatment Center at Cherokee, NC on each of the nine major holidays of the year. Joyce Cooper started this project in 1989 as a means of encouragement to the troubled youth…to let them know that someone cares. Members of the church drop money each Sunday into the “blessing house” – a handcrafted miniature prototype of the church. Gifts and goodies are then purchased with the addition of homemade brownies by Bob Beck (until his death in 2010). Joyce and Bob received the 2007 Nashville Area (all Southern states) of the Indian Health Service Award as “Volunteers of the Year” after being nominated by the Unity Staff. Elizabeth Cooper and Michele Reagan now assist Joyce with this project.
Five major projects (2005-2012) were the installation of eight handcrafted, stained-glass windows, the addition of a “drive thru” at the rear of the church which greatly aided the elderly and handicapped in accessing the church in the Fall of 2005, a new church sign constructed of native stone at the entrance of the church grounds in the Fall of 2006, replicating the entire front of the church and bell tower with new materials in the Summer of 2010, and the total renovation of the church sanctuary in the Fall of 2012. This included new white pine tongue & grooved board paneling for the ceiling and walls. The original wainscoating and altar rail were painted green to coordinate with new carpet and pew cushions. Reproduction schoolhouse light fixtures were purchased and all wiring was replaced. New ceiling fans were installed. And the most challenging phase: the original 112-year-old pews were stripped of paint and refinished to their natural beauty.
During 2015 and 2016, the construction of a new Fellowship Center was completed, renovation of the original Fellowship Center into a hallway which connects the sanctuary to the Fellowship Center and two new handicapped restrooms and a mechanical room, a new hallway to connect the kitchen to the Fellowship Center, the kitchen was renovated, property was purchased for a new and safer driveway entrance to the church property, a driveway was also constructed around the new Fellowship Center, a new Methodist emblem sign was installed on the bell tower, the bell was cleaned and painted and its’ current stand was reinforced, and the parking areas were paved!
If you plan a visit to the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina, please visit with us. We are located a couple of miles from Cherokee, NC and the Qualla Boundary; approximately fifty miles west of Asheville, NC; and one mile from Hwy. 441 on Olivet Church Road.
