By Stephen Dawkins
The pastor’s office at Clanton First United Methodist Church has been newly renovated, but the history associated with the church has certainly not been lost.
Work began on the office soon after the arrival of new pastor Rob West in July 2013. West worked out of the office for a few weeks, then a temporary space while the renovations were being completed.
“It’s excellent, very nice,” West said of the changes. “I was a lay member of this church 20 years ago, and the carpet in the office was the same as it was 20 years ago.
“It’s a much more comfortable space now.”
There is now a beautiful coffered ceiling–perhaps the room’s most striking feature–along with a new bookcase and other additions.
“It was a big change from what it was originally,” said Delmer Owens, chairman of the church’s board of trustees.
But along with the upgrades, Owens is proud of the history that was preserved. He jokes that on everything in the office can be found a plaque commemorating the item’s donation to the church in honor of a past member.
“Each one had a little story that went along with it,” Owens said.
The renovation of the office began soon after church members began compiling a list of all the memorials in the church–which extend far beyond the pastor’s office.
An example of the memorials is the desk in the office. Scrawled underneath the desk is a handwritten note: “Made at Lane’s Red Barn, 5/25/77, from old pews out of original church by R.D. Lane, Roy Jones and Ray Finley.”
The desk was donated by Mary Propst.
The current church was built in 1923. Some of the original floor remains in the pastor’s office, while areas were patched as part of the renovation.
Joey Liveoak was able to find some rare, reclaimed longleaf pine flooring that came out of a mill in Selma. It matched the original flooring perfectly.
“It’s a beautiful floor,” Owens said.
One of the areas that had to be patched is where a fireplace was taken out.
Owens did the design work for the renovation, while others, including Curt Rowland and Jennifer Zuelzke, picked out arrangements and coordinating colors and fabrics. Wayne Minor completed the electrical work. Mike Jones did the ceiling, columns and trim.
“We did the best we could about renovating it and modernizing it,” Owens said.