wfn.org | Horse sale reins in $3.9M for church relocation project

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Jan. 5, 2000 News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{007}

By Alice M. Smith*

ATLANTA (UMNS) -- Harold Harrison had already committed to underwriting the
entire cost of a new church home for Bethlehem United Methodist Church when
he received confirmation in an unexpected way.

A yearling from his horse farm sold for a whopping $3.9 million at an
auction in Kentucky - eight times what he expected - and was the exact
amount of the projected cost of the new building.

"The good Lord was looking after me," said Harrison, 79, a lifelong member
of Bethlehem. The owner of Harrison Poultry Inc., he is a self-made
millionaire who has always been generous to his local church, to other
United Methodist causes and to his community.

"We feel it (the sale of the horse) was God's way of giving back what Mr.
Harrison had so generously given to us," said the Rev. Rebecca D. Jones,
pastor of the 200-member Bethlehem church located in Barrow County between
Athens and Atlanta.

Harrison is a "delightful and very generous person," she said. "The thing I
like about him the most is that with all he has accomplished and all the
money he has ... he's very humble."

The new church will retain the name Bethlehem, but a plaque inside will
denote it was built in memory of Harrison's parents, Luther and Susie
Harrison.

Jones was appointed to the church 18 months ago, when it was debating what
type of new building to construct. The "dream team" was considering a family
life center in the current location when Jones pushed the group to look at a
larger question: "What would God want us to do in this time and place if
money were not an issue?"

The group agreed relocation would probably be the best decision, since the
current church is isolated despite being in a growing population area.
	
At that point, Harrison said he would be willing to pay the entire $2.5
million for a new church building if the congregation desired.
	
At a subsequent church conference, "it took five minutes to have an opening
prayer ... (to present) what the committee had decided and take a vote,"
Jones said. "It was unanimous that we accept the gift and relocate."
	
As the property was bought and the plans were drawn, however, the cost of
relocation escalated from $2.5 million to $3.9 million.
	
"I went down to see Mr. Harrison and told him I was concerned, that I didn't
want him to feel we were taking advantage of his generosity," Jones said.
"He told me he had made this commitment to the church to relocate debt-free
and that was what he planned on doing."
	
Then the horse went to auction and fetched the amount of money that was
needed. Both the pastor and parishioner describe what happened as an act of
divine providence.
	
"It was just pure luck the horse bringing that much money," Harrison said.
"I expected it would bring $500,000 ... because we had sold one the year
before off the same heir for $450,000, and we thought his horse was about
the same quality." The high price resulted from a bidding war and was the
largest amount ever paid for a horse at the Keeneland sales in Kentucky.
	
Meanwhile, construction is proceeding for the new Bethlehem church on the
main highway between Winder and Monroe. "When we get moved in (possibly by
September), we will have excellent visibility," Jones said. "There's no way
people won't know where we are."
	
The T-shaped, white brick structure will include a 450-seat sanctuary with a
choir loft that is handicapped-accessible; offices and classrooms; a
library; a small chapel that will seat 50; and a fellowship hall with
commercial kitchen.
	
The congregation will maintain the cemetery at the current location but will
probably sell the old building.
	
The new state-of-the-art structure will allow the church to expand its
community programming, including starting a pre-school program.
	
"It's going to be a real challenge to move into this huge facility," Jones
acknowledged. "We're in a growing area, and we're just really excited about
being prepared for the future."
	
Churchgoers today, especially young couples, are looking "for facilities as
well as programs," she said. "The facility we've got is not adequate to do
much programming. It's not up to code, so we're not able to have pre-school
and after-care programs.  

"This gift is giving us the opportunity to do things our little congregation
could never have done."

For Harrison, it's also a dream come true. "I wanted to do this for a long
time. I knew I couldn't take it with me, and I knew I was getting down to
the finish line. I wanted to do something before I passed on.
	
"We have a right nice little church," he said, "but it's stuck off in the
country where nobody knows where we are. Now we will be on a highway where
everybody can see us. I think attendance will double from 100 to 200 in 12
to 24 months."

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*Smith is executive director of the Georgia United Methodist Communications
Council.

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United Methodist News Service
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