This photo was taken in front of Mt. Tabor Methodist Church in the fall of 1949 at the dedication of the current church building. Pictured, from left, are: The Rev. and Mrs. Woodrow Lamon’s two sons, Douglas Wright, Maddie Ruth Wright, Annie Ruth Wright, Sharon Tucker, Carol Jane Cost, Jean Lorance, Martha Cornhill, Patricia Royer, Brenda Dobbs, Marion Burgess, Sidney Stephenson, Allen Stephenson, Linda Gail Royer, Barbara Smithson, Magdeline Collins, Joyce Tucker, unknown person; (second row) Willie Fay Dobbs Hopper, Vivian Whitten Turner, Minnie Lorance, Kathleen Whitten Dobbs holding Martha K., Edith Stevenson, Ollie “Bobby” Whitten, Lillie Whitten Key, Mary Kate Whitten Cost, Ethel Lorance, Nora Walker Pettit, Ida Dobbs, Alvin Ray Lynch, Audrey Simmons Tucker, Tressie Burgess Scott, Ruemma Hopper, Eddie Cornhill, Ervin Lynch, Lula Mae Lorance, Eula Key, Maureen Black Cornhill, Ella VanSandt Francis, Lena Hopper Lynch, Norma Jean Simmons Collins, Maude Dobbs, Baby Connie Collins, Sammie Collins, Roland Burgess, Bobby Carl Francis, Robert Carl Francis; (back row) Lucius Hopper, Jim Lorance, Herbert Dobbs, J.D. Hopper, Arthur Key, The Rev. Woodrow Lamon, Mrs. Woodrow Lamon, Howard Whitten, Houston Lawrence, J.R. Stephenson, Leonard Cost and George Lorance.

Mt. Tabor UMC dies for lack of attendance

Rural churches in Alabama-the ones tucked neatly in a grove of oaks trees and surrounded by a sprawling cemetery—are falling by the wayside. Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church, located five miles east of Hartselle just off Highway 36, has now joined that list.

The historic church conducted its last worship service Sun., May 27, leaving its handful of members heart-broken and looking for a new church home.

Members blamed the closure on dwindling membership and attendance over time, not financial concerns.

“We had three or four active members and attendance had gotten down to four or five,” said Eula Key, a long-time faithful member and former treasurer. “Two of the members are in their 90s, and on one recent Sunday, the pastor preached to three people.”

Key said title to the 128-year-old church and its remaining funds were placed in the custody of Mt. Tabor Cemetery Association.

“The cemetery is the second largest rural cemetery in Morgan County, second only to Johnson Chapel,” Key said. “I’m sure it will continue to operate as it has in the past.”

Key has attended the church all of her life and has been an active member for more than 65 years. She worked with the youth as a young woman and served as church treasurer for about 20 years in the 1980s and 1990s.

“It has always been an important part of my life,” she pointed out. “Losing it is like losing a member of my family.”