뉴 드레스덴 제일 연합감리교회 헌납

May 2026 – After years of rebuilding, Dresden First United Methodist Church will mark a long-awaited milestone on Sunday, June 7, as the congregation gathers to dedicate its new sanctuary in a celebration of resilience, faith, and hope.

The church was destroyed in the December 2021 tornado that devastated parts of Western Tennessee and Western Kentucky. Following the storm, the congregation worshiped with Pisgah UMC as part of a two-point charge while rebuilding efforts began.

“The journey to this moment has not been easy,” said District Superintendent Rev. Nancy Johnston Varden, who will preach at the dedication service. “From the time of the groundbreaking, I have had the privilege of walking alongside this congregation and witnessing firsthand the strength and determination that have carried them forward.”

“Rebuilding a church is never simply about construction,” Rev. Varden said. “It requires patience and a willingness to begin again while carrying both memory and hope. Dresden First UMC has embraced that work with remarkable faithfulness.”

Rev. Varden’s sermon, titled “Built for Belonging,” will center on Ephesians 2:19–22 and the belief that a sanctuary is “more than wood, stone, and glass,” but a witness to God building “a dwelling place for grace, worship, and welcome.”

Shortly after the church’s destruction, members discovered a cornerstone box placed by a previous Trustees Committee during an earlier rebuilding effort. The artifacts recovered from the box are now lovingly displayed in the narthex of the new sanctuary, connecting the congregation’s past with this new chapter of ministry.

If you are interested in learning more about the artifacts discovered in the cornerstone box, watch the “Discovery Park of America — Dresden UMC Artifacts” video.

For Dresden First United Methodist Church, the dedication will serve as a full-circle moment and a testimony to the enduring faith of a congregation shaped not only by what it has rebuilt, but by who it has become.