Carroll County?s landscape has changed drastically over the past century from mostly farmland to sprawling housing developments and Big Box stores.
But the rural charm of Carroll?s past remains preserved in its many small church communities.
The Zion United Methodist Church of Shipley will offer its own piece of history at its 124th annual picnic Saturday.
“These activities mean a lot to a church?s longevity. It?s a great tradition,” said Zion?s pastor, the Rev. Rick Shamer.
Sunday school picnics have survived in this community of about a dozen houses clustered around a simple brick church because of the enduring membership of families through the generations, said Zion parishioner Ron Zepp.
“Families [have] come and gone,” he said, “but you have that core of families that sustain the community.”
Zepp?s ancestors were some of the earliest Carroll County resident, and he expects his two children will remain in the area as well, Zepp said. Zion held its first Sunday school picnic in 1882 at the newly constructed chapel built on land granted to the church by Mr. and Mrs. Grove A. Shipley, said Dolores Bankert, a longtime church member who has studied the Zion?s history.
Bankert, who has been a member of the congregation since 1952, said the church membership has remained steady at between 120 to 180 members.
“Typically, churches change over a period of time,” Shamer said, “but this is a very vibrant congregation.”
That vibrant energy makes the picnic such a great event, because there is something for everyone, he said.
To Bankert, the picnic represents the best of Zion?s traditions beyond great home-cooked food and entertainment.
“Our community is solid,” she said. “We?ve pretty much stayed the way we?ve been for a long time.”
Even today, the old Morgan Run Schoolhouse, which sits across from the current church where Zion?s congregation met before the church was constructed, is home to Zepp and his family.
Timeline:
1878 ? First Methodist meetings held in Morgan Run Schoolhouse
1882 ? Construction of brick church on land granted by Mr. and Mrs. Grove A. Shipley
1897 ? Zion?s Ladies Aid Society founded
1913 ? Stained glass windows donated by Shipley, Hook, Wagner and Easton families
1924 ? Social hall constructed
1980 ? Two-story Sunday school classroom building completed
1984 ? Office and conference room addition added to church building
Source: zionumc.com
If you go
» What: The 124th annual Sunday school picnic
» When: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday
» Where: Zion United Methodist Church of Shipley, 2716 Old Washington Road, south of Westminster
