By Dan Woolf
Belleville’s Seventh-day Adventist Church can trace its beginnings to a series of tent meetings begun in July 1889 by Eugene LeLand.
Cassius Hughes returned in December and found they had been faithful in maintaining their Sabbath meetings and were of good courage. Brother D.E. Wellman, the district director, came for three days and organized a Tract and Missionary Society and a treasurer was appointed to receive tithes.
The brethren and sisters exhibited a commendable zeal in trying to learn how to work for the Lord. The Belleville Company of believers had begun, December 30, 1889.
Additional meetings were held late February and into March, 1890 at the Model School located at the corner of Rawsonville and Martz with two more signing the covenant. Henry Basney along with Elder R.C. Horton then returned and held tent meetings beginning June 21, 1890. At the close they baptized 22 souls leaving behind 29 members who had signed the covenant.
Within a year this group erected a new house of worship in Willis with only $200 debt. The labors who made this possible, Eugene LeLand, H.C. Basney, and D. Van Horn invited Ellen White, to speak at that dedication on Sabbath, April 4, 1891. Ellen was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. She is known for her practical and spiritual Bible based council. This included, health reforms in diet and hygiene. She is the most translated non-fiction female author. She wrote about that event:
In response to an urgent call from the brethren who had been laboring in Willis, Mich., I left Battle Creek April 3, in company with sister E. S. Lane, for that place. The Lord had opened the hearts of a goodly number to receive and obey the truth. A church of forty-seven members had been organized, and a neat house of worship built, which is nearly free from debt. {Review and Herald, July 21, 1891 par. 3}
A large portion attending at Willis were from Bellville and it’s reported that Ellen White said the church shouldn’t have been built there, “for out of Belleville will walk God’s children”. Conference records continued to show activity until the 42th session of the Michigan Conference in September 1902. At that meeting a petition was presented requesting the organization of the Belleville Company into a church. Belleville Church had taken its new identity on Sept. 28, 1902.
The Belleville members motivated to build their own building decided on a plan to raise money. Mrs. Plague, a mother of a large family, took in laundry until she made enough to have trees, donated by Cylus Coy, cut into lumber. In 1903 with the help of Mr. Courey, also a new convert, they built the first church, a one-room building where the present Liberty Gospel Church stands.
Belleville was for many years a self-supporting church without a full-time pastor. Many workers would come occasionally, but some of the most rewarding were students working on advanced degrees at the nearby University of Michigan. They included William Murdock, William Landeen and Dr. Edward Heppenstall. And many “bright lights” as Ellen White said came from Belleville church. These include the youth, Herber Lohr, Dr. Paul Robb, Elder Samuel Elie, Keylor and Esther Noland, Robert Hoag and others.
In 1953 Pastor Melton Henry came with youth and enthusiasm. The one-room wooden church had serviced the congregation for 50 years from 1903-1953. Its centered pot belly stove having drawn the worshipers close together on many a cold night had served its purpose. Pastor Henry now supervised it being taken down, the wood being saved and a modern brick structure was built on the same site.
This new brick church would hold its first service on Nov. 17, 1954. And within two years Belleville church was dedicated debt free on Oct. 6, 1956. One feature of that location was to keep the pastor’s sermons short and on target. If not, the fire station’s whistle would witness to the congregation that the pastor was running behind and all attention was lost.
The new building on Liberty again served the needs of the church for another 50 years from 1954-2003. Then the Canton Adventist Company visited and soon joined with Belleville. They saw the need for a larger church and it was sold in 2003. A five-acre parcel was purchased on Belleville Road and plans were drawn for a 120-seat church all on one level. The sales agreement that allowed them to meet in the old church soon ran out as did money and patience. Arrangements were made to hold Sabbath Services at the Trinity Episcopal Church on Belleville Road near the freeway which continued for 9 years.
In the spring of 2013, Michigan Conference President Jay Gallimore made a surprise visit. He encouraged the congregation to find a new home and secured temporary funding for a used sanctuary. This church at 89 South Edgemont holds 120 people with four classrooms, an office, adequate parking and includes an adjacent parsonage.
Just one week before the first meetings were held, final work and inspections were completed and the required occupancy permit received. The transition from vacant building to the energy and unity of an active church is spiritually rewarding. Belleville Seventh-day Adventist Church continues to serve our community as one of the oldest for 135 years.
Dan Woolf is chairman of Woolf Aircraft Products in Romulus and a lifetime resident of the Belleville area. He loves history and wishes to always remember those who provided the memories that enriched our life.