Past churches-Mariner's Bethel United Methodist Church

Location: 815 Clifton Avenue

Founded: Central Methodist Church officially changed its name to Mariner's Bethel United Methodist on Sunday, April 25 1948 with the groundbreaking of the new building seen here and the laying of the cornerstone on Sunday, November 28 1948. First official service in new building was held May 29, 1949, a few weeks after Dr. Tindall passed away. For a time, until renovations on the original building was complete, the place of worship was called the Central Memorial Chapel of  Mariner's Bethel United Methodist Church.

 Photograph courtesy of Keith Lockhart

Denomination: Methodist
A brief history: Dr. G. Paul Beck led the congregation from 1949 to 1951, and from then on the rotation of pastoral leadership changed every couple of years with two notable exceptions-one from 1975-1977 when there were two pastors, George C. deKrafft and James Ford and in the late 1980s when Reverend Alice Cook, the first woman pastor to preach at the church came on board. Mariner's wasn't involved much in the community until the late 1990s when spaghetti dinners were frequently announced on their billboard out front. Not much information has been gleaned on any other programs, with the exception of an Al-non meeting that was held on Wednesdays that helped many residents. Due to a number of factors, Mariner's decided to close their doors in 2010. Fortunately the building was reopened in 2011 and is currently occupied by the Golden Gate Assembly Church.