Welcome to the sanctuary of the Washington First Methodist Church!

You are surrounded by 103,000 rough bricks and 62,000 pressed bricks with enough Wilkes County heart pine to fill a small forest.  This impressive building was designed by architect George Thompson with work begun on Easter Monday 1907.  It was July 17, 1910, when Bishop Henry Morrison dedicated this structure to the Glory of God.

This congregation is recognized as Georgia Methodism’s earliest, its origin in Grant’s Meeting House dating from as early as 1786, a few miles southeast of Washington on Wrightsborough Road.  The congregation had moved to the town by 1819 with its first building being Washington’s first denominational church structure.

Thomas C. Hogue, a church member and local business leader, donated the lot for this church as well as substantial funds to construct the building.  The east stained-glass window, “The Woman at the Well,” was presented by the Hogues in memory of their son Dr. Russell R. Hogue.  “Christ in the Garden,” the west window, was presented by the Marcus A. Pharr family.  After World War I, the distinctive window memorializing those from this church who lost their lives in the Great War was placed on the north side.

Almost as scintillating as the window art is the beautiful woodwork of the sanctuary, with its arches and intricate designs created by local master craftsman McAlpin Bentley.

It was an ecumenical place, with Washington Manufacturing Company as a contractor since that company was owned by a Baptist, managed by a Catholic, with their chief designer a Presbyterian!

Music has long been an emphasis for the church, with Mrs. Belle Hil King as the paid organist/choir director for First Methodist when this building began its full services in 1910.  A church orchestra was performing as early as 1917.  The present organ, a Miller pipe organ, was installed on August 3, 1949.  The recent total refurbishment was completed in October 2023.  The current organist is  Mrs. Belle Guin.

The present sanctuary, which was dedicated in 1910 to the glory of God, has the names of B.S. Irvin, T. C. Hogue, J.W.S. Lowe, F.H. Ficklen, M.A. Pharr, R. Motte Smith, K.A. Wilheit, I.T. Irvin, Jr., and Rev. H. J. Ellis, Paster listed on the cornerstone. The sanctuary was saved from a fire in the 1950s and was carefully restored to save the beautiful wood and the windows. Formerly, a balcony was enclosed at the rear of the sanctuary. The stained glass windows were restored and protected in the early 1990s.

Below and around the sanctuary are classes, offices, and a prayer room.  A larger educational wing was added in the 1950s. It is an attached structure and contains classrooms, practice rooms for the choirs, and a chapel on the lower floor.

The Bell Cottage behind the educational wing is a full-standing home with an active PreK program.

A structure across the street from the sanctuary has been named “The Station” and is a place for youth Sunday School, Bible study, and fellowship.

The latest addition is a new Fellowship Hall attached to the side of the educational building.  The Fellowship Hall has a space for meals, worship, receptions, and other church family and community functions.  A stage and a commercial kitchen are incorporated into this building.  This facility was dedicated in 2008.

All are welcome into the worship and fellowship of Washington First Methodist Church, with weekly services at 11 a.m. each Sunday.  A Bible Study / Sunday School is offered for all age groups at 9:45 a.m.