Members of UMC Fulton pose in front of Christ the King Catholic Church in Fulton on the day of a Pentecost celebration.
COURTESY PHOTO | UMC FULTON sion about reforming a United Methodist congregation in Fulton. The gathering was expected to attract about a dozen people, but some 30 showed up to the Bible study. That unexpected attendance brought on the realization that the numbers were there for a congregation. They just needed a place to worship. Enter Christ the King Catholic Church.“ I don’ t know who suggested our church, but they did know that we meet on Saturdays,” Shells said.
Members of the Methodists approached members of the Catholic church with the idea, and one of the Catholic congregation brought the idea to Shells. She presented the proposal before the congregation for discussion.
“ We weren’ t really using it on Sunday,” Shells said.“ One of the members called me and asked to bring it up in front of our members. I did, and we didn’ t have one objection. None.”
Making sense of it all
With both parties willing, next came the details.
From a logistical perspective, the arrangement made perfect sense. Christ the King holds its weekly mass on Saturdays, leaving the sanctuary available for use on Sundays. The churches share the cost of the building’ s utilities as well as various upkeep responsibilities.
“ There are a few things we kind of split,” Shells said.“ We split the utility bills. They take care of the cleaning, and we take care of the lawn. Our internet was a little bit too slow for them, so they put in the fiber and paid for it.
“ We try to take care of the place, clean up after ourselves,”
8