Our Journey: Trusting in Christ, obeying his word

 In 2022, we began the restoration of the Dailey house.  First we tore down the outbuildings and dug up all the brush.  Then we tested for asbestos and got a clean report.  We called Petti Pest Control to get rid of the fleas, rats and snakes, an essential step because none of us wanted to set foot in there!  Next we called a company that gathered up the junk, hauled it away and stripped out the walls and ceiling. From there we began to prepare for new electric service to the property and even shaped an ampitheatre for the Live Nativity Pageant. New windows, doors, a new roof and rebuilt addition on the back were finished, then the interior remodel began.  The house has 3 bathrooms now, 3 bedrooms, a laundry room and a porch sunroom on the upstairs as well as the downstairs sunrooms.  The living area and dining room will house our offices, meetings, classes and anything else we need except for Worship which will continue at Independent Fire Hall in Ranson.  In the back of the property the ampitheatre is complete with a stage, storage building and A/V control building which worked beautifully for the Nativity Pageant 2022 and 2023.

We were able to occupy the farmhouse in September of 2023.

 By January 2021, we had surpassed our goal , secured financing, and were ready to close on the land when the pandemic hit.  After closing for in-person worship for a month in March- April, we reopened for worship at Independent Fire Hall in Ranson where there was room to social distance around large tables.  We closed on this beautiful 7 acres in August 27, 2021

   Since our vision is Building for a New Generation we want to take into account such things as solar and wind energy and other green technologies.  Perhaps we can be the first energy star rated church in West Virginia!  

We moved to the Whitmore Business Center in Charles Town which had a place for us to set up worship, get new offices up and running, and also have room for nursery, classes, and special gatherings.  This was our home for 2 years until the pandemic prompted us to look for larger space where we could spread out and social distance for Sunday Worship.  In May of 2020 we moved a few blocks to the Independent Fire Hall in Ranson for Sundays and moved offices and meeting space to member's homes.  

It's interesting that over the years, Oakland has met in a single room building, a school, a double wide trailer, a new fully equipped church, a tent (following the fire in 2008 that destroyed our sanctuary), a rebuilt sanctuary, then a funeral home, a business center and now a fire hall.  And every step of the way, God has provided just what we need to continue to serve him in the places he puts us.  He is faithful.

We are a Wesleyan Church with contemporary worship and lots of opportunities for spiritual growth and service in the community.

       Easter Sunday was gorgeous.  It began early with a Sunrise service followed by 2 worship services divided by a brunch.  An empty tomb surrounded by flowers and bushes was the focal point of the sanctuary.  It truly looked like the garden tomb.  Family fun filled the afternoon and as I fell into bed that night exhausted, I was smiling.  After a week full of Holy Week activities, Easter Monday was a day to look forward to.  Extra sleep and an empty calendar for a day or two!

       It wasn’t even light out when the front doorbell rang.  Both my husband and I stumbled out of bed, sleep drunk and barely able to get our thoughts in order.  The man at the front door, a commuter who used our parking lot occasionally, pointed to our church across the field.  “Fire department is on the way” he shouted and ran back toward the building.  As we crossed the parking lot, the church looked quiet.  We peered through the windows and couldn’t see a thing. As fire trucks roared up the driveway, the commuter explained, “we caught a glimpse of flames in the sanctuary as we pulled in. The smoke is so thick you can’t see them now.”

       Within minutes, firemen were everywhere, hoses poured water on the flames, and finally, within an hour or so, we were able to walk with the chief into our blackened sanctuary and see the damage. Charred remnants of the tomb displayed where the fire had started, musical instruments were smoky and wet, chairs were covered in soot and the sound loft that served as storage for some of our ministries was full of dripping plastic and soot.  He told us the fire was so hot it was within seconds of a flashover.  We were lucky it was found when it was.

       Lucky?  We were blessed!  We praised God for the sharp eyes of our commuter neighbor who arrived and caught sight of the flames at just the right moment.  A minute later and he wouldn’t have seen the flames for the smoke!  Praise God for a volunteer fire department who responded swiftly and saved the building!  The sanctuary had to be gutted and rebuilt but the roof was intact, and the wide lobby doors had been shut protecting it and our offices and classrooms from everything except a bit of smoke cleanup. 

       By the end of the week we were still tired but energized as well.  God had protected us through it all. We had begun the clean up, moved our food distribution program to a local school, hosted Upward soccer without a hitch, reopened our restaurant, and arranged for a large heated tent to be erected on the parking lot. The Sunday after Easter we were ready for worship, raised from the ashes and ready to enjoy our new life in Christ!

Oakland Church was born in 1881 when the small group of people who had been meeting as the Mt. Hope Sabbath School was officially organized into Oakland (for the grove of Oak trees on the 1/2 acre lot) Methodist Episcopal Church, and a new building was constructed. In the 1970's a single wide trailer was added to the site to provide a bathroom, Sunday School rooms and a kitchen.

Bethany Church, which merged with Oakland in 1993, also began as a Sunday School in 1882 with construction on their new building in Bardane.

 JoAnne Alexander began serving as a part time pastor at Oakland, Bethany, and Kabletown churches in 1977 while a student at Wesley Theological Seminary working on her masters degree. Upon her graduation in 1980, she was appointed to serve full-time by the Baltimore Washington Conference at just Oakland and Bethany.