A Mission By The Sea (Side 1)

In 1949, the South Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church purchased 43.53 acres of the Hamilton Plantation from the Sea Island Company for a Christian conference center. They named 'Epworth' after the Wesley's English Village home. 'By The Sea' suggests the pines and palms running in rows with the Atlantic Ocean only a short distance away. Opening day, July 25, 1959, brought 800 Methodists to the banks of the Frederica River, where Bishop Arthur J. Moore preached under the moss draped live oaks (Quercus Virginiana) in the tradition of John and Charles Wesley. In 1962, Epworth By The Sea was designated an official Methodist shrine. Across the river lie the marshes of Glynn made famous by Georgia poet Sydney Lanier.