Pattison United Methodist
Where I’m From … by Rev. Mireya Martínez
I am from Freedom Fighters,
from Chicano Power
and Sí Se Puede
and Viva La Raza!
I am from a rich heritage,
reminded of it daily,
through Aztec art
on a velvet background,
through Itza
and Popo
and powerful warriors.
I am from love
and laughter
and hugs;
lots of it
...from six blocks of family,
where everyone is tía and tío,
even when they’re really not.
I am from a place
where food is
a love language,
where flour tortillas
and fresh pots of beans
and carne guisada
are the norm,
where people scramble
for the first tortilla off the comal,
and the smells of this food
makes you hungry
and your mouth water.
It is watering now.
I am from safety
and security.
From people who create huge holes
in chain-link fences
so children
can reach each other safely.
Where the metal
grazes your skin
and tangles your hair
and you get stuck
and holler out
and multiple cousins, real and fake,
come running to your rescue.
I am from people
who code switch
with ease,
who make a game of it.
Hablamos Español
and English
and Chicanismos
y siempre queremos
one up each other
with how clever
we can be with this.
I am from the barrio.
I am from Elma and Margarito.
From the Maldonados, Guerras,
Ponces, and Martínez.
And I am grateful.
Photo Credit: Buller Photography, 2022
Rev. E. Mireya Martínez is an ordained Elder in the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. She is passionate about spreading life, hope, and good news with others. She enjoys being in fellowship with others, preaching, and teaching. She loves nail polish, and collects an assortment of things with feathers… birds, peacocks, owls (NOT live ones!).
Her life verse is Romans 15:13 – “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
OUR CHURCH
The first authentic record of a church in the community of Pattison, TX, was on a deed dated July 21, 1854, by Joseph and Charlotta Greer to James T. Pattison and other trustees for one acre of land together with the said, “George Parker Church, for the use and benefit of a house of worship and a school house.” George Parker was a Methodist preacher and most of the people in the Pattison community were Methodists.
The Texas Annual Conference of the M. E. Church South, convened at Calvert, TX, November 20, 1892, in its 53rd session, stated “A M. E. Church was located at Pattison in 1876.” Pattison was in the Houston District and had been actively holding services since 1854. On September 6, 1883, George M. Pattison deeded a one acre plot of ground to the M. E. Church. The present church stands two blocks south of that plot, where the present parsonage is located. The first building constructed on the deeded Pattison plot was destroyed by the 1900 storm. Another building was erected and used continually, with some remodeling in 1950.
During the following years, two Methodist Churches were established. One was a Southern Methodist, and the other was a German Methodist. The Uniting Conference held in Kansas City, May 1939, recorded the union of the two churches, making them “The Methodist Church” of Pattison, TX. The record states “Whereas the officials of the former M. E. Church, North and the M. E. Church, South both of Pattison, TX, have consented together in a union in accordance with the Plan of Union adopted by the Uniting Conference. We declare that they are one congregation known as the Methodist Church of Pattison, TX.”
The current sanctuary and fellowship hall is located at 3711 Avenue H @ Highway 359. The land was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Pattison in 1975. The monies to build and endowments to sustain the church and parsonage was donated by Mrs. Corrie Pattison Haskew. Mrs. Haskew, in 1974, pledged $100,000 toward the building of the current Pattison United Methodist Church to be matched by the congregation. The sanctuary was completed in March, 1977; the fellowship hall was completed in December, 1978.