The Church Moved by the Hand of God

A column posted yesterday at Examiner.com shares the strange early history of Providence UMC in Swan Quarter, N.C.

Providence, founded in the mid-19th century near the state’s Pamlico Sound, had no building until 1876. A local landowner at first barred charter members from purchasing the lot they wanted, but “Divine Providence” intervened . . . hence the church's name.

The column fails to note, though, that the site isn’t used much anymore. Hurricane Floyd caused $140,000 in damage in 1999, and Providence had just enough time to restore its sanctuary before taking another hit from Isabel in 2003.

So they merged with nearby Soule UMC, and “The Church Moved by the Hand of God” is now mostly a tourist attraction. It also inspired "Earth Moves in Mysterious Ways," a 2006 song by North Carolina folk band Molasses Creek.