History Of Refuge Temple Church of God
In 1980 The Reverend Joseph Brown came to Cambridge. He was a retired minister of The Church Of God, living in Florida at the time. He answered the call of God through Rev. Asbury Sellers, To pastor Center Street Church Of God. Rev. Brown was known and described by the congregation as "Strong willed, kind, loving and understanding." Being directed by the holy ghost, it was his vision to build the new church. In 1986 the congregation purchased the land for the new church on the corners of High and Robbins Street, the start of the dream has taken nine years to realize. Our congregation had gotten too large for Center Street, room was needed for worship as well as ample parking space was needed. There were times children had to sit on the church bus because there were no more seats in the sanctuary.In the midst of realizing his dream, Rev. Brown passed away, April 15, 1990, The Rev.Hattie L. Stanley, who had been the associate pastor, began to pastor and continued to guide the congregation as the spirit led. During the homegoing service, the Overseer Bishop T. L. Lowery passed the mantel and blessing on to Pastor Stanley.Construction of the new Refuge Temple Church Of God was completed in July 1994, by Morton Buildings of Harrington, DE.
In the Spring of 2000, we began to build the church hall. This was the dream and vision of Pastor Hattie L. Stanley; however again in the midst of planning Pastor Stanley's health began to fail. On February 3, 2001, God called Pastor Stanley home from labor to reward. Before she transitioned the mantle was passed on to her daughter, Minister Cynthia Stanton, at the time. The night before Pastor Stanley went home to be with the lord she prayed for and anointed with oil close to thirty or more people in that hospital room, giving the leaders and members directions for the kingdom building. One of her last words were...."...And Cynthia I'm passing the mantle on to you" People came far and near just to get prayer the night before she went home to be with the lord. Refuge temple church family completed the hall in the year of 2003 and named it the "Hattie L. Stanley Dream Center". Pastor Stanley was a people person, and the hall is used for all walks of life serving the community. Knowing who the king of the universe is and discovering he actually loves you, not just with words but in reality, is something that is impossible to keep bottled up. It must be shared, that was what Pastor Stanley was all about, sharing God's word about his kingdom. In June of 2001 Pastor Cynthia Stanton was appointed by the Church Of God, Cleveland Tennessee to be the Pastor of Refuge Temple Church Of God. Her husband Elder Robert Stanton went home to be with the Lord in 2007. She still has a YET PRAISE for she say's "It's still all about Kingdom Building"
