On an average Sunday, no one goes to church at Summerfield Methodist and the doors are locked.

The church no longer holds Sunday services, but once per year, the church is filled to the brim during its annual homecoming ceremony.

“It’s really a chance to celebrate the heritage of the families that came before,” Summerfield Memorial Association secretary Caroline Majors said. “You can’t move on without understanding where you came from.”

The Methodist church was first established in 1824 on Summerfield Road, near a cemetery. After a fire destroyed the building, a second church was built in the center of Summerfield, costing $3,500. Summerfield, once a bustling down, slowly became a quiet community and the church eventually closed its doors to a regular Sunday service.

Each year, on the first Sunday in May, the church holds its homecoming. Major said families from across America, with connections to the church, attend the homecoming celebration each year.

The church service is brief. Attendees sing old, Methodist hymns, but the most momentous part of the homecoming is role call, according to Rev. Henry Hudson, a New Orleans resident.

“We get to see which families are still around and still connected to the church,” Hudson said. “You usually know who your ancestors are and stand up as the call the role of the church in 1840. It’s important to remember the folks that came before — the bad little boys that grew up to become nice men.”

Hudson said he remembers coming to the services as a child.

“We used to wander all over the hills and we knew everybody that was at the homecoming,” he said. “Summerfield is really a lovely place.”

Even without the church’s list of attendees, former members of the church are clear immediately upon entering the church. Etched into the church’s pews are dozens of initials. One person, named William Longmire, had enough time to carve his full name and a drawing of a boat into the pew.

Hudson said the initials are likely that of children qho attended the church and brought pocketknives to the service.

Hudson also reminisced on the picnic on the grounds, which follows the service. The picnic usually includes fried chicken, potato salad, and, of course, sweet tea.

“The dinner on the grounds was magical,” he said. “It was the only time of the year we could drink caffeinated drinks.”

The annual homecoming service started shortly after World War II, Hudson said. Hudson’s grandfather and others in the community originally started the service to help raise money for the church.

The guest preacher for the service will be the Rev. Robert Childers, a Selma native. Childers has preached at the Summerfield homecoming several times and attended the service as a child.