| RPC | roxboro presbyterian church |
319 N. Lamar Street Roxboro, NC 27573 336.599.1564 |
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In The Beginning -
1892
(Compiled by Joe Burke, Jr.)
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Excerpts from the Historical Records of Mebane Memorial Presbyterian Church 1892 through 1974 Some Interesting History Details: We have always called the first Minutes Record of our church The Old Minutes Book. This record covers June 12, 1892 to April 17, 1939. Those who kept the minutes then did not go into a lot of detail. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits of our history. December 28, 1892 – The first recorded meeting of the Session was held in the parlor of the Winstead Hotel. No date – A ruling Elder voluntarily appeared before the Session and stated that he desired to make acknowledgment of the fact that at a short time previous he had, during the heat of passion, used language unbecoming an officer in the church, that he desired to express his penitence for said action, and to assure the Session that, relying on divine assistance, the like should not again occur. The Session, on hearing the above, voted to inflict the censure of private admonition, the same to be administered by the Moderator. January 19, 1896 – The Session met in the new church. November 4, 1918 – Whether to resume services or remain closed for two more weeks because of influenza epidemic. It was decided wise to remain closed for two more weeks. January 6, 1918 – The following is a complete meeting. Regular meeting held tonight in Pastor’s study. C. E. White, Moderator, Elders H. L. Crowell, L. T. Bowles, and I. O. Abbitt were present. Also Deacons W. C. Watkins, G. T. Thaxton, A. S. DeVlaming and E. G. Thompson. Prayer was offered by Moderator. The church work was considered for the new year. After lengthy discussion of spiritual and material matters, the meeting adjourned with prayer. April 21, 1919 – By invitation, the Session to brethren of the M. E. Church South in this town. After being requested by them. The Session heartily agreed to allow the congregation of Methodist brethren to have the use of our building to hold their preaching and prayer services weekly except on the days we may have a visiting minister to hold services for us. This is during the time the M. E. Church is being rebuilt. We extend to our brethren a cordial welcome. (SIC) May 24, 1924 – The request made to allow town school use church and piano to teach music was voted unfavorable. This takes us into 1924. Until May, 1938, Roxboro Presbyterian held services at Warren’s Grove School and at Mitchell’s Chapel, a church located near the overpass on 501 South. These services were usually held on Sunday afternoon or evening and were led by the minister and/or elders of the church. On the evening of October 21, 1928 at Warren’s Grove School, the following people joined the Roxboro Presbyterian Church: Lewis Franklin Oliver, Dallas Sanford Long (father of Nancy Dallas), Dee Long, Raymond Long, Marvin Burch, Etta Wrenn, Naomi Foushee, Ralph Wrenn and G. C. Fleig. The Session at its meeting on May 5, 1938, decided to stop holding services at Warren’s Grove since the building was no longer used as a school and had been sold to the Methodist Church. Until this date in the Sessional Record there is no mention of stopping services at Mitchell’s Chapel. Perhaps later. When the Hurdle Mills Presbyterian Church disbanded in 1928, Mr. Cyrus C. White joined the Roxboro Presbyterian Church on October 28, 1928. For those of you too young to remember him, he was the father of C. J., Jack, and Lawrence. Don’t know them? How about Grandfather of Bill White? No help? He was the original Brooks & White, funeral directors in Roxboro. July 27, 1930 – P. Cary Adams, having recently resigned as minister of the Roxboro Presbyterian Church, had incurred the following debts for repairs he had made to the Manse: 1. two closets installed $41 2. two rooms reworked $7.50 3. heater recently installed $50
On motion made and seconded, after proper consideration and explanation, motion was made and carried that the church take over these obligations of Mr. Adams and pay these accounts, thereby making them a part of the property. Mr. Adams was paid $800 per year. October 4, 1931 – The matter of having preaching on Sunday night was discussed. It was determined, by vote, that, if the way was clear, there would be preaching each Sunday night in the future. August 7, 1932 – The purpose of the meeting was to arrange for night preaching services in the church on Sunday nights. It was agreed that there would be services each Sunday night until further notice. December 18, 1932 – The purpose of the meeting was to consider cooperation with the other church in the town in having representatives of the Anti-Saloon League speak in the churches of the town. On motion, the Session decided to join in the move and have a representative to speak in the church 1st Sunday A.M. instead of the regular service. October 28, 1936 – The purpose of the meeting was to reorganize the Sunday School classes, teachers and students. The following resolution was offered: That finding from a survey of our church membership that there was large number of the young business men of the church are not in our Sunday School. Resolve, first the Session and Pastor as a body and the church and as a whole, recognize this error on the part of the entire church and will strive to make amends. Resolve further that we will encourage the organization of a class in the Sunday School of these men with an able teacher that they may have strong leadership which will carry on with interest and benefit to themselves and to the best interests of the church and to the cause of God’s Kingdom and helpful to humanity. Many who joined with the church during this period of 1892-1939 are still on our current membership rolls. The are listed below, along with the dates they joined: July 16, 1912 – Mrs. W. C. Bullock January 25, 1920 – Nina Abbitt October 10, 1926 – D’Arcy Bradsher (The clerk recorded him as Master D’Arcy Bradsher) September 2, 1927 – Mrs. Vera C. Dawes July 28, 1929 – Nancy Crumpton December 21, 1931 – Mary King Woody January 7, 1932 – Josephine Newell December 10, 1933 – Randolph King, Henry Newell May 26, 1935 – Kitty Ellmore January 12, 1936 – Ben Brown December 20, 1936 – Katherine Bowles March 26, 1937 – Dr. Charles Hughes, Neb King June 27, 1937 – Rachael Brown December 17, 1939 – James Woody Our next Sessional Record is for April, 1939 to July, 1952. It was during this time that the decision was made to build our present church. There were many other interesting bits of history. The first could be called: "Will we ever get a preacher?" or "We call and get no answer." The first information concerning this story was made on February 7, 1943. We had been paying the minister $1,500 per year – the church paid $1,225 and the Home Missions Board furnished the balance of $275. The Home Missions Board informed the officers that we needed to pay at least $1,800 per year, if we expected to get a minister. The officers agreed and immediately asked the Home Missions board to increase their part of the minister’s salary by $300. Between February 7, 1943 and April 8, 1945, there were many congregational meetings and session meetings held to discuss and call ministers. The congregation agreed to call a Mr. Myers on February 21, 1943, a Mr. Hunnicut on May 30, 1943, a Mr. Patterson on December 12, 1943 and finally on April 8, 1945, Mr. G. W. Heaton accepted the call and moderated his first session meeting on June 24, 1945 and was installed on September 30, 1945. There was never any explanation as to why those others called did not accept. Twice the Session waived the requirement of one week’s notice for calling a congregational meeting and Mr. Hunnicut preached a sermon and then met with the session to talk about serving our church. Neither of these are done today. During part of those 2 ½ years we had no minister, the church had an interim, Paul K. Ansley, who had not completed his work to become a minister. Remember, during this time, World War II was going on. Building of the current sanctuary The Sessional Record, from March 6, 1945-September 10, 1950, includes many entries concerning the building of our present sanctuary building. I think we should let this story come directly from the minutes. Here are the entries, as recorded, by dates recorded. There are many things not fully explained here. You may have questions that cannot be answered, but we have to be satisfied with what history has left us. I think you will find this interesting. March 11, 1946 – The first mention of a new church building was made in the minutes of a joint meeting of officers at which it was mentioned that there was a need to approve floor plans, to procure an extra lot and to select building materials. March 23, 1947 – At joint meeting of officers committee appointed to investigate large lot on Morgan Street. March 18, 1947 – At congregational meeting, decision made to purchase lot number 3 on Morgan St. which was property of Long estate heirs. June 14, 1947 – Joint meetings of officers during which letter from R. L. Harris accepted by officers explaining plan for church to buy Morgan St. lot and swap church property for latter lot. No terms of swap listed in minutes. Congregational meeting called to present plans June 22, 1947. June 22, 1947 – Congregational meeting held – congregation decided not to buy Morgan St. lot at this time but agreed to have another meeting June 29, 1947 to make final decision to lot on Morgan St., Barnette Ave. or Lamar St. June 29, 1947 – Congregational meeting – decision was made by voice vote to move church from present location, Lamar and Factory. By written ballot-congregation voted 59-9 to purchase lot on Lamar St., Watkins property September 2, 1948 – Business meeting composed of elders, deacons and building council. Bids on church building were opened: George W. Kane - $76,100 Fireproof – non-fireproof – add $1,600 – H. T. Mitchell - $79,755 Fireproof – non-fireproof add $2,000 – Anders and Shelton – High Point, N. C. $67,300 add $1,850. Plumbing and heating – Alamance Plumbing and Heating $9,107. White Engineering, Graham, N. C. $9,761. – T. C. Marlowe, Durham, N. C. $9,645. Chapel could be left Mebane legacy, $15,350 and real estate, $8,000 – total $43,500. Decision made to postpone congregational meeting until committee could go to Montreat to get final figures on cash needed. September 5, 1948 – A congregational meeting was held at which a motion that was made at the meeting of Official Building Council September 2, 1948 was presented to the congregation. The motion was "We, the officers, recommend that the congregation authorize the Building Council to proceed to let the contract for the new church building as planned on condition 1st that the Mebane Legacy is immediately available and 2nd that the Council shall make arrangements for a loan to cover the difference between the available funds and the contract cost." This motion was voted in favor by the congregation. Later in this meeting a motion was made to postpone the congregational meeting until September 12, 1948. September 9, 1948 – A meeting of the officers and Building Council met to hear a report on the committee that went to Montreat to investigate the Mebane Legacy. Rev. Heaton, Mr. King and Mr. Pittman each reported that the Mebane Legacy could be used without restraint to build a new church. A motion was made to reject all bids, call in the plans, place plans with other contractors and also investigate possibility of an on job building plan by the church members. (No record of any vote on this motion.) September 12, 1948 – The congregation unanimously passed the motion to build the church building on cost plus percentage basis with Building Council to purchase materials where cheapest. The congregation then recanted the vote agreed upon at the congregational meeting of September 5, 1948. They then voted to proceed at once, to get a supervisor and continue building until funds give out. June 6, 1949 – Review of things accomplished up to date. Meeting with Synod led to present church plans. Bid opened – lowest bid $76,000. Secured a builder on cost plus basis. Foundation poured, work stopped, not practical on this basis. Resubmitted bids without Chapel and Social Service room in basement. Congregation voted to dispense with these units. New bid price at $55,000, approximately $40,000 on hand plus sale price of present church site. Lack $15,000. What to do – Decide to build church as far as money will go. Stop, problem to find someone to take job on fee basis. Mrs. Merritt suggested that those who have money to contribute please do. We must raise some more money before we get more help from Synod. Must match $2,500 from General Assembly Building Fund. Within 25 year period church free from debt. Congregation has voted to go ahead. Would cost plus basis be more than bid of $55,000? Contractor would get $2,000, church can buy cheaper than contractor. On motion made and seconded, the congregation agreed to recess the meeting and postpone action for two weeks until more figures are in. May 22, 1949 – A congregational meeting was held at which they agreed to accept a grant of $2,500 from the executive committee which is to go for building fund. March 5, 1950 – The officers held a joint meeting to discuss 1950 budget. Of particular interest is the report that they had ordered pews for the new church, 30 at a cost of $90 each. June 4, 1950 – A joint meeting of officers was held at the new church at 8 p.m. (This is the first mention of the new church being used. At this meeting they also agreed to a special service for the public during the first Sunday’s worship services.) July 11, 1950 – A joint meeting of officers was held and they agreed to borrow $7,000 from Peoples Bank to finance the church. The meeting was held at the home of D’Arcy Bradsher and the members of the diaconate signed the authorization papers. They were Randolph King, D’Arcy Bradsher, Robert Pittman, Gordon Brown, Ralph Tucker, Charles Timberlake, Thomas Bowles and Russell Newell. The loan was to cover the building expenses and the organ which was to be delivered July 14, 1950. September 10, 1950 – At this joint meeting of officers it was decided that dedication services would be held for the new church on October 1, 1950. It was also approved that Nesbit King and Miss Blaylock use the sanctuary for their wedding ceremony October 14, 1950 at 8 p.m. That is about it for the building of our present church. As you can see from these many meetings and changes made, building it was no easy task. But aren’t we glad they persevered? If you read closely, you noticed some things missing. Who was contractor? What was first Sunday service? Was it built on contract or cost plus? If those who were present then, know this or any other helpful information, please inform a session member as we would like to get this in our permanent historical record. It is not too late. Here are a few more entries as they are recorded in our Sessional Record during the years of 1939-1952. June 2, 1946 – It was decided that Mr. Heaton, as pastor, the church or session, would take any active part in the controversy about the ABC store proposed. November 24, 1946 – The session discussed the attitude that the pastor and session would take toward the liquor referendum to be voted on in January 1947 to decide the ABC store in Person County. Reverend Heaton was instructed to handle the temperance service in his best manner. April 10, 1947 – A joint meeting of officers was held April 10, 1947 at 8 p.m. in the Person County Courthouse. On motion made and seconded the officers agreed to elect 9 Elders and 12 Deacons and to use the rotation system. Until this time, once you were elected, you remained in office until you resigned, moved, or were deceased. April 13, 1947 – A congregational meeting was held April 13, 1947 at which the congregation approved using the rotation system of officer election and proceeded to elect elders and deacons. The entry was made "Those elected by high count for elder were:" and it stopped. Directly under this entry was a notation by Presbytery examiner – "Approved with commendation." 4-15-47 Those elected officers were installed at a ceremony on Sunday, April 27, 1947 with the minutes still not denoting rotation terms for officers. September 10, 1950 – The first recording of minutes at Mebane Memorial Presbyterian Church was made September 10, 1947. It was written Roxboro Mebane Memorial Presbyterian Church. Current members who joined in years 1939-1952 were: Louise Bradsher (Mrs. D’Arcy) – October 15, 1944 Martin Chester – April 3, 1949 Marilyn Chester – April 3, 1949 Mary King (Mrs. Randolph) – February 5, 1950 Eunice Dickerson (Mrs. J. D.) – March 29, 1942 Bill Smith – September 27, 1942 Dan Winstead – March 12, 1950 Jean Newell (Mrs. Henry) – September 25, 1948 (I hope no one was missed – records were not kept too well on everything.) An active period Our next Sessional Record covers a very active time in the life of our church, March, 1953 – January, 1959. During this period, Mr. G. W. Heaton resigned May 17, 1953, and Mr. Arthur G. Courtenay was called, he accepted and moderated his first session meeting, December 7, 1953. During his tenure, the church added an educational building, sold its manse and the congregation agreed to build a new manse. Also, the officers adopted some programs still used today and tried some that were not successful. The first mention of an educational building was at an officers meeting April 30, 1954 when plans for this addition were studied. Then, at a congregational meeting on September 25, 1955, they agreed to begin the project immediately on the pay as you go plan, with a goal of raising $50,000. This must have been a success as there is no deed of trust in our records and the addition is there. This is the part of our church that has the library, minister’s study, ladies’ parlor, and choir room upstairs, and downstairs has the Little Tots classroom, one Sunday School room and kitchen. Manse sold There was some discussion among the church members as to whether the manse should be sold or rented. It was finally decided that the manse, located at 206 Barnette Avenue, should be sold and at a congregational meeting on April 25, 1955, the members agreed to accept an offer of $7,000 made by church members Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Dixon. As an interesting aside, this house sold for $20,500 in 1977, $42,000 in 1985, and $60,000 in 1985. (From records at the Person County Register of Deeds). The building of a new manse was first mentioned in a officer’s meeting January 7, 1957. For the next few months the manse was discussed, with the only difficulty being as to where it should be located, on or off church property. The decision to place the manse on church property was made at a congregational meeting, September 15, 1957. The final decision to build was made at a congregational meeting held on August 3, 1958 at which the congregation let the contract with Jesse Anderson at a cost of $15,442, agreed to have a fund raiser to build and authorized the Trustees to borrow those funds that would be needed to complete the manse. This is the building the church now rents to Jack Reynolds and Associates. The session made some decisions then that have carried over and are still in use today. They are as follows: January 17, 1954 – A Memorial Fund was established that was to be separate from the general fund and building fund and was to be used as designated by donor. We still have this account. May 5, 1954 – The session agreed to allow Mrs. Bill Stevens to start a kindergarten in the fellowship hall at a fee of $5 per month. This was the first of leaders for this school which have included Pat Townsend, Mary King, Peggy Jones, Lorita Dawes and Carol Silbaugh. October 7, 1954 – The session expressed desire to diaconate that we no longer rely on Home Missions Board for help in paying minister’s salary in 1955. This must have been a real leap of faith. Do you remember going on your own? May 14, 1955 – Dr. Al Martin was asked and agreed to be guest speaker at morning worship services, Sunday, July 3, 1955. We have been fortunate that Dr. Martin has been available and willing to supply for us since then. He will speak again in May when Dr. Efird is not here. If this were baseball, it would be like having Ted Williams to pinch hit for Babe Ruth. January 20, 1957 – It was agreed that officer rotation would be on a three-year term basis. April 5, 1957 – The Session retained Randolph King as treasurer of Memorial Fund. This job entails much more than keeping records on the funds collected. The most important task is sending notices to those who have made the contributions and then being very sure the families of those honored are notified these funds have been given. There were also those programs that did not last: January 22, 1956 – The Women of the Church were given permission to use the basement to serve meals in order to raise money for the church. No comment necessary. July 1, 1958 – Men of Church and Women of Church were to meet each Thursday evening to discuss church work. No comment necessary here either. The church also honored two of its long time members by making I. O. Abbitt a Life Time Elder on January 29, 1956 and proposed Mr. W. L. King be made a Life Time Elder also. This is an action taken by the congregation and will come in a later Sessional Record for Mr. King. The very last entry in this book records Mr. Courtenay’s resignation, and a congregational meeting was called for February 1, 1959 for the purpose of the congregation considering his resignation. At that meeting a motion was made to accept his resignation by a vote of 37 to 21. Another motion was then made to make the vote unanimous and this also passed. Mr. Courtenay stayed until September 25, 1960, when his resignation was accepted by the congregation. During the years 1954-59, the following church members joined the church: Garland Dallas, Margaret Dallas, Jimmy Dallas and Sandy Dallas – February 21, 1954; Clinton L. Shuford – February 21, 1954; Margaret Hughes (Mrs. Charles) – March 26, 1955; J. D. Dickerson – April 1, 1956; Riley Oakley Jr. – April 1, 1958; Zalene Burnette (Mrs. Alex) – March 29, 1959. At a congregational meeting on January 15, 1961, Rev. H. P. Ruppenthal was called and agreed to serve as minister. This gentleman had already retired and came out of retirement to serve our church. He was the driving force behind the building of the Northgate Presbyterian Church in Durham. Mr. Rupp, as he was called, was an excellent minister and was a very special person in the life of the church. His sermons were always good, but his best talent was in his relationship to our church members. He was so experienced that he could push you, lead me, pull her, and cajole him to get done what was needed. He was not only smooth, he was smoooooooooth. Here are a few examples, two of which are definitely not rumors. Mr. Rupp visited one member who had not attended church for a long time. As Mr. Rupp was getting out of his car, the member was coming out to leave. Mr. Rupp introduced himself and the other gentleman told him that he was in a hurry and didn’t have time to talk. Mr. Rupp replied, "That’s perfectly alright, but I want you to know you need the church a lot more than the church needs you." The member and his wife were there the next Sunday and missed very few between then and his death several years later. Hanky MacFadyen had been attending our church regularly since she and Frank had been married in 1951. For the latter five of those ten years she had taught Sunday School, directed Bible School, and had been there almost every Sunday for worship services. One Sunday, early in his tenure, Mr. Rupp gave an invitation from the altar for anyone who wanted to join the church to come down to the front immediately. Hanky, with her Baptist background, got down there quickly. When asked later why she hadn’t joined the church before, her succinct answer was direct and revealing, "Nobody had asked me." The church had scheduled a clean-up day and it was planned to work inside and on the yard also, seeding and fertilizing the lawn. Mr. Rupp called me the day before the clean-up saying, "I know you cannot get here tomorrow since you will be working, but did you say you will furnish the fertilizer?" Fertilizer had not been mentioned prior to this conversation, but my reply was a very simple "yes sir". I have always wondered who else couldn’t be there and was called to furnish the grass seed. Sadly, Mr. Ruppenthal suffered a cerebral hemmorhage in July, 1962 and our relationship was dissolved, effective December 31, 1962. During this very short 18 months, our membership grew by 38 members, 34 of them joining in 1961. We then called Charles A. Norwood at a congregational meeting, December 8, 1963. Mr. Norwood came to us from the Immanuel Presbyterian Church, China Grove, N. C. As you are aware, we Presbyterians move slowly on most things. The beginning of the history of our next educational building is a good example of this. On March 14, 1961, the officers agreed to establish a building fund for an educational building. On June 5, 1962, the building was again discussed and it was decided to continue collecting, with one officer saying, "Preacher, I like a large down payment." On December 20, 1964, 30 months later, a congregational meeting was called to discuss the advisability of building an educational building. Again no decision to build was made, but we did agree to have a committee consisting of one elder, one deacon, one member of Sunday School Department, one from Women of Church, one from Men of Church, and one he and one she elected from congregation at large. Each group was to appoint one member and to report back to the congregation. In just three months, this was accomplished at a congregational meeting on March 14, 1965, at which we elected C. W. Boyette and Madeline Eaker as members at large and approved the following members to serve: Thomas Dixon, Session, Margaret Dallas, Women of Church, Garland Dallas, The Diaconate, Hanky MacFadyen, Sunday School, Henry Newell, Sr., Men of Church. This group was to study needs space, and funding, and to report back to congregation. Later, Mr. Thomas Dixon moved and Dr. Frank MacFadyen was appointed to replace Mr. Dixon. This building discussion has been going on for four years and no agreement has been reached to even build it. There is no other mention of this matter in this book – there must be more later. What follows are some decisions that were made by the session that I thought were interesting: July 10, 1962 – The session approved allowing Pat Townsend to have a kindergarten in our fellowship hall and also agreed to erect a fence around the playground. Fee of $25 per month. June 14, 1962 – Session agreed to install bell system for Sunday School. June 23, 1963 – Dr. James M. Efird called to be supply minister. Since then, he just keeps turning up. March 12, 1964 – Session gave minister and clerk of session authority to transfer members to other churches so as to not delay the process by having to wait for the session to meet. April 14, 1964 – The session agreed to stop having assembly for the Sunday School. October 14, 1964 - The Session approved railing being placed on the steps entering the education building. December 8, 1964 – The Session agreed that Santa Claus would no longer be a part of Christmas program for children. December 13, 1964 – Santa Claus was reinstated for use in children’s Christmas program. February 1965 – The Session agreed that the Challenger’s Sunday School class would be responsible for equipping and furnishing personnel for the nursery. We did, too. We bought or brought the equipment and we were the personnel. I was relating this to C. W. Boyette recently and he replied, "I suppose that was alright, because, at that time, we also were responsible for furnishing the children for the nursery." Current members of Mebane Memorial who joined the church between 1959-66 are listed below: Libby & Joe Burke, Jr. – July 11, 1961 Mabel & Bob Cleveland – March 5, 1961 Madeline & Bruce Eaker – April 2, 1961 Mrs. E. M. Hedgepeth – October 3, 1961 Hanky MacFadyen – January 22, 1961 Henry Newell, Jr. – June 18, 1961 Robert D. Newell – June 18, 1961 Mrs. Frances Stem – October 3, 1961 Bill Dallas – June 17, 1962 Randy King – June 17, 1962 David Newell – June 17, 1962 Alice & C. W. Boyette – April 7, 1963 Cleo & Jesse Barrett – April 5, 1964 Clinton Wallace – December 5, 1965 Diana Dickerson Jeffries – December 24, 1966 Lynn MacFadyen – December 24, 1966 Our next Sessional Record covers the period from June 1966-February 1974. There was a lot that happened during these years. These were the years of Charles A. Norwood. More now about the building of our education building. The planning committee had developed some plans and the session called a congregational meeting so we might accept these plans and to elect a building committee if the plans were accepted. The meeting was held July 17, 1966 and the plans were approved but the building committee was not named because the congregation decided the two boards should name the committee and present these names to the congregation at a later date. This was done at a congregational meeting held August 7, 1966. The committee was composed of Alice Boyette, Jean Newell, Willard Abbitt, Jimmy Smith, and Frank MacFadyen. The next congregational meeting was held October 9, 1966 at which the congregation approved the building committee’s plans and elected a finance committee composed of Bob Cleveland, Thomas Bowles, Joe Burke, Jr., and Dr. Frank MacFadyen. At last the building could begin. The next mention of the building was in the minutes of the session’s meeting of February 27, 1967, at which the finance committee requested information as to how many pledges and how much cash we could expect to have and reported that the diaconate planned a kick-off campaign for the building fund on April 2, 1967. The final mention of the actual building was at the session’s meeting of March 25, 1968, at which the final report was given. The building was begun on October 10, 1967 and completed on February 1, 1968. the Sunday School rooms were used for the first time Sunday, February 4, 1968 and a family night supper was held in the fellowship hall on that same evening. The total cost of the structure was $39,297 which was financed with a $25,000 loan from CCB and $14,297 coming from our building fund. It included 3,136 square feet on two floors of 49’ x 39’, containing 6 classrooms upstairs, a fellowship hall downstairs, and the remodeling of the nursery into the kitchen with a pass through window. The contractors were George W. Kane, Roxboro Plumbing and Fred Long Co. The building would be dedicated at special services held the afternoon of Sunday, September 8, 1968. We had two big programs of revival under the leadership of ministers associated with the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship (PEF) located in Hopewell, Virginia. This was an independent group of ministers who did not have churches and did nothing but this type of ministry. Each series was eight days in length, beginning on a Saturday evening and ending on the second Sunday at morning worship services. (The last meeting usually lasted until Sunday afternoon, not morning.) In between was a preaching service each evening and a Bible study each morning which began at 6:45 a.m. The first revival or crusade was held December 1-8, 1968 under the leadership of Dick Little, who was young, had a sparkling personality, was a gifted speaker and was well received by our membership. He suggested we invite Mr. William Hill to lead another such program, if we wanted another such service. We did, so we invited Mr. Hill for the same type program for the week of November 15-23, 1969. With Mr. Hill, there were several requirements the session had to agree to before he would come, with the last being "You, yourselves, must agree to support this program by being here every service, unless providentially hindered, and please be advised that sports events, TV, club meetings, hunting and weekend trips are not providential." Mr. Hill was quite elderly, limped badly, was small of stature, and looked as if he might fall over, even when sitting. But, when he stepped to the pulpit, a new man emerged, as he had the voice of a giant, the conviction of Paul, the staying power of a marathon runner, and he preached as if he were living in the time of Moses and the pharaoh with an Old Testament philosophy. I don’t know if the PEF still exists, but we have never invited them back. On December 28, 1971, the officers were informed that Mebane Memorial was to receive an inheritance from the estate of Mrs. Louise Brooks Douglas Smith, sister of Carlyle Brooks. This inheritance would eventually amount to $65,185 and was received in two payments - $39,150 and $26,035. At a congregational meeting on April 16, 1973, the first $39,150 was used as follows: $3,829 to Presbytery for benevolence offering, $19,103 to pay off note for education building, $4,055 for repairs to church (sanctuary roof, sanctuary, upstairs hall and two bathrooms painted, new gutters, and church treated for termites) and the balance placed in money market account. The congregation agreed to pay for the new organ ($9,516) out of the second amount received and the balance was placed in the money market account. Since we recently discussed merging our two officer boards, another occurrence in August-September, 1971, is relevant. At a meeting of the session on August 1, 1971, a joint meeting was called to consider merging the boards. At the joint meeting, the officers agreed it was the thing to do, and the session, meeting separately, called a congregational meeting to present the question to the congregation. We made complete plans to combine the boards and went to congregational meeting on Sunday morning, September 19, 1971, confident we had a good plan that would be readily accepted by the congregation. There was not one positive comment made in favor of the idea of merging the boards and the motion was defeated by a close vote, but, defeated. Looking back, it was the correct decision. Now, more snippets of history from the Sessional Record. May 28, 1967 – Frank Wright was elected Trustee, replacing J. D. Mangum, who resigned. February 28, 1968 – The session agreed to allow Pictorial Directories of America to prepare Pictorial Directory for our church. The session also agreed to provide for monthly church newsletter. May 28, 1968 – It was recorded in minutes that Randolph King and his father, Mr. W. L. King, had painted the outside of the manse. September 15, 1968 – Madeline Eaker was elected as member of session. Significant because she is first female elected to a board in our church. Thank goodness, she was not the last. Madeline was ordained and installed on Sunday, December 29, 1968. April 28, 1969 – Presbytery had met in our church April 15, 1969 and the Women of the Church had prepared lunch for them. There is always a charge for these Presbytery lunches, and the women reported they had made $20 on the meal. The session very graciously allowed them to spend this money on any church project they so desired. It was also recorded that the Reverend Raymond Horn had filled the pulpit on April 20. Mr. Norwood’s mother had died and Mr. Horn, working then in Granville Presbytery office, came on very short notice. He didn’t get to the church that morning until 10:55 a.m. and explained he was new and didn’t know the location of the church and on that Sunday morning he couldn’t find any one who could tell him the location of the Presbyterian church. His topic for the sermon: "Where is the Church?" September 22, 1969 – Our church had been using a denominational type bulletin for some time and the session appointed a committee to develop a more personal type bulletin for our Sunday morning services. C. W. Boyette presented the new bulletin, the same one we are using today. The session approved the new bulletin, agreed to purchase 6,000 per year from Taylor Printing Company, Roxboro, N. C. and designated they be used the first time on the first Sunday in January, 1970. January 19, 1970 – Randolph King informed the session that the Challengers Sunday School Class had paid for the bulletins for the year 1970, and this has been a project of this class every year since. As another aside, this class has done more than pay for church bulletins. We have also contributed $500 to help replace the furnace in the fellowship hall, contributed $250 to the roof for the church building, donated the fire proof vault that is used in the minister’s study, paid for some of our softball uniforms, paid for the fire extinguishers located throughout the church, paid for the blinds when the fellowship hall was remodeled and have helped some needy families at holiday times. Isn’t it amazing what you can do with regular attendees who contribute $1 or $2 per week? As one of Walter Brennan’s TV characters was prone to say, "No brag, just fact." March 22, 1971 – Frank Wright was elected commissioner to attend a called combined meeting of Orange and Granville Presbytery, which was to be an organizational meeting prior to the combining of these two Presbyteries, effective January, 1972. April 19, 1971 – Frank Wright reported that the new combined Presbytery would be called Orange Presbytery. September 20, 1971 – Frank MacFadyen was elected commissioner to attend the last meeting of Granville Presbytery which was held October 19 at the First Presbyterian Church in Henderson, N. C. January 17, 1972 – W. L. King was elected commissioner to attend the January 18, 1972 meeting of Orange Presbytery which was held at the First Presbyterian Church in Burlington, N. C. February 21, 1972 – The Women of the Church requested and received permission to install a cabinet and sink in the choir room so they would be able to wash communion glasses. This room was chosen because the plumbing necessary to install the sink was present as that room was meant to be a kitchen. March 20, 1972 – Session agreed to recognize the accomplishments of the graduating high school seniors of our church by presenting them an appropriate gift at a Sunday morning worship service. April 17, 1972 – The session agreed the church seniors would be presented New English Bibles as their award. May 28, 1972 – Bibles were presented at Sunday morning worship service to Nan MacFadyen, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Frank MacFadyen, Leslie Bradsher, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D’Arcy Bradsher, Janie Harmon, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Harmon, Freda Chandler, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Fred Chandler, and Jimmy Barrett, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Barrett. July 9, 1972 – The session reluctantly agreed to accept the resignation of Mary King and Peggy Jones as directors of the Presbyterian kindergarten they had been leading since 1967. Mrs. King explained this was the first year of the public school kindergarten and that their school did not have enough enrollment and they had decided to no longer have this program. The clerk, with the concurrence of the session, made the following entry concerning the work of Mrs. King and Mrs. Jones. "Mrs. King and Mrs. Jones have been directors of the Presbyterian Kindergarten since 1965. This was a 9 a.m. to noon educational program for five year old pre-schoolers, held five days a week, coinciding with the public school year. Mrs. King and Mrs. Jones have done their jobs well in preparing these youngsters for their first year of academic schooling as each are adept at instructing the basic educational necessities which enable first graders to adapt to public school requirements. Of even greater importance, has been the social training and self discipline taught these students. Imagine the task of teaching twenty-five five year-old students selflessness, leadership, respect, and the ability to be quiet and to cooperate. Under the leadership of Mary and Peggy, the shy were encouraged to be more outgoing and the boisterous were hopefully tamed. All of this was accomplished in a spirit of love which both ladies exemplify in their daily lives." August 20, 1972 – This was a called meeting of the session held on a Sunday morning that Charles Norwood had gotten sick just prior to services. Undaunted, Bruce Eaker led services that morning. He did so well with no preparation, he was asked to fill the pulpit later when he would have preparation time. July 17, 1972 – Mr. Norwood requested that we investigate possibility of locating a year round day care facility for our church, since we no longer had a kindergarten program. This suggestion came to fruition on July 1, 1973, when the congregation approved a contract with the Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health Department for a day care center for retarded children. September 9, 1973 – The congregation agreed to purchase an Allen Organ from the Corley Music Company, Richmond, Va. at a cost of $9,516 which included a trade-in allowance for our old organ. The congregation was informed that previous requests had resulted in contributions of $3,600 having been received. The congregation agreed to pay the balance out of current expense funds, if possible. However, we found a better way. At another congregational meeting on November 4, 1973, we decided to pay for the organ, as the motion states, "Out of the recently received Louise Brooks Douglas Smith bequest." January 21, 1974 – Mr. Norwood informed the session that Mebane Memorial had received a check for $1,000 from Arlene Hall Work, now living in Katy, Texas. Mrs. Work, a former member of our church, sent this gift in memory of her mother, Mrs. Clara G. Hall, also a former member of our church who was very active, particularly in the Women of the Church. What this gift was used for will probably be mentioned in our next Sessional Record, but there are more gifts to be sent by Mrs. Work. Her generosity has been greatly appreciated. In retrospect, there were a lot of significant happenings during these first 7 ½ years of Mr. Norwood’s ministry. We built our educational building, had two eight day revivals, received a large inheritance, bought our present organ, decided, for the first time, to not merge the session and diaconate, had our first pictorial directory, elected our first female officer, had Presbytery for lunch, developed our present bulletin, agreed to a day care center for retarded children and started the now traditional giving of New English Bibles to our graduating high school seniors. There is one more tradition Charles Norwood began – the giving of a long stemmed red rose to the mother of newly born babies. This red rose signifies a new life present in our church. Current members who joined our church during this period are: Nancy Dallas (Mrs. Jimmy) – September 23, 1968 Polly Wallace (Mrs. Clint) – December 14, 1969 Trevie Dunn – December 14, 1969 Angie Barrett Wilson (Mrs. Sam) – December 24, 1969 Patricia Barrett – December 24, 1969 Jean D. Dickerson – December 24, 1969 Anne Hughes – December 24, 1969 Kim King Rand (Mrs. Bill) – December 24, 1969 Victor Powley – March 7, 1971 Anne Powley (Mrs. Vic) – March 7, 1971 Victor Powley, Jr. – December 24, 1971 Judy Newell (Mrs. Henry Jr.) – December 17, 1972 John Powley – May 26, 1974
January 1, 2001
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