Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-10-24

Vile, 8. c., who Is an honor (B., 81
graduate Of the Citadel academy, class
Of 1900, has accepted a position as in
structor in the Kings Mountain Mill
tary academy. He arrived Monday af-
ternoon and will take charge from
date.
lpROCK HILL A. r. p. CHURCH.
There was a great gathering Of "Sece-
ders" in Rock Hill last Sunday. They
came from the town and the country
Immediately surrounding. and there
were few stray pilgrims from distant
points. The occasion was the dedica-
tion Of the handsome new church which
has filled the dreams OF all good A. r.
P.'s from the earliest settlement OF
Rock Hill, and which for the past five
years has commanded the indefatiga-
BILE efforts OF ;Rey.gA. 8. Rogers and his
devoted little band of ofsco-laborerB.. The
church has been practically completed
for nearly two years; but the Associ-.
ate Reformed spirit in the congrega-
ton was too strong to permit its ded-
ication until after it had been paid for.
and that Is the reason that the formal
ceremony was postponed until last
Sunday. X
The exercises were commenced at II
o'clock. The church was filled to over
flowing by A. r. P.'s and members Of
other congregations. A carefully ar
ranged program, distributed previous
Iv ONO hlod ox,or1,hodx, y,rooan& 20 o,,<a,,
into satisfactory participation. The
service was opened with an organ pre-
lude followed by the anthem, gThe
Lord is My Light" and then Divine
Blessing was invoked, after which the
entire congregation Joined in singing
the grand old One Hundredth Psalm.
After the reading Of the Scripture
lesson from Kings, vii, %, Rev. W. e.
Thayer. pastor Of the Baptist church,
offered prayer, and the congregation
made its weekly offering for various
church purposes There was solo by
Miss Jennie Edwards, of Due West,
most beautifully rendered, and by this
time the congregation was in proper
frame to listen to Rev. DR.. ]. G.. CAL
loway's able dedicatory sermon. DR..
Galloway took his text from Cor. vi,
|11-"And such were some Of YOU" His
subject was "The Saving Power Of the
Gospel" and the sermon, which was
one Of unusual power, commanded the
wrapt attention Of the congregation un-
til It's conclusion.
Following the sermon, the congrega-
tion sung Psalm 8:
+Lord God Of hosts, how lovely
The place where Thou dost dwell"
A most appropriate feature Of the ex-
ercises was the reading of a historical
sketch of the church. The sketch had
been prepared by the pastor, Rev. A. 8.
Rogers, and was read by him. 1t tells
the whole story, or rather all that can
properly be told, Of the trials, difficult.
ties and triumphs Of the undertaking.
1t Is as follows:
On July the 4th, 1885, the present pas
tor entered this town In obedience to
an order from the board Of home mis-
sions. He found a most discouraging
field. There was no organized church,
no Sabbath school, no place Of worship;
ISs =
whose hearts were sick from hope defer
red. But this was no surprise, as the
board had given him some intimation
Of this before he arrived, besides some
of, the brethren volunteered to- express
their doubts. about the wisdom Of the
board in entering this city at that late
date. One said: THAT there never
would be an A. R. p. church in Rock
Hill while the sun Shines" However
that glorious orb has not lost any of
It's pristine splendor, and today 1t comes
through the eastern gates putting its
morning kiss upon the golden spire Of
an A. R. P. church in the city Of Rock
Hill.
But we would not censure anyone for
their adverse opinions, for they were
expressions Of an honest mind, while
the heart hoped it would be otherwise.
The first service was held July 7th 1896,
In the Hutchison hall, commonly known
as the Armory. At this service there
were 63 persons present, consisting
largely Of members from other denomi-
nations. The audience grew from day
to day, and before the close of the sum-
mer we had as many as 15o. During
that summer, a Ladies' Society was or
ganized with a membership Of IL; q
Childrens Society, with IA.
On September the 30th, 1895, the pas
tor was accompanied by DR.. w. F.
Strait, as commissioner to the meet
ing of the First Presbytery, at Clover,
s. G. At that meeting the presbytery
took the following action in regard to
the Rock Hill mission: a. THAT this
congregation be fully organized, and
Rev. ]. S. Moffatt, with two members
Of his session, go there at an early date
and attend to said organization. (2)
hof ho nf I,o
ed over to the board Of home missions,
and that the superintendent Of mis-
sions Of this presbytery cooperate
with the board in the work Of supplies.
(3) That committee be appointed by
this presbytery to cooperate with q
committee Of five to be appointed by
the Rock Hill church, to raise funds
to erect house Of worship in Rock
Hill, and that the committee from this
presbytery consist Of Rev. o. Johnson,
Hon. D. E. Finley, and Rev. c. E. Nc
Donald. &C.,.
After this meeting of presbytery the
present pastor returned to the semina-
ry to finish his theological course, and
the mission was supplied as directed in
the above report.
On November 10. 1896, Revs. J. 8.
Moffatt and Jno. T. Chalmers with ell
ders Joseph Wylie and Matthew White,
came to Rock Hill and completed the
organization of an A. r. P. church,
which consisted of 26 members, with
the following officers, viz: Elders, DR..
w. F. Strait, r. T. Wright and J. M.
Lauridge; deacons, Jno. A. Black and ].
L. White. OF the five elders present on
that occasion, four have gone to their
reward.
At the close Of the seminary in June,
1896, the present pastor was returned to
this field. That summer the board ap-
five years, which action was confirm