The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-09
cnmherIanh Pre.hrterian church.

Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
 Ranking among the first in growth and development figureing prominent fly in the religious life of Montgom- cry, one of the youngest in years and weak from standpoint in member" ship. the First Cumberland Presbyter- ian Church of Montgomery is an ex- ample of what concentrated effort ana determination of purpose on the part of the two or three. gathered togeth- tober 1901, there came to Montgomery from Petersburg. Tenn, from that State where Cumberland Presbyterianlsm Is strongest, Rev. Walter NJ. Crawford. a young minister of the Cumberland de- nomination. There was not single known member of the. cumberland denomination in Montgomery at the time, but with the strong faith and the determination that has marked his ministry in the city he went to work and on October 20, or the same year, he held service in the Y. M C. A. rooms. which at that time were located on Commerce street. On November IT, the First Cumberland Presbyterian ChurcS of Montgomery was organized with eleven members. The little congregation continued to meet at the rooms of the Y. M. C. A., and when the Association moved into the home On Perry street, now owned by the 1OunE W oman CuFfSbAHu ASSO- citation, the congregation of the Cum Iberland Church held It's services there. until in May, 1902, lot was bought | on the corner of Catoma and Church streets and a tent was greeted in which services were held until winter.
 One of the greatest revivals ever | held in Montgomery by any church was 1 the service held at the tent by MT. Crawford during April and May 1902. With the advent of the winter season the congregation was forced to give up ] the tent and go back 10 the Young Mems Christian Association where they remained until June 1903. when on the
 first Sunday of the month. services
 were held for the first time in the new church, which had been erected on
 tho lot bought the year previous
 The day of the dedication of the new church, the membership nad grown to ] sixty. The little congregation had
 bought and paid for the lot on which l to build the church at cost of S6,-
 000.00 and had paid $1500.0o for the church building. The building already is the Sunday school department of the
 plan of the entire church plant, which the congre reSation expects to finish with
 in the next few years and which will 1 cost an additional $30,000.00. Furni
 ture costing $6.0o0,00 was placed in the church. and all in all, the building. when converted into the exclusive use
 for which 1t was purposed, will be one of the most attractive and comfor- table Sunday school apartments in
 Montgomery. The church has now a membership of 125 and growing all the
 while. In the spring of 1905. the
 Manse was built at a cost of $4.000.00.
 The manse was built on 6 part of the
 original church lot and Is a two story frame structure of pleasing outward
 appearance and with all modern con
 veniences and comforts.
 Of the life and work of the church,
 1t can be said that the congregation is especially active. The church Is free from all debt has a flourishing Sunday school; a mid week prayer meeting and | a Ladies Aid Society and a Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. There are | five Ruling Elders-RObert Lewis, George J. Crosby. O.. F. Warner, Otto
 Krause and G. ". Boyd. The work of MT. Crawford in the organization and
 the service of the church has been.
 two fold. While acting as pastor and
 building up the membership of the Ichurch and ministering to the spiritual
 needs of his people he has gone about
 over the State to the friends of the denomination and collected the money
 with which the lot was bought. the church manse were built. and until the church had a membership self sup porting he had to look to himself for his own salary.
 Tn the State of A6aba1na, there are only a few churches of the Cumber- land Presbvterian denomination and in the entire State. there are about 5000 members. Mir. Crawl Jrd has received number Of calls to churcheS with larger memberships. where the salaries are greatly in excess of what he is re- ceivinR here, but A:s heart Is in the work here and to all the flattering calls, he has turned awGv, and now that the membership of his church is large enough to be self supporting, he says that he is going to devote his entire time to pastoral work in the future.