The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1938-07-07
Pr bytery To
Meet There For
Special Service
Dedication Starts AT 2 O'Clock.
Business Session Of Presbytery
To Commence At Ten.
EXPECT LARGE CROWD

"A ldISG GIOWu VI 1OSOy CC14oI1
ministers, members and friends
from Ashe and various sections of
the state will gather at the Obids
Presbyterian church next Tuesday
for the two-fold purpose of attend
ing the ,31st. stated meeting of the
Presbytery of Winston Salem and
the formal dedication of the beauti-
full new Obids church building that
was recently completed, Rev. r. H.
Stone announces.
This will be the summer session of
the Presbytery and it will convene
at 10 o'clock in the morning with
DR.. j. r. Cunningham, the moder-
ator who is pastor of the First Pres
byterian church in Winston-Salem,
presiding.
Following the election of moder-
ator and clerk and reports from var
ious committees, DR.. Cunningham
will deliver a special sermon.
Lunch will be served on the
ground in picnic style and upon re-
assembling, the appointment of
standing committees for the Presby-
terry will be made Committee re-
ports and other business matters
will then be disposed of at that time.
At 2 o'clock in the afternoon the
dedication service will be held. DR..
Cunningham will preside over the
meeting and DR.. E. E. Gillespie, of
Greensboro, superintendent of Home
Missions in North Carolina who
started the Presbyterian work in the
Obids community just prior to 1900,
will deliver the dedicatory sermon.
DR.. Gillespie did some splendid
foundation work in Ashe county for
the Presbyterian church and there
are many who remember him and
his work here in the county. At
ter leaving here he spent 18 years
as pastor of church in York, S. c.,
and has done home mission work for
the past IA years.
Revs. E. Wayne Thompson and
John w. Luke, former ministers to
the congregation, will have parts in
the service. The history of the
church will beogiven by Jesse Bak-
er, one of the founders of the church
and henderson, the board of eld-
ers since the beginning. Special
musical selections will be rendered
by Miss Evelyn Brown, of West
Jefferson.
Before the turn of the century,
DR.. Gillespie started the foundation
for the church. He preached in the
school building and received num-
Der of persons into the Presbyterian
church. Associated with him was
Rev. John H. Grey.
These two men were followed by
Rev. Allen Jones, Jr., whose minis
try was also fruitful. Next came
Rev. S. Calvin Smith, who assisted
in the organization of the Obids
Presbyterian church in 1904. He left
in 1905 and went to Texas where he
later died.
Immediately after the organiza-
ton of the church, frame build
ing was erected and this edifce
served a useful life until Septem-
Der, 1886. At that time the congre-
cation, under the fine leadership of
Rev. r. H. Stone, who has served the
church since 1923, decided to build
a brick building on the same site.
After Is months of working, plan
ming, soliciting and praying, the
handsome new building, with the
Sunday School rooms in the base
ment, was completed. The building
is easily worth 100000 and yet on
ly about $1,000 in actual cash
was spent on it. The other was
made up by gifts Of labor and ma
terial by members of the church and
outside friends. It is estimated that
over 125 persons who do not live in
Ashe county contributed to this
church.
The church has So members.
Preaching service is held twice
monthly. It has a weekly Sunday
School and a Woman's Auxiliary.
The elders Of the curch are J. c.
Crawford, Jesse Baker, c. R. Jack
son and J. NJ Galloway.
This makes the sixth Presbyterian
church in Ashe county that Rev. r.
H. Stone has assisted in erecting.
The others are West Jefferson, Lam
sing, Foster Memorial, Big Ridge
and Gillespie. All of them are built
of either stone or brick and should
endure for many years.
Mr.. Stones work stands out con-
spicuously in Ashe and in the South
ern Presbyterian church.