Community
Presbyterian Church had its beginning in a Sunday School
started by Miss Fannie B. Gray, a dedicated Christian
woman from
Massachusetts, who would
become cashier of Pinehurst, Inc. Miss Gray was
concerned that there was no Sunday School for the children
and employees of Pinehurst, Inc. and other year-round
residents.
Through her efforts and those of Mr. Leonard Tufts,
son of the founder of Pinehurst, the first Sunday School
classes were held in 1908, in the building that housed
the small public school. Children gathered there each
week for study and worship. Soon, their parents
joined them, and on June 15, 1920 , the Pinehurst Presbyterian Church was organized
by Fayetteville Presbytery with 28 charter members.
As attendance grew, the fledgling congregation moved
to the newly-constructed Community House, which later
became a fire house still in use today.
After worshipping there for 15 years, the congregation
broke ground for the present church building on
Sept. 9, 1929. The first service was held
in the new sanctuary on Sept. 7, 1930.
The church became a community center as well as a house
of worship. Several civic organizations, as well
as the Boy Scouts, met there. The church still
sponsors Boy Scout Troop 7 which has been continuously
chartered since 1926. During the years of World
War II, the church was a home away from home for many
of the service men stationed at nearby Fort
Bragg and
Camp MacKall.
The name of the church evolved from Pinehurst Presbyterian
Church in 1920, to Community Presbyterian Church in
the 70s, having been known as simply
Community Church
for a time, for several possible
reasons. It was begun as the first year-round church
which drew worshippers from several denominations. Indeed,
there were nine denominations represented among the
28 charter members. The fact that it met in the Community
House, then in turn became a meeting place for the community
could also be a contributing factor. The name is apropos
as many organizations today find it a welcoming place
for their meetings.
A
mission outreach of the church, McDonalds Chapel, was
organized in 1933. It, too, began as a Sunday School,
in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Archie McDonald. A
church building was erected in 1940, adjacent to the
McDonald family cemetery on the outskirts of Pinehurst.
The Chapel was organized as McDonalds Chapel Presbyterian
Church by Coastal Carolina Presbytery in 2002.
As Community Presbyterian Church celebrated its 75th
anniversary during 1995, the fellowship hall and administrative
wing additions were dedicated on Oct. 8. Today,
the congregation of more than 800 members worships each
Sunday in a traditional service in the sanctuary, and
in a blended service that meets in the fellowship hall.
In 1999 a memorial prayer garden was developed in the
courtyard. It is a beautiful and tranquil place
for meditation, prayer or comfort, and is a reminder
of the church's long history of planting seeds of faith.
"And
some seed fell on good ground and grew and
made a hundred times more."
........Luke
8:8
