Church of the Week

From the Greensboro North Carolina Main Public Library, Newspaper Microfiche.

Greensboro News & Record:

Saturday, September 8 1984

Page B7

Church of the Week

Mount Carmel United Methodist Church, located on the Mt. Carmel Road in Stokesdale, is 106 years old with the church and its surrounding property being in Forsyth, Guilford and Stokes Counties. The pastor is the Rev. Herman Billings who has been at the church for seven years.

The church is planning its annual Homecoming Day on September 9 with worship services at 11 a.m., following Sunday School at 10 a.m. The church plans for its annual revival on November 11-18. The church has a singing service every fourth Saturday night at 7 p.m.

The church haad its origin in a brush arbor. John Henderson Satterfied, his wife Susan, an orphan youth named John Powers, who Mrs. Satterfield raised in her come, and community residents built the brush arbor in which services were held in 1878.

John Powers conducted the first service in the brush arbor. Logs were used for pews. Services in the brush arbor continued until November 26, 1894, when Israel Roberson and his wife deeded one acre of land to a group of men made up of John Satterfield, William Ricks, S.A. Dillon, Dodson Nelson, James Johnson, William Branson and James Self. There were appointed church trustees of the property and were ordered to establish a permanent church building.

In the years 1894 and 1895, a weatherboard building was constructed. The first Sunday School met in the building on May 12, 1895. The enrollment was 91 and the collection for the day was 51 cents.

W.A. Branson was appointed the first Sunday School superintendent. The church continued to grow and over the years John Henderson Satterfield, W.A. Branson, C.M. Cook, W.B. Fulp and R.W. Calhoun have played leading roles in keeping the church moving ahead. C.M. Cook has the longest record of superintendent of the Sunday School having served off and on for around 20 years.

A county Sunday School convention was established in 1916 and it continued for fifty years.

Through the years the following have served as pastors of Mount Carmel:

P.E. Parker, 1900-01;

T.H. Pegram, 1901-02;

Dr. V.E. Edwards 1903-05;

A.R. Bell, 1906-07;

L.T. Hendren, 1908-11;

G.W. Williams, 1912-13;

T.G. Folger, 1914;

R.L. Doggett, 1915;

M.T. Steel, 1916-17;

T.V. Crouse, 1918-22;

J.H. Capts and H.M. Williams, 1923;

M.B. Leftwich, 1924-27;

C.F. Tate, 1928-30;

J.J. Edwards, 1931-34;

J.E. B. Houser, 1935-37;

T.W. Alwright, 1938-40;

A.D. Shelton, 1941-42;

IlJ. Terrell, 1943;

S.R. Ward, 1944-64;

Troy Pegram, 1964-66;

D.B. Martin, 1966-69;

James Trollonger, 1970;

Charles E. Page, 1971-73;

Tom Peacock, 1974;

Roger Bogan, 1974-77;

Louis Dodson, 1978;

and the present pastor who has served since 1979.

The Sunday School was closed July 20, 1930 due to the hard times of the depression days. On March 11, 1931, W.R. Gentry of Stokesdale reorganized the Sunday School and sought to keep the church in operation. He was the spiritual leader of Mount Carmel until 1934 when he turned the work over to C.M. Cook who held the position of superintendent until 1946.

In 1962, the church building was expanded and three Sunday School rooms were added. The interior of the church was remodeled with sheetrock and new light fixtures were installed. A well was drilled and restroom facilities were installed in 1978. In 1964 the exterior of the church was bricked and a new steeple added. In 1976, central heat and air conditioning were added.

A fellowship hall was constructed in 1978.

On September 6, 1961, Mary Satterfield McCuiston gave a plot of land for a cemetery to the Satterfield, McCuiston and Mattie Fulp families. In June 1967, Hubert and Delilah Holland deeded another plot for a cemetery and it was combined with the earlier cemetery and deeded to the church. IN 1977, another small plot was deeded to the church by Ollie Beaman.

Mount Carmel became a United Methodist Church in 1969. From 1895 to 1901 the church was on the Forsyth Circuit and from 1901 to 1949 it was on the Stokesdale Circuit. Then in 1949 to 1969 it was placed on the Rockingham Circuit, then back on the Stokesdale Circuit form 1969 to 1972. IN 1973 it was switched to the Flat Rock Charge. Since 1974, it has been on the Huntsville Circuit.

Mount Carmel United Methodist Church has come from a brush arbor in its 106 years of existence. Many of the Christian people who have worshipped there have had their last rites at the church and are buried in the church cemetery.

Members say it will stand as an example of a Christian church which serves it community as well as its own members and their families. They say they still are working with their objective being a growing and serving Christian fellowship.

Much information about the church was compiled for the 100th anniversary of Mount Carmel in 1978 from old record and the Commission on Archives and History in Statesville. It was researched and written by Delilah Holland.

The pastor, the Rev. Mr. Billings and his wife reside at 3509 Kivette Drive in High Point.

Transcribed by Kathleen Dillon

Picture by Doug Dillon