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Origin of Bethpage
Name /
First Cemetery
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Early Church Leaders
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Move to Present Location
Centennial Celebration
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Bicentennial Celebration
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Bethpage Cemetery
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Cemetery Register
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Session House
Educational Building
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New Sanctuary
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Fellowship Hall
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Manses
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Bethpage Memorial Center
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Bethpage Tribute
Web Site Home Page
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The Early Years
Born in a Scotch-Irish preaching mission on the banks of the Buffalo
Creek at the southern edge of Rowan County, Bethpage Church was
officially organized in the fall of 1794 in the small but attractive
town of Enochville. Nearby was a small academy and thousands of
acres of farm land, watered by numerous streams that passed through the
piedmont of North Carolina. <top> |
Near the Enochville site
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Fresco over ALTAR in Betfage, Israel |
Why "Bethpage"?
We don't know why the particular name of
Bethpage was chosen. There are no references to that particular name
in this area which predate the formation of the church. "Beth - page"
is the name of the small village just east of Jerusalem where Jesus began
his journey on the donkey on Palm Sunday. A small chapel and nunnery
exists there now, including the mounting stone which tradition says Jesus
used to get on the donkey.
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English and Arabic
Betfage Church
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Betfage entrance |
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The traditional
"mounting stone" inside Betfage Church,
where Jesus began his Palm Sunday Journey |
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Spelling Changes
The name Bethpage
(our spelling),
Bethphage
(the Bible's spelling),
and Betfage
(current transliteration
of the Hebrew and Arabic
in the Holy Land)
means "house of unripe figs."
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In North Carolina |
"Old Bethpage" cemetery in Enochville |
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Since our congregation's
official beginning in 1794, the name of Bethpage has become common in our
community. The young Bethpage Church was honored to host the very
first meeting of the Presbytery of Concord on Christmas Eve, 1795, which was
probably held in the log structure at the top of the hill above the creek.
That 10-acre site, now known as "Old Bethpage," included the first
Bethpage Cemetery. The Bethpage United Methodist Church now sits
on that property. <top> |
The Reverend John Carrigan was the first pastor of Bethpage Church,
serving from 1795 until 1807 and again from 1815 until his death in 1822.
The early leaders were Elders James Gibson, Oliver Harris, and Mitchell
Flemming and Deacons John Still, Peter Rumple, Thomas Black, and Simeon
Winecoff.
In addition to its own
growth, the Bethpage congregation has organized and sponsored four other
churches: Bethpage United Presbyterian Church of Concord (1866),
Gilwood Presbyterian Church of Concord (1889), First Presbyterian Church of
Kannapolis (1909), and Kirkwood Presbyterian Church of Kannapolis (1942).
Moving Into Cabarrus County
In 1839, under the leadership of
Reverend J.E. Morrison, the congregation moved about 3 miles south into
Cabarrus County to its present location. The congregation accepted
Sophia Overcash's offer of 50 acres of land for $100 and proceeded to erect
a white frame sanctuary (now called affectionately "the old church"), which
was used faithfully from 1842 until 1957.
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The 1839 Sanctuary |
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Inside the 1839 church (1950's photo) |
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When the congregation held its Centennial Celebration in September,
1894, we invited the Reverend Dr. Jethro Rumple, a son of
Bethpage Church, who as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of
Salisbury from 1860 until 1906, had become a prominent theologian and
historian of Cabarrus and Rowan Counties, to speak on "Christian Unity."
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When the congregation celebrated
its Bicentennial Celebration in September, 1994, we invited
Elder
Price H. Gwynn III, a Ruling Elder from Steele Creek Presbyterian
Church in Charlotte and the Moderator of the 202nd (1990) General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA, who spoke on the parable of the
prodigal son, in a sermon entitled "With Open Arms."
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Rev. Dr. Jethro Rumple |
Moderator Price H. Gwynn |
Cemeteries
The Old Bethpage Cemetery in Enochville
was complemented by the establishment of a new (1840) cemetery at the
current site. This cemetery includes a number of unmarked graves from
the War Between the States. In addition to our two cemeteries, there
are two cemeteries maintained by the Bethpage United Presbyterian Church of
Concord, which include graves of African Americans since the very early
1800s. At the main entrance to our current cemetery, there is a
Cemetery Register, located in a stonework mailbox, which helps visitors
locate grave sites at this location and also directs visitors to the three
other cemeteries which are related to our extended church family.
This Cemetery Register is available in .PDF format. Adobe Reader is required to open
this file. If you do not have Adobe Reader, click on the
icon below to download the program to your computer.
Once you have the Adobe
Reader program on your
computer, you can open the file by clicking on:
Cemetery
Register
(updated 5/29/08)
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Bethpage Cemetery 1840 |
Cemetery Directory |
The Session House
The oldest standing building that we have is the
Session House. Built in 1860, this small white one-room building
was the official meeting place of the Session (the governing body of he
church.) It was also used for catechism class and for Sunday School
classes. Originally built behind the 1840 sanctuary, it was moved to a
location near the cemetery in 1948 to allow for the construction of the new
educational building. The Session House was renovated and restored in
1994. Several of the pews from the original sanctuary are now used in
the Session House. <top>
The 1860 Session House
and the 1994 Bicentennial Garden |
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In
1948-1949, the congregation built an Educational Building, pastor's
study, recreational room, and kitchen. Members of the congregation
built the building themselves. The lumber was cut from trees on the
church property. Charles Cannon, President of Cannon Mills of
Kannapolis, sent brick masons to the church to lead and to teach the men of
the church to brick the outside of the building.
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The 1948 Educational
Building |
The Sanctuary
In 1956-1957, the congregation built a
new sanctuary in the style of architecture
that had become a tradition in the
Kannapolis area:
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"The Bethpage Presbyterian sanctuary is best & most simply classified
as Georgian. It, as most things in the U.S., is not pure, but
bares plenty of American interpretations related much to budget and
available materials. Georgian is essentially British Late
Renaissance dating from the early 1700's to the mid 1800's. Most
notable architects of the style include Sir Christopher Wren & James
Gibbs. Both did lots of work in London. One of the
earliest, best & most influential examples of Georgian church design
is St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, by Gibbs. He draws a lot
from Wren's work. One of the key features of this church is the
steeple rising from behind the portico. This feature was much
criticized at the time, but has obviously withstood the test of time."
-- J. Grason Hudson, III, AIA, President, WKWW Architects |
There is a wonderful story that the new chimes
installed in the tower of the new sanctuary played on schedule in 1957 when
the old sanctuary was being torn down. The chimes ordinarily played
hymns in a random order. When they automatically began during the
demolition of the old sanctuary, they played "Faith of our fathers, living
still . . . "
The 1839 Sanctuary |
The 1956 Sanctuary |
Interior of 1956 Sanctuary (2003 photo)
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The 2002 Ordination Service of Our
Associate Pastor |
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The Fellowship Hall Building
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Our Fellowship Hall building was completed as a part of the 1994
Bicentennial Celebration. The building is used over 200 times each
year for church, school, and community activities, dinners, receptions, and
meetings. <top>
West side entrances |
The Memorial Garden and east side
entrance |
Interior of Fellowship Hall |
Reception for Women of Charlotte Presbytery |
The Homes for the Pastors
Over the years the congregation has built three homes for its pastors.
The first and third manses were built just north of the church and the
second manse was built across the street from the sanctuary's front door.
First Manse - 1885 |
Second Manse - 1937 |
Third Manse - 1965 |
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The Bethpage Memorial Center |
The Bethpage Memorial Center, owned and operated by the Bethpage Home
Extension Club, is located north of the church on Pagemont Drive.
Built in the 1940s, it has been the center of the community for square
dances and other community events. <top>
Bethpage Memorial Center |
At the conclusion of the 1994 Bicentennial
Celebration, Alice Moody wrote these words:
Bethpage Tribute
We call up images from the past
and we hear the voices of the years
resounding our mission.
We can hear them still -- they make us one.
And then the vision comes so clearly seen.
The spirit of the past propels us into the future.
Oh Bethpage! We hesitate, but briefly,
as our human nature doth restrict our swiftness of movement.
Our hearts are longing for this end:
To serve the Lord our God.
This is the common thread that binds.
And though this plot of land has seen
the changes the years can bring,
the vision of the church is steadfast, strong.
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The area around Bethpage Church has changed radically
in these 210 years and will continue to change in the next few years as
hundreds of new homes are built in our area. Our mission is to share
the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all those in our community and to bring
together our resources to serve the needs of people throughout the world.
Bethpage Church and
Community
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Return to Bethpage Presbyterian Church Home page.
This page was last edited:
Friday May 30, 2008 |
