Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on October 31, 2019.

Close to 100 parishioners and guests attended the Bluemont Presbyterian Church’s 100^th year anniversary on Sunday October 20^th.  The celebration included a dedication to the expansion of the congregation’s fellowship hall, located just behind the church.

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, on the border of Patrick and Carroll County, the Bluemont is one of the historic rock churches that Reverend Bob Childress, The Man Who Moved a Mountain, had a hand in constructing.  Built of wood in 1919 through the efforts of fifteen charter members, the church was faced with fieldstone in the mid 1940’s.

Ken Ivy, a church elder who oversaw the fellowship hall expansion, addressed the crowd in front of the renovated building following Sunday morning church services.  “This is a great day to celebrate our past – our 100 years – as we look back and see where we’ve come and who we are.  It’s also important to look forward,” he said, in reference to the hall expansion, which doubled the width of the building from 16 x 16 feet to 16 x 32 and added a kitchen and bathrooms.

Ivy thanked all involved in the construction expansion, saying, “a lot of people put a lot of work into it,” before asking, Reverend Stewart Childress, a third-generation Childress pastor, to say a few words. Childress, who was the church’s pastor for 15 years before recently retiring, referred to the first dedication of the fellowship hall building in 2008, before its expansion.

“On that day, I stated that this sacred place was being set apart for the furthering of God’s kingdom here on earth, and I’m confident as we dedicate this new addition that it will further enhance that continued commitment,” he said.

Childress read from a photo montage to be hung in the building, honoring Cecil and Pauline Cock, who were instrumental in getting the original hall built. Ivy read from a plaque commemorating the new dedication: “This new building is dedicated glory of God for the purpose of Christian fellowship and ministry.  We gratefully acknowledge the vison of everyone who made this day possible. We recognize all those who have generously contributed gifts of their time and financial support.”

The church’s interim pastor, Reverend Loren Mitchell, led the group in prayer before a ceremonious ribbon cutting. Inside the renovated building, the full-house hall was used for the first time for fellowship, potluck feasting, watching a slide show of the church’s history and listening to scheduled speakers.

Reverend Childress, who enjoyed the fellowship luncheon with his wife and mother, said he was only 3 ½ when his grandfather Bob Childress Sr. died and only remembers being held by his mother or grandmother at his grandfather’s funeral. Childress’s late father, Bob Childress Jr., served as pastor of Bluemont from 1975 – 1996. His uncle, Bryan Childress, also served as a Bluemont pastor.

Pat Spangler (pointing out where the county line is and the continental divide), whose family has roots in Floyd County, grew up in Meadows of Dan where he attended Bluemont’s sister church, the Mayberry Presbyterian Church, also off the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Bluemont. Spangler recalled that when he was a child, his aunt and uncle housed Bob Childress Sr. in their home when he traveled from Richmond to Patrick County. Spangler and his wife spend part of the year in Florida, where he was a Geology professor, and part of the year in Fancy Gap. They still attend the Mayberry church when they are home.

“This little church has been going on for so long. We want to make sure it continues,” said Bluemont parishioner elder Libby Wilcox. Wilcox, who helped with the fellowship hall expansion, pointed out the words on the 100^th Year Anniversary Program, “Sharing Christ From the Mountaintop.” “That’s our new mission statement,” she said.