Thursday, March 31, 2011

Christian Youth Fellowship

I will be doing two posts on March 31st to make up for not being able to post on April 1st.


Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557

For many years I was a member of the Christian Youth Fellowship.  We had a wonderful time at our meetings, visiting other churches, going to conventions and attending Youth camp.  We made lasting friends to this day.  We would go to Lynchburg, Danville, Bedford, Richmond, Craig Springs, Rocky Mount and Martinsville.  We went to other places, but these are the ones that stand out in my memory.   Shirley Owen was always there for us taking us to conventions, movies and various entertainments.  She was so giving and dedicated and I for one will always appreciate all the things that she did.

Mama had a article from the Altavista Journal January 20, 1972.  It was written by our own church member Shirley Kinsley.  Shirley Kinsley was the Gretna News Correspondent for the Altavista Journal.  That just may be why our youth group was in the paper so much.  Thank you, Shirley.

CYF meeting

The CYF of Gretna Christian Church met Monday night.  Susan Shelton presented the program, Teenage Problems, and group discussion followed.  Janice Bailey, president conducted the business session.
Plans were made to observe Youth Week, the first week in February, with members taking care of Sunday School classes and participating in the worship service; also for a group outing in February, the date to be announced later.
Janice Bailey served refreshments.


Gretna Christian Church always allowed us to grow.  I remember one Sunday Susan Shelton and I preached the Sunday service.   I don't remember being frightened, but excited and happy.

In the 70's we went to Euclid Christian Church for the weekend for a Youth meeting.  We stayed at different parishioner's homes.  We were all made to feel very welcome.  One night Euclid had a beatnik night.  I guess that would be close to what you would call it.  The room was  lit by candles and we had musicians playing the guitar doing a sort of Dobie Gillis thing with a seventies twist.   It was a blast.  Eventually during these youth conventions we made friends that we would hook up with at all the meetings and write letters to each other.  Yes, write letters through the U. S. Postal System.  Technically the world has really changed, but I am sure there are still kids going to church meetings, hooking up with friends and e-mailing each other.  What I am trying to say is that at our church we were encouraged to be a part of everything.    We discussed religion, politics, school.  We discussed everything and we were not put in the back.  We were allowed to participate.
This was a church that wasn't only about Sunday, but everyday.

Thank you

Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey
Linda Dalton

Gretna Christian Church newspaper articles Danville Bee

Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557



I have been searching the Danville Register Bee newspaper for any mention of Gretna Christian Church.  Danville  is a city approximately 40 miles from Gretna.  It is the closest major city to Gretna.  So I began my search at Ancestry.com in 1922 and so far these are the articles that I found.

Danville Bee  March 21, 1929
Gretna News
Revival Services will begin at the Christian church here either Thursday or Friday before the Fifth Sunday in this month and will continue thru the First Sunday in April when the new church will on that day will be dedicated.

(I am typing these articles verbatim.  It looks like there were a few typographical errors.)

Danville Bee June 29, 1929
Gretna News
Dr. A. F. Ramsey will preach at Gretna Christian Church on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

Danville Bee August 21, 1933
Gretna News
The revival services which began Monday at the Christian church are being well attended.  The Reverend Mr. Hasselvander, of Danville, is doing the preaching.

Ancestry.com says they have the Danville Bee from 1922 to 1977, but when I logged on to search there was a gap between 1933 to 1950.  That was a major disappointment.  I checked the Danville Register and they only have 1961 to 1977.   However, I did find that Dr. A. F. Ramsey was still preaching at the church in the late twenty's.  If you will remember Dr. Ramsey was mentioned in one of Reverend Coffey's articles about building a church in a day.

P. P. Hasselvander was the minister of the Jefferson Avenue Christian Church in Danville, Virginia when he preached at the revival services for Gretna Christian Church in 1933.  He was formerly a preacher at the First Christian Church in Bristol, Virginia and the Christian Church at Bluefield, West Virginia.

I have also found the exact date of the dedication of the new church by the article of March 21, 1929.  They said that the dedication of the new church would be the first Sunday in April.  I looked up the 1929 calendar and that would have been April 7, 1929.

Thank you

Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey
Linda Dalton

Ancestry.com and The Danville Bee

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Lillian R. Love Song

Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557






In the March 10, 2011 post, I wrote that the choir sung a song written by Ms. Lillian R. Love.  It was sung to the tune of Church in the Wildwood.  Above is the Lillian R. Love song.  
Linda Dalton sent this to me along with the poem by Ms. Nancy Love that was posted yesterday.
Thank you Linda for this wonderful contribution.




Thank you to:


Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey
Linda Dalton

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Poem written by Nancy B. Love Member of Gretna Christian Church

Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557





Thank you to:
Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey
Linda Dalton

Monday, March 28, 2011

Stained Glass Windows

Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557


















Dedicated to the memory of V.A. Motley.







Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey

Friday, March 25, 2011

Call for Memories

Some of the details of the happenings of Gretna Christian have faded in my memory.  I remember a Brunswick Stew  for raising funds and a Spaghetti Dinner for raising funds.  All I remember is taking orders and being a sort of waitress.  I know that we use to take a bus to Roanoke to Lakeside.  If anyone has memories of certain events, please feel free to write or call.

During the summer, I remember a day at Vacation Bible school when Mr. Mayhew brought an owl to church. But all these memories are sketchy at best and someone may have better memories than me.

Janice

Christmas at Gretna Christian Church

Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557

Christmas Time was a wonderful time at Gretna Christian.  All through the fall we would practice our Christmas play and our songs.  We always celebrated Christmas on the Sunday night before Christmas.  A day or two before that Sunday we would prepare brown lunch bags  of treats to give out after the play.  There would be an orange and some raisins.  I don't remember what else was in the bag, but I do remember making them and getting them fondly.  I know in these days that getting a brown lunch bag full of little treats may seem like nothing, but we really enjoyed getting them.  Santa Claus would come too and give out gifts.  We had a wonderful time.  Below is some pictures from the present church and the past.



I found this picture in a old picture album of my mother's. If anyone knows the name of this pretty little angel, just write or call and I will add to the post. This was before they bought the new organ.  The older organ sat on the left hand side of the church with the choir.  This section was reserved for the baptismal and youth choir.



Here's some more little angels with Santa Claus.  The only one I know is Leslie Dalton on the far left.

As before I would like to share pictures of all members of the church.  If you would like to send a picture by e-mail, my e-mails are janice_poole@yahoo.com or poolejanice@gmail.com.  If you cannot send e-mail, we can make other arrangements also.


Thank you:

Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Gretna Christian Church Ministers March 24, 2011

Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557



I just learned that Dr. Herbert Myron Kauffman passed away on March 21, 2011.  He was an interim Minister at Gretna Christian Church.  Dr. Kauffman was born in Altoona, Pa, on October 24, 1910.  He graduated from Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia and Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, Kentucky.  He also did post graduate studies at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana.  

He began his ministry in 1930 in Flushing, Ohio.  He served churches in Covington, Pennsylvania, Bethel, Kentucky, Harlin, Kentucky, Columbus Ohio, Hanover Avenue Christian Church, Richmond, Virginia and Tabernacle Christian Church in Franklin, Indiana.  He was a member of the Bethany Christian Church in Richmond, Virginia.

During the years 1953 through 1986 he served with the Virginia Christian Missionary Society as State Secretary, as Trustee of both Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia and Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, Kentucky, Board member and Chairman of the Board of Regional Ministers of Virginia, as a member and Secretary of the Board of Unified Promotion, Indianapolis, Indiana, as a member and Board Chairman of the Church Extension, Indianapolis, Indiana, as a member and president of the Virginia Council of Churches, Richmond, Virginia, and as a founding member and treasurer of the Johnson County Indiana Senior Center. He also served as a Member of the Board of Christian churches in Indiana, The Board of the Interdenominational Work Foundation, Richmond, Virginia, the Indiana Council of  Churches, Indianapolis, Indiana, the Johnson County Indiana United Fund Organization, The Richmond Virginia Ministerial Association, the Johnson County Indiana Migrant Ministry, the Richmond Travelers Association, the Johnson County Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Franklin Indiana Senior Service Corporation.  In 1970 when he retired as a minister in Franklin, Indiana, he served as interim minister of 22 different congregations throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia.  In 2009, the Richmond, Virginia area Disciples Ministers and the Board of Trustees, faculty and administration of Lexington Theological Seminary recognized the 75th anniversary of his ordination at Bethany Christian Church.

For more about Dr. Kauffman see the Richmond Time Dispatch Obituary Section.   As you can see by this week's posts, these ministers were not ordinary men, but leaders and missionaries who gave their life to the church.


Thank you to:

Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey
Christie Rapp, Lynchburg College
The Richmond Times Dispatch


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Ministers of Gretna Christian Church March 23, 2011




Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557


Posted by Picasa


Allen B. Stanger Interim Pastor for Gretna Christian Church
Born September 15, 1909 in Blacksburg, Virginia
Died August 17, 1994 in Louisville Kentucky
Education:  Johnson Bible College, Kimberlin Heights, TN  1928-1931
Radford State Teacher's College, summer of 1929
Lynchburg College, 1931-1933 (A.B. Degree)
Yale Divinity School

Reverend Stanger was the Pastor at West End Christian Church Danville, Va; summers 1934-1935
Full time at West End Christian 1936-1942
Director of Religious Education, Chesapeake Area Disciples of Christ, 1942-1947
Director of Religious Activities, Lynchburg College, 1947
Associate Professor of Religion, in charge of student preacher placement
1961 awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Christian Theology Seminary
in Indianapolis, Indiana

My mother Atha Bailey found this old newspaper clipping which was probably in the Lynchburg News and Advance.  It was written while Reverend Stanger was the Director of Religious Activities at Lynchburg College.

Why I Entered Ministry
by Reverend A. B. Stanger

As far back as I can remember I have been in association with ministers.  My home was a Christian one, which was a place where ministers were welcome no matter what their religious faith or background.  My parents were devoutly Christian.  My father and mother felt that their work was an evidence of their faith.  He worked as a tenant farmer and a teamster always as a follower of Jesus.  Mother, both a seamstress and homemaker, felt that through her sewing, cleaning and other household duties, she had an opportunity to witness for her Lord.  I was greatly influenced in my early years by my cousins who had no children and who took an interest in me.  Their Christian influence was not one of urging me to be a minister but they did the kind of things that would encourage me to go into this field of work.  It was finally the special encouragement and help of a dentist, a minister, and a woman's missionary worker that actually sealed my decision.  Looking back over the years and these influences, one thing is clear-Jesus Christ was my Saviour and I felt I must share Him with others.  The only testimony I would make beyond the above would be, if I had it to do over again, I would still want to be a minister.
Allen B. Stanger

Thank you to:

Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey
Christie Rapp, Lynchburg College
The Danville Bee

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Ministers of Gretna Christian Church

Gretna Christian Church 100th Anniversary
Minister:  Dwight Mays
111 Leftwich Street
Gretna, Virginia
Mailing Address: Post Office Box 644 Gretna, Virginia 24557






Fred Helsabeck, Interim Minister for Gretna Christian Church  - No specific date.  It was probably during the 40's or 50's.
Born on September 4, 1908 at Rural Hall, North Carolina
Fred Helsabeck graduated from Lynchburg College in 1929 A. B.
M.A. George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, TN  1932
Ph.D  at Ohio State University  1942


Interim pastorate in 1944 at the Church of Christ in Salem, Virginia
and Union Christian in Madison Heights, Virginia  1949-1950
State President   Virginia Christian Fellowship  1946-1948
President 118th Annual Convention Virginia Disciples of Christ
Church Officer in Four Churches
Dean Lynchburg College  1945
Special Assistant to President Wake for the Dormitory Fund Raising Campaign  1952-1952










Thank you:

Mark E. Poole  photos
Disciples of Christ Historical Society 
Gretna Christian Church
Atha Bailey
Christie Rapp, Lynchburg College