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Arlington
Presbyterian Church Timeline
If you have APC momentos you would like share with us, please let the librarians know. We can scan them in digitally and return them to you or we can archive them for future reference in the APC Church Library.
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Records
show evidence of a building fund formed by a small group attending
Ballston Presbyterian Church (the full name was First Presbyterian Church of
Ballston which has since become First Presbyterian Church of Arlington
located at the northwest corner of Wilson Boulevard and Glebe Road). The
fund later helps establish Arlington Presbyterian Church about two miles
south.
1905 Ballston’s
Session minutes show elder Miles Cleveland Munson
missing all Sunday
morning Session meetings because he is teaching Sunday School for
“Columbia” area children at his home near where APC is today. 1906 June: Rev.
Jasper Young, pastor at
Ballston Presbyterian Church, establishes a “mission”
church in the Columbia area. Services
are held on Sunday afternoon in the Methodist church on Columbia Pike,
just east of Walter Reed Drive. 1908 After
two years as a mission church, Washington
Presbytery appoints a committee
to examine the merits of establishing
Arlington Presbyterian Church as an independent congregation. April
21: APC is established with
21 charter members who immediately form a building committee to find a
site and develop building plans. April
28: APC Session elects Rev.
Dr. James H. DePue as part-time pastor for $300 per year. May
12: Dr. DePue is installed
as a part-time minister for APC. We
host a reception in honor of the new minister and his wife, Susan.
He remains APC’s minister for four years. 1909 June
17: County records show APC
received the deed to a 150 X 165 ft tract of land on the north side of
Columbia Pike about 200 feet west of Monroe Street and a “manse”
donated by neighbors Mrs. Mary F. Gray and Mr. and Mrs. Charles G.
Gaddis. APC’s first church
is built here facing east in late 1909.
It costs $2,700 and serves APC's needs for ten years. 1910 March:
Records show that Session meetings are being held at the
“manse.” Miles Munson is
listed as ruling elder. March:
Session minutes record the examination of a married couple
wishing to join APC but the couple is not able to attend the Session
meeting. Session begins
community outreach by going to them.
Session pronounces them qualified, then returns to church to
continue their meeting. March
26: Walter K. Handy joins
APC. He becomes Sunday
School Superintendent. Church
School enrolls 85. 1912 May
3: Rev. DePue completes his
call with APC. June
5: Session elects Rev.
Robert Robinson as a part-time pastor for $1100 per year for three
years. Sunday School started at 10:00 am. Sunday Worship service or "preaching" is held at 11:00 am and 8:00 pm. A Song Service is held at 7;30 pm. APC holds Wednesday prayer meetings at 8:00 pm, according to the Alexandria County Directory for 1912. The Superintendent of Sunday School is Walter K. Handy. The Secretary is Stanley Potter, the Treasurer is Robert Bullen, and the Librarian is Earl Bailey. Elders are Henry C. Corbett, Thomas R. Gray, Thomas J. DeLashmutt, T. T. Burke, and Stephen P. Wright. APC has a Junior Missionary Band. The President is Mrs. Robert Robinson, the minister's wife. The Vice-President is Miss. Evangeline Munson; the Secretary is Miss Ruth Corbett, and the Treasurer is Miss Margaret DeLashmutt. The Church Club meets monthly. The President and Secretary is Mrs. Thomas R. Gray, the Treasurer is Mrs. Thomas J. DeLashmutt, the Secretary of Literature is Mrs. Stephen P. Wright. Our Deacon is Walter K. Handy. Our Trustees are F. L. Hale, William C. Wibert, Eugene Bush, Lloyd F. Ward, and S. Munson Corbett. 1913 December
31: For the first time, APC
finds itself financially solvent 1914 Miles
Munson dies. Thomas
DeLashmutt becomes Ruling Elder and Walter Handy becomes and Charles
Howell become Elders Mr.
Handy would become Church School Superintendent and Mr. Howell would
serve as Clerk of Session for 20 years. 1915 January
1: Rev. Robinson ends his
call with APC. APC will be
served for the next eight years by various "supply pastors."
1916 June 11: The Rev. J. C. Hicks hosts a special service at 3:00 this afternoon on the lawn of the church to burn the mortgage which has just been paid in full, according to the Washington Post. Speakers included Rev. Dr. John C. Palmer, pastor of the Washington Heights Presbyterian Church and moderator of the Presbytery of Washington, D.C., the Rev. Dr. James T. Marshall, pastor of West Street Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Titus E. Davis, pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church. 1919 APC
grows too big for its original building.
A 30 x 40 ft. addition with a bell tower is built directly south
of the original building and is connected to the first little building
by double doors. The
addition consists of one room with pews seating about 80 with an organ
and a large stained glass window facing the road.
The older section remains in use as the Church School.
A two-story frame manse is also built and is used as the pastor's
residence and for meetings and Sunday School classes. 1920 April
7: Clerk of Session records
that “no regular Session meetings were held during the fiscal year
since church business was taken care of by informal get-togethers.”
Another Presbyterian church scolds APC saying:
“Business of the church may not be transacted in informal
get-togethers.” The
Session quorum of DeLashmutt, Handy, and Howell move church business
get-togethers from their offices or the Cosmos Club to the “manse” APC
records 36 members. 1924 Rev.
Edwin L. Shelling becomes APC’s part-time pastor, sharing his time
with Clarendon Presbyterian Church.
From the Presbytery's "Stated Supply," he will serve
APC for three years at $900 annual salary. December
20: APC’s church is
destroyed by fire. Sunday
service is conducted as usual, but after the congregation disperses for
Sunday dinner, passers-by notice smoke.
The bell falls from the burning tower, nearly pinning a volunteer
firefighter beneath it. Passersby
manage to rescue the bell and some pews and carry them across the Pike
to a slope. The pews provide
ringside seats as firemen pump water from the pond across the pike.
A bucket brigade saves the manse.
Irreplaceable church records and photographs help fuel the fire
and the church is burned to the ground.
Services (including Christmas Service) are held in the Arlington
Methodist Episcopal Church. 1925 February:
A building committee is named.
The committee consists of three trustees, two Session members
and, after much discussion, one woman. May
1: APC acquires the property
at the corner of Columbia Pike and Lincoln Street in “Alcova
Heights.” July
5: The congregation votes to
approve the offer of the Washington City Presbytery of a
“prefabricated wooden chapel building.”
The “Little Chapel” is in use by the end of the year and
serves APC until 1950. November:
APC begins its building fund drive for a permanent building.
In five years, APC raises $7500.
The “Little Chapel” is used for worship and Church School
until the Fall of 1930. Church
School enrolls 110. 1927 April:
Rev. J. R. Duffield serves APC part-time from the Presbytery's
"stated supply" until 1930. 1930 May
20: Rev. Walter F. Wolf is
installed as APC's minister. He
and his wife, Blanche, begin 19 years with APC.
Rev. Wolf continues to hold the record for longevity in APC
pastoral service. October 12: Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for APC's new stone church building. The photo below accompanied a brief article in a 1930 edition of the Washington Star and was entitled: Arlington Church Lays Corner Stone.
APC
records 85 members. 1931 April
19: The present church
building is dedicated at Sunday service. 1934 October:
Rev. Wolf begins teaching a Young People’s Sunday School class.
Class President is Miss Mimes Darnell who reports to Session that
the class membership is 23 and that the class holds monthly business and
social meetings at the homes of its members.
It meets the second Friday of every month. 1938 Rev.
Wolf begins a Men’s Sunday School class and holds it at his house or
above Bauserman's garage. Army
officer Dr. Juan Osuna and Army Chaplain Wayne Hunter also teach the
class. Walter Handy
eventually takes over teaching duties.
Women eventually enroll. The
class becomes known as the “Walter K. Handy Bible Class.”
Today it is known as the Crossroads Class. 1939 October
1: APC welcomes its 100th
member. 1940 APC
records 284 members. 1941 APC
elects its first woman elder, Helen Pfeiffer. In
response to the need for organized entertainment of young military
personnel during WWII, APC holds supervised dances. 1942 Enrollment
in the Christian Education program is over two hundred.
Church School includes a men's class, which eventually will
become Crossroads and youth church school. 1944 A
planning committee begins research on church needs and financing
possibilities. 1945 November:
APC planning committee hires the architectural firm of McLeod and
Ferrara to help develop plans. 1946 APC
records 605 members. 1947 APC
accepts an architectural plan and a special building fund pledge
campaign begins. December
14: APC has 500 members. 1948 Carl
Young become Choir Director. 1949 Rev.
Wolf, APC's longest serving minister ever, resigns to serve a church in
Cincinnati. He returns
several times to visit and guest preach and interrupts his
"retirement" to accept a part-time ministry in Albuquerque,
New Mexico.
October
14: Rev. Howard F. Gebhart
is installed as APC's minister. He
serves APC for five years. The
Christian Education Committee is formed to direct Church School
activities. APC
records 725 members. 1950 May
21: Services are held in the
remodeled church building. November
19: The first phase of the
new building is dedicated 1952 Wanda
C. Muller becomes Director of Christian Education. APC
gets a new choir director, Jack Cogar, first chair horn player in the US
Army Band from Fort Myer. He
stays until 1958. 1953 APC
records 750 members, 450 are enrolled in Church school with 35 teachers. 1954 March
28: APC has 1000 members. Rev.
Gebhart departs APC. Army
Chaplain Wayne Hunter serves APC from the Presbytery's "stated
supply" ministers. Doris
True becomes Church Secretary. She
keeps APC running smoothly for eleven years. 1955 July:
APC elects Rev. Jay W. Rowen as pastor of APC. September
18: Rev. Rowan is installed
at APC. He serves APC for 12
years.
Marie
Moravetz becomes assistant Christian Educator Louise
Bachschmid becomes organist for two years. Doris
True becomes APC's secretary. Lee
Wiggins becomes Sexton. He
will be with APC for almost 22 years. 1956 Lyda
Veit becomes the liaison between APC and the Presbyterian Home of D.C.
She continues through more than 40 years with ten members of APC
entering the home during this period. APC
begins serious study of successful fund-raising for a manse. Rosalind
Scott joins Doris True in APC’s “secretarial pool.” 1957 March:
A seven-member general planning committee is appointed to study
overall APC building needs with an emphasis on an educational program. Additional
land adjacent to APC is purchased and a building fund drive begins. APC
hires a black musician, Mrs. Lucille Herron, as church organist.
A congregational meeting is called to deal with a number of
protests. Rev. Rowen reminds
APC to remember that under God, all are equal.
Some members opt to leave APC.
Elder Pate Hutchins, a native of Mississippi, states that he
“can see no Christian reason that a Negro should not be a member of
APC.” Mrs. Herron serves
as organist for three years, takes a break, then returns in 1963 to
serve four more years. APC
records 900 members. 1958 APC's
Women's Organization raises money for a prayer room in Arlington
Hospital dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Ethel Handy and Mrs. Sullivan. Rev.
Tom Nissley becomes assistant minister to work with APC youth and the
Christian Education program. 1959 Bramwell
Smith becomes Choir Director. He
serves until June 1965. 1960 April:
Elder Hutchins’ statement is born out when Ronda Gilliam
becomes first black member. Debate
again rages and some members depart.
Rev. Rowen and church officials stand firm.
Gilliam later becomes an elder and establishes APC’s longest
running mission outreach, the “Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank.” September:
Construction of the education building begins.
During construction, the “Cottage,” a house standing on the
newly acquired church property and the Seventh Day Adventist Church at 9th
and Lincoln are used for Sunday School classes. Nancy
Reed serves as organist until 1963. 1961 April:
The education building is completed and is in use.
Rev.
Nissley resigns and Shirley Willis becomes Director of Christian
Education. APC
records 869 members. 1962 April
26: Rev. Wolf returns to
preach the Service of Dedication for the remodeled chancel. APC
records 776 members. 1963 Lucille
Herron returns to be APC’s organist for three more years. APC
records 705 members. 1964 Gail
Hayman becomes Director of Christian Education.
She helps plan APC's education programs until the end of 1966. APC
records 703 members. 1965 March:
Maj. Michael Sophos of the Marine Corps becomes Church School
Superintendent. May
23: The Crossroads Class
honors Walter K. Handy in Fellowship Hall. Frederick
"Bart" Hewitt becomes Choir Director.
He serves until 1969. Ella
H. Griffith begins seven years as APC’s secretary. The
Bridge
serves to help keep track of all the young men serving in the Armed
Forces. Names and addresses
are sought and occasional greetings are sent from those serving in Viet
Nam. APC
records 700 members. 1966 As
racial tensions flare in public schools, APC tries to help fill the void
created by numerous school event cancellations by hosting dances for
senior high school students in Fellowship Hall. July
23: The 14 members of the
Adult Education Committee go on a retreat.
They prepare to host three adult classes this fall:
the Crossroads class, a class studying poverty and social
problems, and the third studying social and Christian ethics. Roberta
Timberlake becomes Director of Christian Education. Annie
Bowman becomes Church School Superintendent.
Her assistant is Grady Timberlake. APC
records 686 members. 1967 February
14: APC forms a new group,
the Business and Professional Women's Group. April
2: Rev. Rowen resigns as
APC's minister. He leaves to
join the staff of the Chesapeake Foundation as Director of Continuing
Education. Ruth
Willson become APC’s organist and remains until 1973. Presbyterian
Women's Circle #3 is organized as a circle for young mothers. APC
records 619 members. 1968 Enrollment
in Church School declines for the first time. The
Pulpit Committee interviews Rev. T. Dennis Walker for position as
pastor. As the committee
adjourns, its members are shocked to hear that Martin Luther King, Jr.
has just been assassinated. September
8: Rev. T. Dennis Walker is
installed as pastor to APC. He
will serve nine years. APC's
Sewing Group celebrates its accomplishments.
During the year, the women make 32 "johnny coats" for
the Potomac TB Association, 420 cancer pads for the local cancer
society, 200 rolled bandages, and 17 white shirts for migrant works. APC
records 593 members. 1969 January
26: APC's Couples Club
becomes the Mariners. The
group does fun things, encouraging fellowship within the church and
service to the church and the community. October
12: APC unanimously approves
a unicameral form of church government.
Previously organized with three boards:
Trustees, Deacons, and the ruling Session, the Session committees
assume responsibility for the functions of the Trustees and Deacons.
Rev.
Walker begins a men’s fellowship or "koinonia" talk group
which meets Tuesday morning in the Geneva Lounge.
Discussions over coffee and doughnuts cover Christianity and
world events. Rhea
Dola is Church School Superintendent over 120 children with 28 regular
and substitute teachers. Annie
Bowman, who has worked in the APC Church School for 25 years is her
assistant. The
Arlington Adult Development Center for severely retarded adults is
organized and occupies much of the lower floor of APC.
Frank Veit serves as a member of the Board of Directors and
Treasurer. APC
begins participating in F.I.S.H. (For Immediate Sympathetic Help).
APC volunteers work on a rotating schedule with other Arlington
groups bringing emergency help to people in distress. APC
records 551 members. 1970 February
1: APC begins providing
clothes to the area’s needy. In
its first month, it supplies 47 children with 459 pieces of clothing.
Ten months later, Mr. Gilliam passes away and APC renames the
clothing bank "The Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank" to honor
him. The
Christian Education Committee begins an outreach program to visit
neighborhood homes and entice non-APC and APC children alike to attend
APC's Summer Vacation Bible School.
They visit more than 400 homes and enroll 48 children from the
community. Choir
Director, Bart Hewitt and Ruth Willson, APC’s organist takes on the
responsibility and serves until 1974. November
1: APC honors its first 23
members during worship. APC records 496 members. 1971 March:
Rev. Walker begins a Lenten adult study series based on the book,
"Suffering: A Test of Theological Method."
The series looks at the source of suffering inflicted by evil men
and how this suffering challenges our faith. June
22-August 28: Rev. Walker
uses his vacation time and goes on leave with pay approved by Session to
serve as a chaplain-in-training at St. Elizabeth's Hospital where he
will learn to minister to the mentally ill. June
23: APC Women's Association
hosts a Mission Fair in Fellowship Hall for APC members to learn about
mission projects around the world. The
long-range planning committee issues a report urging APC to “become
less concerned with the image of APC and more concerned with its
relevance to the needs and interests of the congregation.”
Lois
Ristau comes the APC secretary. She
stays until 1974. September:
Fannie Winter reports in The Bridge that APC has 491
members compared to 1954 when APC rolls reached 1,000.
She urges everyone to greet your pew neighbor—they might be a
new member, an old hand, or searching for a new church home. 1972 APC's
adult education opportunities included the Crossroads Class, the
Fellowship Class, Contemporary Readings for Christians, the Session
Study, the Snoopy Group (a family-based summer Bible study), the Round
Table discussion group, Home Meeting discussion groups, May:
The Bridge reported
that at the first meeting of a study group on racism, Session, unable to
answer questions about racism, was tasked to find answers to several
questions: what problems do minority groups have in getting jobs,
housing or medical treatment; what local community groups are combating
racism; what school programs are in place to ease racial tensions. August
28: Rev. Walker sends a
letter to APC members urging them not to turn away the steady stream of
visitors and strangers by protecting themselves from change among old
friends. He writes that
although many have decided that church is not the
thing to do, some have chosen to make it their
thing to do. September
16: Presbyterian Day Mission
Fair is held at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
APC's booth include the Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank and the
FISH ministry. September
17: APC dedicates it's rear
chapel to Walter K. Handy who passed away in 1967 to commemorate his
life of service to the church as an Elder and as a member for 75-year. September:
Congregational Care provides nametags to members to give
newcomers a hand in knowing who we are. APC
records 471 members. 1973 January
13: APC Pikers cleaned and
painted the first, second, fifth, sixth grade classrooms.
This group of single young adults had been collecting bottle caps
at a half cent each and raised enough money to buy the paint. January
24: Session unanimously
votes to reduce the number of Elders from 24 to 16. April:
Lois Ristau becomes APC's secretary. August:
Barry Epperly, APC member, Associate Director for the Army Band,
and Director the U.S. Army Chamber Orchestra takes Ruth Willson’s
place as Choir Director. He
amazes the Choir and the congregation by energizing the choir and
quickly expanding it from 15 to 35 singers.
His wife, Jane, completes the team by becoming organist. September:
Church School opens with a Rally Day.
Rae Ann Litz leads the singing of 60 youth and adults. New
this year is the Senior High Group organized by... themselves! APC
records 426 members. 1974 Session
increases from 16 to the present number of 18. APC's
Women of the Church present APC with a new four-speaker amplifying
system as memorial gift honoring Daisy Robertson.
Mrs. Robertson joined the church with her husband Paul in
February 1941. She became an
Elder nine years later and served the church well until her death in
1971. Palm
Sunday: Church School
presents "The Easter Story" a slide show borrowed from the
National Gallery of Art which recounts the story of Holy Week through
sculptures and paintings of world-renowned artists. April:
APC's Pictorial Directory—perhaps the first—is available for
members to take home. May
12: Session votes to issue
the following resolution to the Presbytery:
"We recommend to our Commissioner to Presbytery that they
support any resolution that might be offered at Presbytery to grant
amnesty to those who refused to serve in the armed forces during the
Viet Nam War by way of passive resistance to the war." June
16: Session votes to pave
the parking lot. Parking has
been a long-standing problem for APC.
Sunday churchgoers have been allowed to park at a variety of
places, the Murphy Funeral Home across the Pike, Rosenthal Chevrolet,
the bank, and nearby garages. Summer:
At the 186th General Assembly, the United Presbyterian
Church (U.P.U.S..A.) suffers a cut of $7 million.
It issues recommendations to the church to emphasize studying the
Bible as a basis for stewardship and Christian responsibility for energy
and natural resource shortages, examining life-style patterns and
dependence on the automobile and seeking a full disclosure of
information from the Energy Department. October:
Work begins on rearranging the Chancel as a memorial to the late
Larry Gates. The organ is
moved to the front and center, lowered 18 inches and two steps (covered
by a trap door) are built down to it.
Three risers are built and pews arranged to seat the choir. Joan
Bartlett becomes APC secretary and serves for about two years. December:
APC echoes the financial problems of the Church as a whole.
Session realizes that falling rolls will not enable pledges to
fund continuing programs at APC—between 1967 and 1972, APC has lost an
average of 75 members per year and gained only 30.
Session refuses to prepare a budget for 1975—it is short by
$7,000-$10,000 for APC to continue to carry out all its normal projects.
The Elders led, by Lloyd Olden, present the problem to the
congregation at its December meeting.
Session members ask all Elders present to stand with them and
voice their fears to the raucous congregation that APC could not survive
as it now was functioning. They
asked APC members what programs they wanted cut.
Rev. Walker would later write that on that day, he saw the
congregation become “energized” and its commitment renewed. APC
records 345 members. 1975 January
19: Session holds
"Pledge 'Renewal' Sunday" in an effort to raise enough money
for this year's budget. March
16: Rev. Walker and his
wife, Sue, benefiting from their summer vacation last year at the
Marriage Enrichment Conference at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, offer a
10-week course for married couples.
They focus on how to improve communication, how to fight fair,
and problem solving skills. Rhea
Dola "retires" from six years as Church School Superintendent. June
1: The Larry M. Gates
Chancel is dedicated to the glory of God during the choir's concert. Session
approves the use Harriett Phelan's monetary gift the church in honor of
her sister, Laura Simpson, to redecorate the Pastor's study.
A
gift from Muriel Heflin in honor of her husband William is used to start
a fund for a new church organ. The
organ in use was purchased in 1956 and repair bills surpassed $700 last
year. The choir has already
begun fund-raising activities. Caroline
Cagle opens her home to two Vietnamese refugees who spend a week with
her. The
Bridge calls on APC
members to similarly open their hearts and homes to what is expected to
be a steady flow of Vietnamese refugees. September
14: Congregation responses
to a questionnaire on priorities for worship, mission, Christian
education, and congregational care are discussed at a series of church
planning events. A
"walk through Sunday" is planned to encourage people to visit
displays representing church activities, chat with an Elder, and learn
what APC is doing and what it plans. December
6: The Choir cuts a record,
"Messiah." This is
the warm up for the next day's Second Annual Performance of Handel's
best-known work. APC
records 333 members. 1976 January:
Rumors of a new "Pentagon City" development cause
increased concerns about traffic and congestion.
Elder John Marr, active in the Arlington Ridge Civic Association
keeps APC informed. The
Ronda A. Gilliam Clothing Bank provides clothes to many Vietnamese
refugee families. These
families are in desperate need of even basic needs.
Most come from refugee camps and have nothing.
Decades later, one such Vietnamese family, now fully established
and leading production lives as American citizens, will return to APC
bringing clothes, donations, and grateful thanks, saying, "You
helped us when we first came to this country, so we wanted to return the
favor. Thank you so
much." February:
Susan R. DuPue, wife of APC's very first minister Rev. James H.
DePue passes away. July
4: APC celebrates our
nation's Bicentennial. The
worship service is styled after the Presbyterians of 1776.
A "tithing man" is present with his feather and stick
for any whose attention strays. Many
come in the dress of the 1770's to church.
Thelma
Valentine makes and donates a quilt to the church to celebrate the
Bicentennial. After periodic
display within the church, the Arlington Historical Society asks to
borrow it in 1978 for display in their museum. July
6: Janett Yederlinic becomes
church secretary until 1978. August
18: APC is broken into and
robbed of $55 in petty cash. Four
doors are seriously damaged. Jane
Epperley becomes Director of the Youth Choir.
John
and Linda Bingham share music duties as Director of Music and organist. Tim
Green becomes Education Coordinator for about two years. APC
records 337 members. 1977 March:
Women of the Church invite members to submit favorite recipes for
inclusion in the APC Cookbook. |
