Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

First Presbyterian Church on Howard Street Sold to Appalachian

Church Historian Discusses First Presbyterian’s Past and Future

Story by Celeste von Mangan

The ink is dry on the closing papers, and some of the bricks of the First Presbyterian Church of Boone are being removed from the structure. Members of the 375-member congregation have known for some time about the imminent sale of the church to Appalachian State University, but with the signing of the papers on Monday, June 30, the reality that their church family and worship services are going to change drastically started to sink in.

The church’s Building Committee plans to build a new church on 12 rolling acres of land in Deerfield Meadows Business Park. The move will occur over the next three years, with groundbreaking projected to take place in spring 2009. The current property consists of 1.8 acres of land and a 22,000 square foot building, so the new location will allow for significant expansion.

Many members of the congregation have mixed feelings about the sale and change of address. Some congregants have been part of First Presbyterian for decades.

Sarah Lynn Spencer is a member of the Building Committee and one of the church historians. She has been a member of the congregation for 48 years and spoke about the history of First Presbyterian and the changes during those years.
“On January 13, 1939, the church started with 27 members,” said Spencer. “The congregation met in the Appalachian High School, now what we know as Chapel Wilson Hall, on the campus of ASU. Unfortunately, all of the charter members are now deceased. In 1940, a new facility was built on Howard Street and the church was moved into that particular building in April of 1941. Of course, we did make all sorts of additions to the church—one addition was completed in 1974—to make a larger sanctuary for the church.”

Expansion essentially came to a standstill after that last addition, but members felt the church needed increased space for teaching and meetings and to expand the ministry.

“The history of the church is that we are landlocked with the town,” said Spencer. “Our footprint could not be altered, which it needs to do to fulfill the mission of the church. I think it is very providential that the university made us an offer. It was the Lord calling us to do this. We will have additional space for children, I hope. A move will enable us to grow and to more adequately serve as Presbyterians. This church has served a very important purpose.

“On a personal note, the church has been difficult to get into,” Spencer continued. “Parking problems exist now that I am handicapped. When I was young and running around, I knew it was difficult to get in; now that I am old and handicapped, I see what we need. More acreage would meet the needs for the young and the old.”

Spencer acknowledged that although she is excited at the prospect of moving, sadness and grief are involved as well.

“I joined the church in March of 1960,” she recalled. “I have been very much involved with the work of the church; I have been very delighted with the church and all it stands for. First Presbyterian has been home to many of us. Some members my age have really had a struggle with this—it is sort of like moving out of your home and moving into a retirement home. It’s such a lovely congregation though, and everyone’s feelings are utmost in everyone’s mind. I do think a move of this magnitude represents a loss to some people. The life of the church is the youth, but there is a place for the older people.”

The church’s location adjacent to the ASU campus nurtured a campus ministry, although with the changing times, student participation changed as well.
“In 1941 through the ‘50s, the size of the student participation was significant,” said Spencer. “Now things have changed. In that era, regulations on campus were strict. We needed written permission from home to leave the campus, so the church was a big part of college life. My freshman year at Appalachian was in 1945. We could walk to school, to church, to Howard’s Knob. That has changed—people have cars and can go to any church. Tommy Brown is our campus minister and to some of the students, the change does mean a lot.”

As a historian, Spencer knows a bit about preserving the past and using that past to grow into the future.

“If you do not know where you’ve been, you do not know where you are going,” said Spencer. “They are removing some of the brick from the church for the new building. The plan is, hopefully, to use the brick again. This is very significant—it is important to keep the thread; there should always be that thread to keep us connected.”