By Steve Keenan
The Montgomery Herald
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Over the years, the Gauley Bridge Baptist Church has been a lifeline for local residents like Helen Winebrenner.
Winebrenner, a Gauley Bridge resident, has been a church member for nearly 70 years. She and her late husband, Cletus, were married there in 1941 — albeit in an earlier structure — and baptized into the church five years later.
They both sang in the choir and have been active with the Ammiel Class, in addition to taking part in numerous other church activities.
“It (the church) has been very important to both of us,” she said. “We participated in everything: Sunday school class and other activities.
“We’ve really enjoyed the church; it’s our life.”
The church will celebrate 175 years in existence with special services this Sunday, Sept. 12. On that day, a two-hour worship service will be held beginning at 10 a.m. It will feature former pastors and members, as well as former youth pastors, as they all join current members in a time of reminiscence.
There will be special music throughout.
A pitch-in dinner will be staged at noon, and a gospel sing featuring “No Other Name” and other singers will begin at 2 p.m.
Members of the community and other churches are invited.
The weekend’s activities will also include a community outreach event on Friday, Sept. 10. A pig roast will begin at 5:30 p.m. on the church parking lot. That leads up to the WVU-Marshall football game, which will be televised at 7 p.m. and can be seen on a big screen in the church fellowship hall.
“The church has grown quite a bit,” says Winebrenner. “It seems to me there are more younger people than there used to be.”
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According to Roscoe C. Keeney Jr.’s book “Kanawha Valley Baptists: A 125-year history,” Gauley Bridge Baptist — an arm of the Old Kanawha Baptist Church in Pratt — was organized to receive members in 1834. In the following year, the church was officially organized and met on property donated by William Morris Jr., the Kanawha Valley’s first permanent settler.
Taken from various historical accounts and compiled in Keeney’s book, here is a list of Gauley Bridge Baptist pastors: William Ligon, 1836; Maloy M. Rock, 1842; Martin Bibb Jr., 1859; J.C. Robertson, 1867; I.C. Cavendish, 1868; A.N. Rippetoe, 1871-86; George W. Huddleston, 1886-90 and 1895-99; George A. Winebrenner, 1890-1900 and 1903-11; W.W. Skaggs, 1900-02; H.B. Stoneham, 1911-14; George B. Deaver, 1916-21; J.T. Pope, 1922-26; Quay N. Geer, 1926-27; G.C. Musick, 1928-51; Pelton E. Vandercoy, 1951-68; Gary Rhodes; Wesley Anderson, 1976-82; Tom Goldston, 1983-93; James A. Seddon, 1994-2000; Joe Law, 2000-2005; Chanon Mullens, 2005-2008; and Craig A. Gee, 2009-present.
According to Keeney’s history, the church burned during the Civil War, and various buildings housed services after that. A new building was dedicated in 1920, and the church began to thrive under the leadership of G.C. Musick, who was pastor from 1928 to 1951. Then, a parsonage and a new church structure were built and dedicated during the ministry of the Rev. Pelton Vandercoy.
The church celebrated its centennial with a two-day meeting in 1935.
Lyle Blackwell authored a well-received church history, which was published for the 125th anniversary in 1960.
— E-mail:
skeenan@register-herald.com
