CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Roberta Fowlkes knows 200 years is a long time, even for a church.
That’s why Fowlkes, a member of Kanawha United Presbyterian Church, is on the committee that put together a 200th-anniversary service for the Presbyterian churches in Charleston called, “Celebration of 200 Years of Presbyterianism in the Kanawha Valley.”
The three Charleston area Presbyterian churches including Kanawha United Presbyterian Church, First Presbyterian Church Charleston, and Kanawha Salines Presbyterian Church will join together for that service Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Charleston Coliseum Theater, formerly The Little Theater.
“At a time when churches are experiencing loss of membership and lower attendance because many people don’t attend church anymore, I think it is pretty remarkable for churches to have lasted 200 years and still be going,” Fowlkes said.
“We are really proud of our history here. I think churches do a lot of good things in the community and have a real mission-oriented focus and we think it is pretty great to have that history.”
Fowlkes said the first Presbyterian church in the Kanawha Valley was founded by the Reverend Henry Ruffner on March 14, 1819, with the name Kanawha Presbyterian Church at Charleston and Salines. She said that because of the church’s growth, it spilt into two churches in the mid-1800s and then a third was created shortly after that.
Therefore, all three churches consider March 14, 1819, their bicentennial. Fowlkes said the committee has put together a service that features members from all three congregations serving.
“Some people will be greeters,” she said. “We will be serving communion and some people will be doing that. We will have a joint choir, the different churches are sending their choir members to do two anthems. It’s going to be very celebratory and a worship service that shows our thankfulness for 200 years of history as a community of faith.”
The Beni Kedem Highlander bagpipers and drummers will play at service to commemorate the churches’ Scottish heritage and the sermon will be given by the Rev. Dr. Ed Thompson, General Presbyter of the West Virginia Presbytery.
Fowlkes said the public is welcome to attend the service and all the activities planned for this year in celebrating 200 years. She said the church is partnering with FestivALL in June for plenty of activities and will show off their church all year long.
In addition to the 200th anniversary, First Presbyterian Church South Charleston celebrates 100 years this year, and last year First Presbyterian Church St. Albans marked 150 years.