Tappahannock Presbyterian Church

Tappahannock, Virginia

Early Presbyterian Presence in Essex County

Presbyterians had a difficult time establishing their church in the early days of Colonial Virginia, as did the Methodists, Baptists, and any denominations other than Anglican, the Church of England which was the official church.

An interesting journey led one Rev. Samuel Davies down from Delaware, across the Northern Neck, and through the Middle Peninsula before he settled in Hanover County around 1748. As noted in James B. Slaughter’s Settlers, Southerners, Americans: A History of Essex County, from the Davies Presbyterian movement sprang the first known group of religious dissenters in Essex history. Presbyterians who refused to join the Anglican church but instead wished to pursue the religion they had practiced in Scotland were known as Dissenters.

In 1758 a group of 41 men petitioned the Essex Court to announce their determination to practice their own brand of protestantism. Many of the names are familiar in Essex County today: Tate, Turner, Clarke, Ramsey, Davis, and Dunn, among others. These Presbyterians sought to live peacefully with the Essex Anglican establishment. By registering with the Court as required by the Act of Tolerance the Presbyterians were allowed to not pay their tithes to the state church.

England maintains control through the Anglican Church

Anglicans controlled not only the churches but the government and they became concerned about the popularity of traveling Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian preachers. Despite warnings issued from the Colonial government that itinerant preachers were not to be allowed to roam through the countryside, evangelical Presbyterian preachers continued to bring their powerful “message of salvation to the common folk.” Many Essex families undoubtedly attended Rev. Davies’ famous revivals in Hanover County. The distance was too far, though, for regular attendance. When he preached through the Northern Neck in the 1750’s he probably rekindled the enthusiasm of Essex families as he came back across the Rappahannock. It is recorded that there was Presbyterian worship, but the Essex Presbyterian church remains a mystery. When the Baptists swept Essex in the 1770’s this even more evangelic faith probably absorbed the Presbyterians. Much of the history of Presbyterians in both the Northern Neck and Essex was lost to fire and looters prior to the uprising for independence in 1776. Unlike the Anglicans, Presbyterians were fully behind this independence from England.

No recorded activity for 100 years

With the exception of missionary preachers moving through Richmond, Lancaster and Northumberland Counties in 1792 there is no record of further Presbyterian activity in the Northern Neck until the 1880’s.

In 1883 the Reverend William Addison Campbell became the Evangelist for East Hanover Presbytery. On April 11, 1886 Mr. Campbell preached in a blacksmith’s shop at Sharp’s Wharf in Richmond County. At Mr. Campbell’s request the Reverend L. H. Baldwin of Norfolk spent about 10 days in Richmond County during that summer. He held some services in Warsaw but held most of his services at Sharp’s Wharf.

Throughout the next few years he organized a congregation and prepared to build a church. On October 24, 1887 Mr. and Mrs. D. W. Sharp deeded land for the construction of a church. On April 1, 1888 the church, named Milden Presbyterian, was organized. It was named for the village of Milden. This community has later become known as Sharps.

Presbyterian Presence in Essex County Now

In June of 1994 the Rev. Dr. Merle Bland Dudley, a resident of Essex County and pastor of both Milden Presbyterian in Sharps and Wesley Presbyterian in Weems, began to discuss with leaders in the Presbytery of the James the possibility of having a Presbyterian church in Tappahannock. Long a dream of Dr. Dudley, there was much groundwork to be laid before this was a reality. The plan was for the new church to be a Mission Church, or Chapel, of Milden. Dr. Dudley shared his dream with other Presbyterians in the county who were interested in a Presbyterian form of worship, and the work began in earnest to discover who and how many shared this interest.

Chapel of Milden

In May of 1995, just as the publicity to the community was about to begin, Dr. Dudley had a fatal heart attack and all preparations came to a halt. Resuming at the end of that summer, announcements appeared in the paper inviting people interested in seeing a Presbyterian church in Tappahannock to meet at Ferebees Restaurant.

The response was gratifying, with 26 seekers from the community and 10 members from Milden who came over to lend support. The desire was strong, and while still dealing with the grief over the loss of Dr. Dudley, the Session of Milden Church approached the Rev. Robert McBath about coming out of retirement to start a new church.

The Rev. Robert McBath, age 74, accepted with enthusiasm the invitation to come up with his wife Dora from their retirement home in Atlanta to pastor the new church as well as Milden. Mr. McBath had spent many summers at Sharps when his father was pastor in and around that area and he was excited to return to help with the development of a new church.

Arrangements were made with the Seventh-day Adventist Church to rent their sanctuary on Sundays, as their Sabbath is Saturday. The first worship service was planned for January 7. A snow storm caused that service to be cancelled and re-scheduled for the next week, January 12. A snow storm on the 11 th again caused the opening of the Chapel to be postponed. Finally, on January 21, 1996 the Tappahannock Chapel had its first worship service. One wonders if this difficulty with getting started might have been seen as a foretelling of challenges to come. By that time there was an interested nucleus of 40 people. Services continued at the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the next 9 years. During the first year Choir Director Emerson Hughes assembled an interdenominational choir of singers from other churches who came to the 10:00 worship service and then rushed back to their own church choirs for their 11:00 AM service.

Throughout the next year membership continued to grow. There were potluck fellowship dinners, Christmas parties and summer picnics, community outreach projects, special offerings, Sunday School classes for children and adults, and monthly mid-week Christian Education programs .

The plan was to reach a membership of 70-80 and then apply to be chartered as a church by the Presbytery of the James. Mr. McBath suffered declining health and, despite his hopes for the new church, his infirmity forced him to resign in 1998. The Chapel was served with Sunday pulpit supply for almost 2 years. The Milden Session, meanwhile, retained oversight. Charlotte Smith Hughes, a native of Sharps and residing in Tappahannock, was elected the first Chapel Elder to the Milden Session.

By being chartered the church could be under it’s own Session. Until that time the governing body would be called the Steering Committee. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Coye, pastor of St. Andrews Presbyterian in Kilmarnock Virginia, attended the meetings as a representative from the Presbytery of the James New Church Development Committee. Dr. Coye has remained a faithful supporter and valuable advisor through the years, and in 2006 he still serves in this capacity.

The Church Begins to Grow

After Rev. McBath’s term of service there was a succession of called and interim pastors: the Revs. Waverly and Kay Sprouse (1999-2001); Interim pastor Rev. Robert Temple (October 2001-September 2002), Interim Pastor Rev. Dr. Howard Leming (October 2002-May 2003), Rev. John Markel (June 2003-August 2003), and Interim pastor Rev. Terry Robertson (October 2003-August 2005). 

Community Outreach

While the number of active members had dwindled, those who remained were committed to Christian outreach into the community. A seminar was arranged for members of the congregation to meet with leaders in various areas of the community. Speakers came from law enforcement and the court system, social services, services for the aging, and the school system. The needs heard were overwhelming as the little congregation learned how under-served Essex County is. Rather than being daunted by this, Chapel representatives Kathleen Hughes and Alice Roye called together lay members from other denominations in the county. From those initial meetings in May 2004 came an active enclave of about 18 churches called Essex Churches Together (ECT). This group continues to meet monthly and share information and resources for those in need in the community. The Chapel supports this effort not only with leadership but with office support, benevolent giving, and gracious response from the congregation when needs are identified. Working with other churches, many of them also quite small, has been nurturing for everyone.

In order to determine whether to continue the effort to establish a Presbyterian church in Tappahannock, in February 2005 members participated in two four-hour meetings led by the Rev. Nancy Dawson of the Presbytery of the James. After much evaluation and prayer during those meetings the decision was made to continue worshiping as a traditional Presbyterian Church. Ministering to a more mature population who were fulfilled by the traditional Presbyterian worship service seemed to be the talents and possibilities this congregation had to offer. Music Directors Emerson and Kathleen Hughes provide a varied assortment of musical offerings from the choir and from soloists.

The Chapel moves to Teakwood  

In May of 2005 the church moved into the Teakwood office, across the Tappahannock Boulevard from the Walmart and Applebees Restaurant. Remodeling of the interior space resulted in a truly worshipful ambiance. There is a pastor’s study, an all purpose room that serves as library/ work room/ nursery, and an administration room. The worship space holds 40 chairs with an over-flow area for 6 more. In addition, a kitchen is within the worship area! Rather than this being seen as an obstacle it is used each Sunday for fellowship after the 10:00 AM service. And as is often the case in private homes, “important news” is shared and on-the-spot meetings occur in the kitchen. The fellowship time after the service has been observed every week from the very first worship service and is credited for the close bond among members and the welcoming attitude toward visitors.

Rev. Robertson’s contract came to an end in September of 2005. The Rev. Dr. William S. Morris retired from Campbell Memorial Presbyterian in Weems, Virginia in September. His retirement lasted a month, for he accepted the appointment by the Presbytery to be Evangelist part-time for this new church development, and he and his wife Pat came in October 2005. Bill is an avid sailor and a skilled carpenter as well as gardener. He and Pat built their retirement home which is in Kilmarnock, and Bill has made much of their furniture through the years.

The first ten years was celebrated May 2006 with a lunch and worship service held in a tent on the parking lot of the worship center. There were almost 100 people there, with 8 churches represented. Friends from early years as well as present members praised God for His faithfulness through the years. The Rev. Dr. William Morris was commissioned as Evangelist to lead the Tappahannock Presbyterian Chapel.

Tappahannock Presbyterian will be chartered before long and can be a church with its own Session. New members have joined, visitors are coming, a baby is in their midst, and there is hope and renewed enthusiasm in the congregation. Meanwhile, the office space at Teakwood Office Park serves well as a worship space for this fledgling church, a worship space open for any who wish to learn more about Jesus Christ and worship in a traditional Presbyterian service.