Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 31, 1993 TAG: 9301290066
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Frances Stebbins
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Long
EVEN IN HARD TIMES, GILES CHURCH GROWS
If, as national publications often observe, the United Methodist Church is in a decline, you wouldn't know it at First Church. Bishop Francis Asbury, a pioneer American follower of John Wesley 200 years ago, did his work well when he established countless little parishes in the highlands of Southwest Virginia.On a dreary Sunday when fog blanketed the high mountains around the Giles county seat and a cold rain pelted down, more than 260 adults and children comfortably filled First United Methodist at Hale Street and Valleyview Drive.
They came, surmised the Rev. R. Warren Stewart, their pastor since 1990, because the Methodists have the largest church in town, a devoted and well-trained staff that supports him and a building that seems newer than its 27 years.
It helps, too, he said, that United Methodism is a broad-based American religion found in most places and people who move to Giles to retire for its beauty and tranquil pace or who are transferred through industry find it hospitable.
"We try to make people feel welcome but not conspicuous," said Stewart. At the beginning of each service, an attendance pad is passed down each pew, but there's no singling out of newcomers.
So, though population has fallen and the economy is weak in Giles, "new people come nearly every Sunday," Stewart told me in the spacious and cheerful entrance hall after worship. And many apparently find their church home at the well-kept building in Pearisburg's northern suburbs.
Stewart doesn't credit himself with the church's growth; more than 50 new members have been received since he came 2 1/2 years ago. However, Ed and Mildred "Mickey" Groseclose, who have been part of the church for more than 50 years, say his sermons and organizational abilities have done much to keep the parish healthy.
The Grosecloses have been around since First Church was in downtown Pearisburg. Many years were spent in deciding whether and when to risk a relocation to a pleasant residential area.
First the present worship center was built and soon afterward an education building. Later still, a connecting area was added for the church offices. Today, nearly all the building is easily accessible to those in wheelchairs, Stewart said.
Parking, too, is ample.
The church's extensive program is evident in its two vans parked in the rear, a picnic pavilion and the two choral groups that augmented the service last Sunday.
These singers are directed by Nancy M. Noble. Her husband, Lenwell, plays the electronic organ. Faith N. Plummer is pianist. About 20 adults, who wear green robes to harmonize with the tints in the abstract stained-glass windows, presented an anthem, "Lord, I Believe in You," which had the enthusiastic warmth of a spiritual.
An equal number of children aged about 5 through 10 presented another anthem, "Jubilate Deo!" with volume and enunciation I rarely hear from those their age.
This choir, along with a youth program carried on by a part-time staffer, is a major drawing card for the many younger families who brought their children with them last week. All the children stayed for the hourlong service. There were few disruptions.
Worship leadership was mostly in the hands of the pastor and the musicians. The adult choir led the congregation in an introit, a call to prayer and a choral benediction. Stewart offered a five-minute prayer, after mentioning a member awaiting a heart transplant and requesting that the new leaders of government be remembered for the heavy responsibilities they face.
Though the newest United Methodist hymnals - navy blue and issued in 1989 amid controversy - were in the pews and used, the three congregational songs last week were 19th century Protestant standards: "O How I Love Jesus," "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" and "O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee."
Stewart, 54 and a graduate of Emory & Henry College and Candler theological seminary in Atlanta, preached for 20 minutes on "When Our Faith Falls Short."
Taking his subject from the gospels of Mark and Luke, in which people asked Jesus to increase their faith, Stewart admitted that his own trust in God's good providence often is far from perfect.
Few, he observed, can dismiss fully their worries by telling themselves that God will see them through for the best. The difference in the committed Christian, the pastor said, is that those who intentionally try to believe will do so at least in their times of greatest need.
He recalled two instances from his ministry of 35 years in which he encountered people who wanted to keep their faith but had to ask his help in doing so.
One elderly man, a staunch believer for years, had just lost his gifted only daughter and shortly afterward his wife. The other, a young man in college, felt defeated by challenges to what he had thought was unshakable devotion.
For such people, Stewart said, it may help to consider three things:
The loss of faith is a test of the ability to hold on to commitment to God. "Keeping the faith" is easier next time.
Remembering those in the past and present whose faith is stronger than one's own gives support, especially when prayers are being said by these people.
Faith - no matter how little there is - is confirmed by living it. Stewart referred to "the grain of mustard seed" mentioned by Jesus as proof of this assertion.
Sojourner appears monthly in the New River Current. Its purpose is not to promote a particular point of view but to inform readers of a variety of worship styles.