ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 18, 1996 TAG: 9611180091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP)
SOURCE: MAURA SINGLETON THE DAILY PROGRESS
In 1792, traveling Methodist preachers began getting a supplement to their $64 annual salary. The extra money covered the expense of ferries, horse-shoeing and provisions for man and beast.
The perils itinerant preachers faced in the 18th and 19th centuries, however, went beyond laming one's horse in the wilderness and enduring a daily battering by the elements. Men of the cloth were apprehended for preaching the gospel, and, on occasion, assaulted by one of the unconverted.
In rural areas of central Virginia, a version of the traveling preacher persists. But the modern counterpart is equipped with car keys and perhaps a cellular phone, dividing pastoral duties among as many as four small churches.
Often, the churches stand within 10 miles of each other - the distance a traveling preacher could comfortably cover by horseback in one day. Yet despite modern travel that has shortened the ride, the congregations remain stubbornly independent.
Mount Olivet United Methodist Church sits primly at a bend near the Robinson River. Every other Sunday, the Rev. Patricia Stover unlatches the long wooden shutters that protect the church's six wavy windows of antique glass.
The before-service ritual is unique to this one-room church, one of four in the farming community of north Madison County that Stover serves.
``God is very personal and close in this place,'' she said, trying to put into words the different atmosphere she feels inside each of her churches.
In addition to Mount Olivet, Stover serves Etlan, Bethlehem and Oak Grove United Methodist churches. The largest has about 140 people; the smallest, 30.
Now in her third year as pastor of a ``multipoint charge,'' Stover, 52, juggles them with apparent ease. Ministering to all four, however, demands more than talent in scheduling.
``You feel a little schizophrenic because the churches are all so different,'' Stover said. ``You have to take time to focus on different things. It's just like if you had four kids.''
For the Rev. John Brenneke, who serves four United Methodist churches in Fluvanna County, the variations in each congregation are easily explained.
``Founded back in the 1830s or 1850s, these kind of churches develop a history, traditions, their own heritage, and they develop them differently,'' he said.
So it's not surprising that there are few joint services. ``To a large extent, everything is times four,'' Brenneke said.
For Father Ralph Hamlet, linguistic flair is a circuit demand.
Every Saturday evening, Hamlet heads to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Lovingston to give Mass in slightly faltering Spanish to about 50 Hispanic residents.
Hamlet's circuit takes him from St. Mary's to St. George's in Scottsville to the Catholic Community of Amherst. Then, from midsummer through October, he rotates among about 15 migrant worker camps to say Mass in Spanish.
``The main difference in this church is the Hispanic flavor that comes in,'' Hamlet said of St. Mary's. ``Spanish Catholicism is different from the Irish Catholicism that we're used to. It's warmer, more expressive.''
Probably one of the tiniest houses of worship in Virginia is Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church in Louisa County. A strong Sunday turnout includes 10 or 12 worshipers.
As with many small rural churches, Mount Pleasant shares its minister because it cannot afford a full-time one. And because of their size, such churches tend to become stepping stones for new ministers just starting out.
The congregations ``know that and don't like it,'' said the Rev. Jennifer Hare-Diggs, Mount Pleasant's minister.
For her and husband Brian, who is pastor of two other churches in Fluvanna County, the posting will last two or three years before they're appointed to larger churches.
``As they get older and more seasoned, they get bigger churches and larger salaries,'' said Heather Warren, an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia and an ordained United Methodist minister.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Father Ralph Hamlet says Mass in Spanish at aby CNBmigrant worker camp in Covesville.