1.00 CHURCH HISTORY AND HERITAGE SACPC Administrative Manual

CHURCH HISTORY AND HERITAGE

1.01    Our Presbyterian Heritage
1.02    The History of St. Andrews-Covenant Church
1.03    What We Believe
1.04    Core Values
1.05    Vision Statement
1.06    Mission Statement
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1.01 Our Presbyterian Heritage

1.02 The History of St. Andrews-Covenant Church

1817	First Presbyterian Church was established.
1858	Organization of Second Presbyterian Church. The building is located on Chestnut Street, between 7^th and 8^th Streets.
1862-1872	Period of inactive status for Second Presbyterian Church due to chaotic conditions brought on by the War Between the States and a ravaging epidemic of yellow fever. During that time, the congregation worshipped with First Church.
1872	Organization of Second Church was reactivated and
1873	New building for Second Church was erected near the corner of 4^th and Campbell Streets.
1888	New main church building was erected on the corner of 4^th and Campbell Streets and congregation voted to change the name of the church from "Second Presbyterian Church" to "St. Andrews Presbyterian Church." This church continued in existence to 1944.
	In 1913, Pearsall Memorial Church - a child of St. Andrews Church - was formed.
1902	The Session of First Presbyterian Church discussed establishing a new congregation in the eastern section of Wilmington
1911	Walker Taylor, Elder, of First Church purchased a lot on the corner of 15^th and Market Streets with a view to holding it until needed for the establishment of a church in the rapidly growing eastern section of Wilmington.
1917	Church of the Covenant was established on the corner of 15^th and Market Streets and continued in existence until 1944. The cornerstone for the new church was laid in January, and the building was completed in December. This building, consisting of our current Sanctuary, Chapel and Parlor, was donated by James and W.H. Sprunt in memory of their parents, Alexander and Jane Sprunt, whose names appear on the Covenant window.
1918	The Church of the Covenant was organized. Ginkgo trees, brought from China, were planted along Market Street.
1920	Manse, a gift from James Sprunt, costing $24,000, was built on the west side of the Sanctuary, along Market Street.
1921	A Sunday school building was donated by Jesse Kenan Wise in memory of her parents, at a cost of $233,000. Known as the Kenan Memorial Building, it featured a large auditorium with cathedral ceiling, classrooms, separate "club" rooms for men, women, boys and girls, a kitchen and pastor's study. There was a roof garden along the west side, overlooking the present high school tennis courts.
1928	A wing (which houses the present church offices) was added to the south end of the Kenan Memorial Building. It contained classrooms plus assembly halls on both the first and second floors.
1944	St. Andrews Church and Church of the Covenant were merged to form St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church.
	In 1946, the Princess Place Chapel, later to become Westminster Presbyterian Church, was formed as a child of St. Andrews-Covenant Church.
1958	Extensive renovations were made to all existing buildings, during which time the congregation worshipped in the auditorium at New Hanover High School and Sunday school classes met at Trinity United Methodist Church. The cost of the project was $412,000. The Sanctuary interior was turned 180 degrees, the main entrance was changed from 15^th Street to Market Street and a choir loft and a new Casavant pipe organ were added. The Sanctuary building and Kenan Memorial Building, originally separated, were connected. In the basement, the club rooms and kitchen were converted to classrooms and the scout room. The auditorium, with a new lowered ceiling, became a corridor with adjacent classrooms. Above, on the second floor, was a new corridor with classrooms and a library. In the 1928 wing, the building was extended to the west. The first floor assembly hall and classrooms became a new fellowship hall and kitchen. Classrooms were built on the second floor. The entire building complex was air-conditioned. The Manse was converted into church offices and offices for Wilmington Presbytery.
1966	The Manse was abandoned and later demolished. Renovations to the 1928 wing provided church offices on the first floor and Presbytery offices on the second floor.
1980	Extensive exterior repairs were made to roof and stonework to ensure watertight integrity. The wooden exterior doors and windows were replaced with bronzed anodized aluminum. The Fellowship Hall and Kitchen were renovated, and general interior maintenance accomplished. The total cost of the project was $525,000.
1996	The "New Foundations for Ministry" construction resulted in a new fellowship building containing a large meeting/athletic space, modern updated kitchen and numerous classrooms. The 1928 wing renovations to the older building had added new offices and a dining room on the first floor and new classrooms overhead. In the 1996 renovation of the Kenan Memorial Building some of the second floor classrooms were renovated. In addition, the Sanctuary was enhanced with new floor covering, new lighting fixtures, and pew restoration. The long-anticipated elevator also became reality.

1.03 What We Believe

St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), a denomination formed in Philadelphia in 1789, the oldest and largest Presbyterian body. We are part of the Presbytery of Coastal Carolina.

Perhaps the best way to communicate what we believe is not through words, but through the symbol of our denomination, printed on the illustration on the front cover of this manual.

The central aspect of the symbol is in the shape of the cross, communicating our emphasis on the saving death of Jesus Christ and his Lordship over all of life.

We know Christ through God's Holy, inspired Word, the Bible, symbolized by the open book which forms the horizontal arms of the cross. The Bible, however, remains closed and unavailable to us until the Holy Spirit descends upon us to open our hearts to God's Word; the Spirit is symbolized by the dove which forms the upper portion of the cross.

The body of the dove is shaped like a fish, an ancient Christian symbol for Christ. The fish reminds us of Christ's feeding of the 5,000 and of his charge to us to feed the worlds hungry. We serve Christ when we feed the world.

In the main section of the cross, below the open book, you can see a pulpit, which reminds Presbyterians of the importance of the proclaimed Word, scripture brought fresh and new every Sunday to the ears and minds of God's people.

In the center part of the pulpit, you can also see a communion chalice or a baptismal font, reminding us of the two sacraments commissioned by Christ and celebrated regularly at worship. You will notice that the main body of the cross is composed of three bold lines. This communicates our belief in the Trinity, God who is Three in One - - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Lastly, the flames in the symbol communicate the vitality and enthusiasm of our denomination. We are ancient, yet new; traditional, yet contemporary; reformed, yet always reforming. We trace our heritage back to Martin Luther and John Calvin and have always stood at the center of the reformed tradition. Our church government is democratic, with elders, deacons, and ministers sharing responsibilities. We have no bishops, and we believe strongly in the priesthood of all believers, which means that congregation members and their elected and ordained representatives are expected to provide leadership. We emphasize Christian Education, service to humanity, a strong voice in local and national politics, the absolute equality of men and women, and the respect, equality, and inclusion of all races of people.

1.04 Core Values

EXCELLENCE - Doing the best you can with what you have. Excellence is not perfection or we would never get anything accomplished. But as we do our work we should strive to give our best effort with the time and resources we have available.

COMMUNITY - We are a team. We think that God has put us here for a common purpose. We are called to nurture, encourage, and build each other up. At times we will have to be accountable to each other and we must seek to resolve conflict between ourselves on a biblical model of Matthew 18.

EVALUATION - As a team we need to take time to look back and celebrate our successes and learn from our mistakes. We need to look at every level of our work and trust the critique of those who know and graciously ignore those who do not know.

INTEGRITY - Let us remember that like it or not we are examples to each other and especially our congregation. As we do our work, we need to do it in a way that we can stand behind it. Being honest and truthful may sometimes be difficult but in the end God's reputation is at stake.

CREATIVITY - We do live in an ever changing world. Bringing new ideas to work will be essential. It is better to make a mistake than to never try something new.

INFORMED - We need to be constant learners. We can always learn more about our particular area of work. We need to keep each other informed about our work. Support Staff especially need to know where we are and what might be coming down the road in terms of work. The Head of Staff has a saying, "Don't surprise me."

PURPOSE - Just a reminder God has chosen you to be a part of the most important organization in the world. We believe that the church is the hope of the world and it is exciting to be involved at SACPC and participate in building God's kingdom.