From the Archives: Groundbreaking News

Chris Withrow - August 22, 2024

Welcome to our second installment of our new church history series. In part one, we explored the initial formation of St. Stephen as a congregation. In this installment, we explore the groundbreaking and construction of St. Stephen’s building.

Thinking of St. Stephen’s early 1971 events takes me back to the famous Field of Dreams scene. Kevin Costner hears a whisper through the breeze and cornfield: “If you build it, they will come.” I think the actual line from the movie began: “…build it, he will come.” But true to my Southern heritage, I won’t let the truth stand in the way of a good story.

Honestly, the thought of hearing voices in a field freaks me out a little. However, I cannot help but wonder if our church’s pioneering charter members did not experience something similar. It must have been a quiet voice and nudging from the Holy Spirit coupled with deep faith in our newly founded church which inspired early members to physically build on Sardis Road. The original building included our sanctuary and current adult classroom wing, costing then $363,000 (adjusted for inflation, that’s approaching $2.8 million in 2024 dollars according to romeconomics.com). It had to have been an ambitious goal. The mighty and quickly growing congregation’s bold actions evidenced their spiritual entrepreneurship and deep, faith-fueled determination.

On April 25, 1971, a large group gathered at the corner of Lutomma and Sardis and a groundbreaking took place. According to historical weather data, winds breezed around up 14mph; it was approximately 75 degrees during the event.

Kimberly Carter, a former St. Stephen historian, recorded the following memories. As an honor to her, most of these words are restated here as Mrs. Carter recorded them decades ago:

After months of careful study and searching the Charlotte District Mission Society purchased eight acres of land for the construction of a new church. The land was purchased on the corner of Sardis Road and Lutomma Circle on December 11, 1968 for $60,000. The members of St. Stephen purchased three more acres adjoining the eight acres on December 30, 1968 for $7,500.
In February 1969 the new church was able to rent the old sanctuary of Sardis Presbyterian Church for fifty dollars per month, which was cheaper than renting Lansdowne School. The Presbyterians paid for the heat and the water but St. Stephen was responsible for the upkeep of the building.
The church continued to grow with its membership tripling from 69 to 229 members in the first year. The Charge Conference elected a building committee to supervise the building of a new church on October 26, 1969. On July 26, 1970 the Charge Conference voted to sell $300,00 worth of bonds to raise money to build a new church and education building. A kick-off banquet was held on October 11, 1970 in the fellowship hall of Sharon United Methodist Church. The bonds were sold to members and non-members in varying denominations in multiples of $100.
A ceremony was held Sunday April 25, 1971 on the church site for the groundbreaking for the new church building. Pictures were made of the event. As part of the ceremony, lucite-like stones were buried in a box and were uncovered with the first shovelful of the groundbreaking earth. The stones were symbolic of the stoning of St. Stephen (the first Christian martyr) for whom the church was named. Each member was given a stone to commemorate the event.
After three years of worship in the old Presbyterian Church building and with growth up to 400 members, St. Stephen Church was ready to occupy and consecrate its new building. On March 5, 1972 this historical event took place. Dr. Cecil Howard, District Superintendent, joined in the 11:00am consecration service, at which Mr. (Jim) Armstrong preached. During the consecration the daughter of a charter member family was baptized.

The campus we enjoy today began taking form.

The baptism along with many other “firsts” will be covered in the next history installment: There’s a First Time for Everything. It should be ready to enjoy by December. Until then, enjoy browsing through the accompanying documents, photos, news articles, drawings, and some of the original symbolic lucite stones to more fully explore the events of these early groundbreaking years. Original items are displayed in the Resource Center coffee table for all to enjoy.

Chris Withrow
Historian

Click here to view all images in a PDF

Just over two years after being established the leadership and membership voted to build on the corner of Lutomma and Sardis Roads. They sold $363,000 in bonds to fund the project.