The History of
William & Mary Hart Presbyterian Church

NARRATIVE HISTORY

The Rev. Dr. J.H. Summerell from Tarboro first organized the William and Mary Hart Presbyterian Church as a Sunday School in 1890. This Sunday School class took place in a small room over a store called, "Fountain's Hall', which Mr. Theodore Fountain gladly gave permission to use.

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Judge George Howard gave a lot of 100' × 200' feet and added an acre around the burying place of the Leggett family for a graveyard. A wood framed church building was built in 1891 and dedicated on April 10, 1892. Rev. Alexander Sprunt held the dedication sermon. Dr. Summerell was given the honor of naming the church and he gave it the name, "Olivet". The first individual communion service held in the Olivet was July 23, 1916. The Olivet Presbyterian Chapel served as a Sunday School and as preaching post under the leadership of many pastors and elders throughout the early 1900's.

The Olivet was moved to its present location the last week in August 1919, to make room for the new brick church, which was built in 1921. William Almon Hart donated the funds for the new church construction. This became the William and Mary Hart Presbyterian Church, named in memory of Mr. Hart's two infant children. The organ, pews and furniture were given by the congregation; the brass railing around the choir by Mr. Stamps Howard, the Bible by Mrs. John Rogers of Norfolk and the baptismal font by Mrs. W.A. Hart of Tarboro. The pipe organ was installed on Feb. 17, 1921. Finally on April 21, 1921, at 11:00 a.m., in the presence of a large congregation of approximately 800 people, the new church building was solemnly dedicated to God. The dedication sermon was preached by the Rev. Robert A. Lapsley, Jr., a former pastor of "Olivet" and a close personal friend of Mr. Hart.

In 1922 Mr. Lapsley left Tarboro and the Rev. Daniel Iversion came and stayed until 1927. At this time William and Mary Hart became an independent church and the Rev. H.M. Wilson was called and became the first pastor to live in Leggett. For many years our church was yoked with the Nahala Presbyterian Church. This was a fruitful relationship for many years for both congregations. However, in 1997, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Walter Mueller, we decided to search for our own full-time minister. In the following years, several families joined and others renewed their commitment. This resulted in a revival of attendance and enthusiasm. Many changes and improvements have been made to the church buildings and grounds over the past few years, including a handicapped ramp, a new rest room, and a new church office. In 2001, the Olivet Fellowship Building was completely refurbished.

As the church continued to grow under the leadership of the interim pastor, Rev. Dr. Mueller, our Pastor nominating committee continued tirelessly searching for a full-time minister for the congregation of William and Mary Hart Presbyterian Church. Almost four years passed without any luck in obtaining a full-time pastor that was just right for our modest little country church. As we continued to search, we believed that God was waiting to send us that someone special to minister to our congregation. While waiting for the Lord to send our church a pastor, we stayed strong in faith, pure and steadfast, abiding in love and growing in usefulness and in spiritual power. Rev. Dr. Walter Mueller and wife Mrs. Janet Mueller, continued to pour out their commitment and support to our congregation with the strong belief that it was all in the Lord's plan for William and Mary Hart Church. For four years the Mueller's directed each and every one of us and never stopped believing that we would find that special pastor to lead our church.
 

In November 2001, Rev. Steve Herring accepted a call along with his wife Sue and teenage son Peter, to serve as our first full time minister. The congregation of William and Mary Hart Church joined with their new minister on a faithful journey to worship, grow and to follow the path God had set forth for our church.  William and Mary Hart Church was a future oriented congregation with a strong focus on strengthening family life. Services were well attended, with a wide range of activities available for children and adults of all ages. Missions were a tremendous priority for our congregation. The Presbyterian Women of our church were active, providing leadership for the church upkeep, missions and financial stewardship. The music ministry was outstanding under the leadership of our music director, Mrs. Sara Dupree. The choir grew from five choir members in 1997 to 16 active choir members in 2002. Sunday School met every Sunday at 9:45 providing classes for all ages infants through older adults. Annual Everybody Together Nights, and Family Vacation Bible School provided high points for our church year.  We were well blessed with enthusiastic volunteers providing for the needs of our church and the larger community.  Rev. Steve Herring served William and Mary Hart Presbyterian Church until March 15, 2004.

 

Between March and August of 2004, the church engaged various pastors and speakers to fill the pulpit on Sunday.  One supply pastor in particular, Dr. Ronn McCracken, became the Temporary Supply pastor and served as such from August 8, 2004 until February 6, 2005. 

 

Dr. McCracken was offered the position as Solo Pastor of William and Mary Hart.  He accepted the position and began his service February 19, 2005.  The church thrived under the leadership of Dr. McCracken.  The congregation grew through transfer of certificates from various churches and denominations, profession of faiths and baptisms, baptism of children and confirmations.  The children and youth of the church enjoyed activities such as Vacation Bible School, Youth Super Bowl party, Camp Albemarle, white water rafting trips, fund raisers and other various outings.  The adults of the church enjoyed trips to Gettysburg, PA, Raleigh, NC to see The Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA.

 

The congregation celebrated with special services such as Maundy Thursday, Easter SonRise services with breakfast, Easter worship, Rally Day to kick off the new church year, Hanging of the Greens on the first Sunday of Advent, and Christmas Eve services.  The congregation enjoyed ETNs (Everybody Together Nights) with supper and fellowship. 

 

In 2007, William and Mary Hart began to participate in Relay for Life of Edgecombe County.  From 2007 until 2015 the congregation raised amounts ranging from $5,000.00 to $15,000 per year through bow sales, luminary sales, torch sales, reverse raffles and auctions.   

 

The music ministry thrived under the direction of Angela McCracken.  Annual Easter and Christmas cantatas were performed.  The choir publicly performed their Christmas cantata at The Albemarle in Tarboro and an excerpt at the Edgecombe County Relay for Life.  

 

William and Mary Hart participated in many mission projects.  They annually contributed monies to Barium Springs, One Great Hour of Sharing, Disaster Relief Funds, and other ministries.  The congregation enthusiastically participated in mission project such as:  Operation Christmas Child, Toys for Tots, Angel Tree, Tarboro Community Outreach, Nash Community College Food Pantry, My Sister’s House, Ronald McDonald House, and other community ministries as needs arose.

 

In 2011, the congregation embarked on the renovation of the Olivet Building.  Additions were made to each side of the original building.  This added two additional rooms for Sunday School and a nursery.  The kitchen and bathroom were upgraded, a pantry added and a large storage room.  The congregation has enjoyed many hours of fellowship in the newly renovated building.

 

In 2016 the Sanctuary building was extensively renovated and paid for through a generous donation from the Estate of Benjamin Kirkland.  The sanctuary was re-dedicated May 21, 2017, along with a rose garden in Mr. Kirkland’s memory located in the front of the church.  “Mr. Ben” was an avid gardener, and was known for his love of and generosity to his church.

 

Dr. Ronn McCracken continued to serve as pastor until his retirement June 30, 2018.

 

William and Mary Hart was served by various supply preachers/speakers until Rev. John Milholland became Temporary Stated Supply Pastor May 19, 2019.  The church continued to flourish with Rev. Milholland.  On March 16, 2020 the session voted to cancel all services until April 5, 2020 due to the COVID 19 outbreak.  This was then extended due to Phase I of NC guidelines regarding churches and the pandemic.  Rev. Milholland continued to minister to our church through virtual services.  The church resumed indoor worship July 19, 2020 with worship services only to minimize contact.  Rev. Milholland concluded his tenure with William and Mary Hart July 12, 2020.

 

Rev. Milholland guided William and Mary Hart through the process of searching for a full-time pastor.  On June 16, 2019, a Pastor Nominating Committee was formed.  The nominating committee worked tirelessly through out the COVID 19 pandemic. In a congregational meeting on August 30, 2020, the church voted to call Rev. Juli Gicker-Anderson to serve as Pastor of William and Mary Hart Presbyterian Church.  

 

Reverend Juli Gicker-Anderson began her tenure with William and Mary Hart on October 1, 2020.  The church continued to operate on modified services due to the pandemic.  The church celebrated resuming full worship services, Sunday School, and activities on Rally Day September 12, 2021 with a catered luncheon.    During the summer of 2021 the church received a Technology Grant from the Presbytery of New Hope.  This grant was used to upgrade technology used for live streaming of the worship service and security cameras were installed. Rev. Juli Gicker-Anderson concluded her tenure on October 30, 2022.

 

William and Mary Hart entered into Bridge Interim contract with Preston Smith on November 13, 2022.  Preston guided our church in preparation for a new pastor.  He helped us, as a congregation, explore all the options that were open to William and Mary Hart.  His love, compassion and support brought healing to our congregation following some very trying times for William and Mary Hart during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Preston concluded his tenure with our congregation on May 31, 2023. 

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As an experiment in interim periods in small congregations when a full-time interim pastor might not be available to a small rural church, the Session of William & Mary Hart worked with the Commission on Ministry from New Hope Presbytery to create an alternative solution.  The Session is providing leadership for the day to day operations, while our Clerk works with the Pulpit Supply Liaison from the Presbytery to maintain quality preaching from the pulpit.  Rev. Rob Jackson, who began as our COM Advocate, was hired as an "Interim Consultant" to provide consistent leadership as the Moderator of our Session and to provide support to our PNC and provide occasional pastoral support for members in need.

 

William and Mary Hart Presbyterian Church is looking forward to a bright future in finding a pastor that is a good fit for our congregation.