In October 1865, newly freed blacks in Mecklenburg County’s Steele Creek Township also known as the “Black Jack” descended from the balconies of white Presbyterian churches and helped form the first black Presbytery. The Catawba Presbytery, which was founded by ministers, Reverends Sidney S. Murkland, Willis L. Miller and Samuel Alexander, aided freedmen to organize McClintock Presbyterian Church.
Later that month, McClintock became the first black Presbyterian church in Mecklenburg County with the first worship service held at the home of a white minister, Rev. Samuel C. Alexander, who also served as the church’s first minister. The first structure, constructed on one acre of land donated by Rev. Alexander, was a brush arbor or a tent.
From its inception, McClintock is noted for strong leadership of the laity. Cain Grier and Jacob McDowell were named in the 1867 deed. Neely Potts was a teacher in the community. Though he made a living farming, on weekends and other free time, he’d gather the children and teach them. He taught Sunday School lessons and the shorter Catechism. Mr. Potts was also a minister of music and one of the first choir directors at McClintock. The fruits of his labor have continued to flourish through his descendents Granville (Weldon) Potts Sr., Clyde Potts, Geraldine Moore and Cherise Kay.
Also instrumental in McClintock’s Sunday School was Clifton Woods Jr. whose leadership and influence had a profound impact. Along with the musical legacy of the Potts family, the heritage of music also reigns from the ancestry of the Hoover family with Linda Hoover McClain, and the present minister of music, Marcellus Hoover.
Indications are that in 1870, membership of McClintock Presbyterian Church included Cain and Mary Grier and their seven children, Jacob and Martha McDowell and their five children; Green and Augusta Potts and their five children, Andy and Martha Grier and their five children; Andy and Susan McGill and their three children; Julius and Mulvina Partlow and their five children; Milas and Margaret McClain and their seven children; David and Nancy Erwin with at least one child; Anderson and Laura Carrothers with at least one child and Eli and Laura Neal with at least one child. That gives a minimum membership of 22 adults and 39 children. Of these adults, only one can be traced as a former member of Steele Creek Presbyterian Church.
Records of the Committee on Missions to the Freedman name McClintock on two occasions; first in 1874 indicating that 25 new members had been received, and in 1875 records indicate that 44 men had been received.
By way of competent leadership, growth has been somewhat progressive at McClintock. The hallmark of the ministry at McClintock is worship, education, sacred music and outreach. In an October 28, 1886 letter Reverend Alexander submitted to the Committee on Freedmen of Old School Presbyterian Church that he had conducted about thirty-one sermons and held forty-seven services; as well as organized the church, which consisted of forty-six members, six of which were elders and two were deacons. “They were elected and ordained, and I, administering the sacraments; baptized twenty who for the first time professed a change of heart. I instructed six before admitting them into the membership; and operating a very successful Sunday, averaging over a hundred pupils,” he wrote. The religious education activities were complimented with secular education in the Church’s parochial school. These initial ministries at McClintock (decades of the 1860s 1890s) have, for the most part, continued until this day.
Strong family ties bind McClintock and many of the descendants of the original families remain in its membership. Etched in old tombstones in the cemetery alongside the church are the names of some of these members who bear witness to today’s families. They are Alexander, Erwin, Partlow, Harris, McGill, Hoover, Taylor, Weathers and Pettis. Other family names are Corothers, Woods and Hoover who migrated to the area from South Carolina. Later the Grier, Neal, Potts and Foust families joined the church and became an integral part of McClintock’s history.
Elder S.W. Grier, known as Papa Grier, was born April 18, 1889. He was spiritually grounded and believed in putting God first. An integral part of the life and ministry of McClintock, Elder Grier joined the church at an early age and was Sunday School treasurer for over thirty years. On August 26, 1993, Elder Grier, the oldest elder in McClintock’s church history, died at the age of 104, where his legacy, “Put God first and then follow” remains.
McClintock possesses a rich history in its commitment to fellowship and education. As a result, as time progressed so did the demand for education and advancement and the growing membership felt a need to educate its children. Between 1883 and 1885, the Old McClintock School was built and housed grades 1 through 7. Serving a dual purpose, the congregation worshipped in this structure until a new church was erected in the 1890s. Building materials for the church were provided by a white farmer, Mr. McClintock, thus, the church bears his name. In 1891, records show a $200 loan from the church Extension Committee of the Presbytery Church, USA was granted to construct the church sanctuary. The loan was signed by O. McLean, N. (Neely JM Potts, P14. H Neal, 1. [Tom] A. Grier III and Cain Grier).
With regard to the school, expanding families and membership soon outgrew the Old McClintock School. In the 1920s, the Knights of the Guiding Star of the East built a two-story structure adjacent to the church and helped to accommodate the overflow by granting permission to the School Board to use the structure for public education and Sunday School classes. The school at that time scheduled classes based on the prevailing farming economy. Students attended lay-by sessions from late November to April in order to help plant and harvest farm crops. The Old McClintock School was torn down in 1916 and a Rosenwald School was built in the 1920s. The school served the purpose of public education for African-Americans in the Steele Creek community. The old two-story building of the Knights of the Guiding Star of the East was demolished in the 1940s. At present, the Rosenwald School is used by the church as a Fellowship Hall.
In 1959, church members decided the old church facility was no longer adequate for worship services. After a successful fundraising rally, the church was remodeled and the old plank structure was replaced with a newer more modern brick surface. Completed in October 1961, it continues to serve the needs of the congregation.
Also, as a testament to the past, is the old Church bell which is the same age as the church. For years, the bell was located in the steeple of the church which was approximately 40 feet high. The church bell which rang out its Sunday morning chorus was also a communication tool. It was used to acknowledge various events occurring at the church as well as in the community. The ring tones had significant meanings and men in the church were trained to ring the bell. In 1957 chairman Benjamin Hoover and the Men’s council were instrumental in preserving the bell and it now rest prominently on the front lawn of the church.
Strong pastoral leadership was a hallmark for McClintock. Reverend Samuel G. Alexander was organizing Pastor of the Church and served until January 1886. During the next 136 years, leadership consisted of Rev. Willis L. Miller (1867-1889); Rev. Matthews Ijams (1889-1907); Rev. E.W. Carpenter (1907-1910); Rev. Mayberry (1910-1930); Rev. Jones (1930-1940); Rev. S.J. McLean (1940-1950); Rev. Raymond Worsley (1950-1960); Rev. William D. Baxter (1960-1985); Rev. Robert L. Shirley, interim (1985-1987); Rev. James R. Ephraim (1988–1998). During the years 1999 to 2003, pastoral leadership was provided by interim ministers, Joseph A. Gaston, Raymond Worsley, Lloyd Morris and George Alexander. On August 31, 2003, Rev. Arthur W. Canada, Sr. became the twelfth pastor of McClintock. Interestingly, Rev. Matthew Ijams (1889-1907) was a predecessor of the McGill descendants.
In the ensuing years, the ministry has expanded with the addition of women and men’s programs, adult choir, evangelism and revival meetings. Other ministries are youth programs, youth organizations, presbytery rallies, synod camps and conferences and Vacation Bible School. Special programs are arranged for Easter, Mothers Day and Children’s Day. McClintock has also embraced the ordination of women as Elders, communicant classes, SS Mariners, Gospel Choir (decade of the 1960-1980s), Black History Month, Children’s Choir and community outreach. Seasonal worship includes Easter Sunrise Service with Mt. Olive, Christmas programs, joint Thanksgiving Service with Steele Creek, Central Steele Creek PC (USA) churches, joint Lenten Worship with Steele Creek, Central Steele Creek, Mt. Olive and Pleasant Hill PC (USA) churches. Men’s activities with Mt. Olive and H.O. Graham are held to reinforce strong community leadership.
The ministries of McClintock have, from its inception, included partnerships with the Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA, and the predecessor bodies under which McClintock fell as a congregation. These include the Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly Mission Enterprises – National Missions, Christian Education and Ecumenical Missions.
McClintock Presbyterian Church had three members to complete training for certification for Lay Ministers, Elder Billy Grier (1994), Elder Weldon Potts Jr. (2002), and Patricia Reid (2005). Elder Billy Grier was elected to serve as Lay Pastor of Ebenezer Presbyterian Church in Morven, North Carolina.
It is with great joy and honor that the McClintock Presbyterian Church honored one of its former pastors, the Reverend Doctor Raymond Worsley [(1950-1960)] [(1999-2003)] as Pastor Emeritus on August 1, 2005. While the Reverend Doctor Raymond Worsley was serving other churches he still found time to nurture the McClintock Church family.
The richness of the black jack soil is embedded in the McClintock spirit, which has endured for 141 years. As written by Charles Summers in his doctoral dissertation, McClintock Presbyterian Church: The Early Years of an African American Congregation, McClintock’s Ethos: McClintock Presbyterian Church exemplifies the faith and tenacity that possessed our founders. Springing from a time of devastation after a war that began something new and creative. Instead of abandoning the Presbyterian Denomination, the members of McClintock were among the first after the Civil War to establish a Presbyterian Church that welcomed black people into membership, leadership and front row seats in worship. Out of the ashes of slavery and ignorance they fashioned a community of faith and a center of both religious and secular education. Their legacy to succeed for generations is a foundation sufficiently firm to withstand the stress of time with ministries amply capable to meet the demand of a given time and the ability to adapt to emerging futures; and the resilience to withstand storm as well as the tranquil.
It is the legacy that empowered McClintock over the last several years to extricate itself from the scourge of conflict and strife, to arise to the challenges and trial leadership, trigger the tenacity to rejuvenate itself from erosion in its community and to engage in enhancements for “Doing a New Thing” in the new millennium.
Credits:
The Sources for information in this historical sketch are:
Summers, Charles, McClintock Presbyterian Church: The Early Years of an African American Congregation. A Doctoral Dissertation submitted to the faculties of the Schools of the Atlanta Theological Association in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a degree of Doctor of Ministry at Columbia Theological Seminary, 1992. McClintock Presbyterian Church History 1865-1995, presented at the McClintock Presbyterian Church Homecoming Celebration, October 1995.
McClintock Presbyterian Church History, McClintock Presbyterian Church Homecoming Bulletin, October 1998, October 1999 and October 2000.
