Ashland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Photo 1: Ashland Christian Church circa 1890..
Photo 2: Ashland Christian Church today.
In the mid-1880s a group of seven people felt called to build a Disciples of Christ Church in Ashland. The seven people who stepped out in faith were Dr. and Mrs. Callom Bohannan Jones, Mrs. Indiana W. Carpenter, Miss Josephine T. Wingfield, Mrs. Nannie Cross Delarue, Miss Sallie C. Tinsley and Mr. James W. Taylor. The church grew from the original seven to 18 or 20 by November 11, 1887.
In January 1887, the general superintendent of the Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad wrote to one group of seven persons who were anxious to establish a Disciples Church in Ashland that “the company will give the Disciples Church at Ashland half an acre of ground provided they will build within a reasonable time a proper church building thereupon.”
Thus the Ashland Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) had its beginnings. With help from neighboring Independence Christian Church, the Virginia Christian Missionary Society, the Tidewater Association and other churches of the denomination, to which an appeal for funds was sent out, the “proper church building” was erected and was dedicated in August 1890.
In August of 1925, the church decided to remodel and add additional Sunday school rooms. The little wooden structure was covered with stucco, and a vestibule and a steeple were added at the front. Eleven stained glass windows, arched on the outside of the building, were installed. These windows still grace the present church.
Once again, in 1957, the members of Ashland Christian Church moved forward in faith. The church dedicated the new education building on June 2, 1957. “The cinder block structure, attached to the back of the church, where the old Sunday school rooms had been, contains the present Fellowship Hall, kitchen, three classrooms, the minister’s study and the secretary’s office and two rest rooms.”
It became apparent that the church would have to be replaced. In faith the congregation voted on May 11, 1980, to build a new sanctuary on the present site. (301 South James St.) Dr. Jones, the interim minister, preached the sermon on Sunday, July 21, 1985, at the last service in the old church before it was torn down. “This was an emotional service, half sad, half glad, a time of transition for the little church that had harbored the faith and love of the members of the congregation and their ancestors for 95 years, a move toward a new and expanded era.”
It has been by faith that Ashland Christian Church has reached out into the community. Ashland Christian Church, along with other area churches, started “Meals and Wheels” and the “Ashland Christian Emergency Services” (ACES). Kiddie Kingdom was started at Ashland Christian Church.
It was by faith the congregation voted to add new Sunday school rooms and a gym. On May 5, 2002, the church broke ground. By faith Ashland Christian Church continues to do the work God calls us to do in the community.
(Quotes taken from Ashland Christian Church, The First Hundred Years by Louisa D.). Duls)
(Above text by Kathy Reinger, Sarah Wright and Sandra Lynne. From: Ashland, Virginia, 150 Years, 1858-2008, Ashland Sesquicentennial Committee, 2009, p. 22-23)