Month: August 2016

Not too long ago we pulled the car up to our home after a morning at church and went to the entrance as usual. On the porch was a brown package complete with the usual abundance of bar coded slick paper and Times New Roman font. We knew what it was. We had ordered a […]

The state of South Carolina is rich with Presbyterian and Reformed history because of its early settlement by Presbyterian Ulster Scots, Highlanders, Hebrideans, and others from the land of tartans and the Emerald Isle, as well as the Huguenots who were Reformed immigrants from France via a number of routes as they fled persecution. The […]

When I have occasion to visit churches while traveling, there are three churches I particularly enjoy worshipping in and wandering their properties because of their great histories, faithful preaching, and the historic appeal of their facilities.  One place of worship is the Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia, where the Word has been preached for over […]

On April 8, 1835, Bethel Presbytery organized its new church in Lancaster, South Carolina. The church needed a teaching shepherd, so elders who had seen James Thornwell examined for licensure encouraged the congregation to approve presenting him a call through presbytery. On June 12, 1835, after some soul-searching about his spiritual qualifications and calling to […]

Recently, while taking on the daunting task of cleaning out my many files, paper ones not digital, I ran across a tanned and deteriorating clipping that I had glued right in the middle of a bright white sheet of typing paper and inserted in a folder titled, “Church Statistics.” The title of the brief piece […]

William Buell, youngest child of Benjamin and Sybil (Buell) Sprague, was born in Andover, Tolland county, Connecticut, October 16, 1795. As a boy he showed a keen interest in learning, was a voracious reader, and worked long and hard to hone his speaking and writing skills. After attending the common school of Andover and the […]