Walk: Church a good place to start

Rev. G.A. Presley squints against the bright skies after completing the 11 o'clock service at Yadkin Methodist Church located off US 29 next to the former N.C. Finishing Company. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

The Yadkin Methodist Church located off US 29 next to the former N.C. Finishing Company. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Shirley Young (center) hugs Aspyn Carter as Katherine Clark (left) stands by after the 11 o'clock service at Yadkin Methodist Church located off US 29 next to the former N.C. Finishing Company. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

By Mark Wineka

mwineka@salisburypost.com

As photographer Jon Lakey and I settled into our pews at Yadkin United Methodist Church Sunday morning, we could hear a shuffle of feet in the balcony behind us.

Little feet.

“Let me do it,” a child’s voice said. And soon, with a tug on the heavy rope, the church bell was ringing, signaling the arrival of the 11 a.m. service.

As people had walked into the sanctuary, it was informal, with many hugs and conversations. The members follow Southern fashion and greet each other with names such as “Miss Shirley” or “Miss Katherine” or “Mr. John.”

When they have visitors such as Jon and I, they also tend to apologize for how small they are, but their very next sentences are always filled with hope and pride.

“We love it,” Imogene Coates said, “It’s getting very sparse, but we hope to get it back up.”

Shirley Young handed us our bulletins on the way in.

“It’s little,” she said. “There’s only a few of us, but we love it here.”

And it’s easy to understand why. This church on a hill has a beautiful simplicity to it, perfect for worship.

There are six rows of pews on the left and seven on the right, with three stained-glass windows on each side. The front choir seats are empty — there just aren’t enough members any longer.

Up front, Martha Jones plays the piano for the prelude music, offertory and hymns.

A wooden cross hangs on wall directly behind the pulpit, but the Rev. G.A. Presley — spelled like Elvis spelled it, says his wife, Kim — likes to walk down from the altar and speak from the center aisle.

A trucking terminal manager near Newton during the week, Presley has only been at Yadkin Methodist for a month — at 60, it’s his first church ever. He said attendance on Sundays is usually in the 20s, but again he predicts that those numbers will grow.

Sunday’s service had 21 people. More members (32) were actually part of the bulletin’s prayer list.

“There’s a name on there that needs to be taken off,” a man told Presley during the church announcements. “He passed away Friday.”

Presley asked whether anyone had news on another member on the prayer list.

“I saw her Friday evening,” Katherine Clark said, “and she was having a good day.”

The outside of Yadkin Methodist is well-kept. The brick church, built in 1930, has a red metal roof that’s fairly new. Handyman Freddie Jones, Martha’s husband, built a new ramp for the disabled on the high side of the church.

A row of five crape myrtles line the street in front.

But sadly, Yadkin Methodist is a lonely sentinel against the harsh landscape across from it — the debris left from the demolition of what used to be the focus of the Yadkin community — the N.C. Finishing Co.

The mill even built the church back in 1930. Now only two water towers rise from the rubble, and even the optimistic church-goers wonder if plans for a “High Rock Raceway” will ever materialize.

Not far from the church stands the old Yadkin school, overtaken by vegetation. Before many of the mill houses were moved elsewhere, the thriving Yadkin community also had a park (with a carousel) not far from the church.

It’s difficult now to imagine those days, looking out from the front steps of Yadkin Methodist.

“When I first came here,” Young said, “the pews were full.”

It was a community that cared about people, said Katherine Clark, who has been a church member since it was built. “Everybody just went in different directions,” she added.

Presley’s message came from Ruth in the Old Testament. He touched on gleaning and faith and, of course, hope. He told his flock that God was with them, no matter what happens.

After his benedition, Presley wished everyone a good week and said he would see them next Sunday.

“And bring somebody with you,” he said.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.