8 April 1837 A.D. JACKSON, MS: First Presbyterian Church
8 April 1837 A.D. JACKSON, MS:
First Presbyterian Church
Archivist.
“April 8: First Presbyterian Church.” This
Day in Presbyterian History. 8 Apr 2015. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2015/04/april-8-4/.
Accessed 8 Apr 2015.
April 8: First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS
The
First Presbyterian Church of Jackson was organized on a Saturday afternoon, April 8, 1837 by the Reverend Peter Donan and four
persons: Mrs. Margaret E. Mayson, Mrs. Susan Patton, and John Robb and his
wife, Marion. The organization meeting was held in “the Old State House,”
Mississippi’s first capitol, a small two-story structure on the northeast
corner of E. Capitol and N. President Streets. Peter Donan continued as
the church’s pastor for four years. There were no elders for two years,
no deacons for six years, nor a Presbyterian house of worship for nearly nine
years. In the first two years of its existence, the church had but three
new members.
In
1841, Reverend Donan was followed by Reverend S. H. Hazard, who was
pastor for little more than one year. He was succeeded by the
Reverend Leroy Jones Halsey, a dynamic man and preacher, under whose
ministry the congregation commenced to grow. Halsey spurred the building
of the first sanctuary on the northwest corner of North State and Yazoo
Streets. When Dr. Halsey resigned in 1848, the pulpit was supplied until
February 22, 1849. The congregation then called as pastor the Reverend Isaac
James Henderson, who served until he was succeeded by the Reverend L. A. Lowry
on December 3, 1853. Mr. Lowry was a fine pastor and effective
preacher, but died of Yellow Fever after but two years service. The
pulpit was supplied from March, 1855, until a call was extended to the Reverend
John Hunter on January 24, 1858.
[For
more on the history of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS, see the church web site.]
Words to Live By:
Blessed Zion: First Presbyterian
Church, Jackson, Mississippi, 1837-2012, is
a wonderful church history, written by Dr. Sean Lucas and published early in
2013. The book’s preface alone would be worth the purchase price, in my
estimation. There Dr. Lucas summarizes several lessons drawn from the writing
of this history:
1.
It only takes one generation for a church to die. The
reasons may vary: “a poor pastoral choice; a failure to continue to preach
God’s Word faithfully; a transition in the church’s understanding of mission;
an inability to see and adapt to the neighborhood around it.” By the grace of
God, First/Jackson has been blessed in making many right choices over the many
years.
2. The quality of the ruling
elders who serve the church. These men who form the
Session of the church must be talented, godly men.
3. The value of long-term
pastorates, allowing for great stability, space for
godly pastors to “to shape the theological and experiential perspective of the
congregation in favor of the grand, winsome, evangelical truths of Reformed
Christianity,” and enabling pastors to earn the long-term trust of their
congregation.
4. What
Dr. Lucas calls “The Road Not Taken,” i.e., knowing that mistakes, even
disastrous ones, can be so easily made, we must recognize and rely upon God’s
mercy and blessing. We note that Rev. Peter Donan, the founding pastor of
First/Jackson, later departed from the Reformed Faith, but in God’s providence,
that was some years later and by that time he had no influence on the life of
this congregation. “Churches that stand faithful through the generations are
those that seek men who are faithful to the Scripture, true to the Reformed
faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.”
5. The blessings of evangelical
Presbyterianism. A great church will not “major in the
minors” but will focus on proclaiming Christ and Him crucified.
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