History Moment

Submitted by Peggy Taylor

Parkway UCC’s New Fellowship Hall, 1980

Carolyn Marshall and I have been going through “paper she has saved”, and we found a newspaper article and picture of the new fellowship hall dedicated June 18,1980.

It was located where our present kitchen/lobby is today, “designed to be as ecologically sound and economical as possible.”  It cost $37,000. That price also included re-roofing the whole building. Membership at that time was estimated to be 132 or so.

The minister, Paul Robinson, told the reporter that the project began as an idea for enlarging the sanctuary, turning it into a multipurpose room. Members felt that as so many things were going on in the building, there needed to be one place that would remain stable – the sanctuary.

Bricks from the original church were recycled. Members saved money by tearing down two walls and cleaning the brick for reuse. I remember work days when we chipped mortar off the bricks and used muriatic acid to clean them. After construction, members finished woodwork and did landscaping. A wood-burning stove was built by Rev. Ronnie Williams, a PUCC member and part-time pastor at Pfafftown UCC. It was installed in the new hall and was used for several years in an effort to avoid gas and electric usage.

“The church also is contemplating building a solar greenhouse on the front of the church to be used for supplementary heat for the sanctuary and to provide space for raising vegetables.”

My Parkway Family! If all goes as planned, I’m going back across the pond! I’ve accepted a teaching position in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. I’ll be teaching 7th and 8th grade English at a school that serves local Uzbek children but with an international staff. Like anything, it’s got some pros and cons, but I’m very excited for the opportunity for another adventure.

I appreciate all well-wishes and prayers for health, safety, clarity of thought, resourcefulness, adaptability, companionship, problem solving ability, and whatever else I need to be successful and happy.

If you are interested in helping me with logistical support, I would be extremely grateful. I am happy for any previous helpers to help again or happy for any new helpers! Here is a working list of what I need help with:

The best way to contact me is to text me and then we can arrange a phone call OR Facebook Messenger.

A new Lutheran/Moravian congregation called The Dwelling has been operating for about a year, primarily for, but not limited to, those who have or are experiencing homelessness.

Part of the ministry of this new church is providing Service Learning opportunities for youth from around the country. They will be coming to Winston-Salem in July to learn, serve, and somewhat live as our Neighbors experiencing homelessness. They will spend a week housed at a local church (sleeping on our shelter mats!) and will come to better understand the complexities of homelessness, serve at various locations, as well as learning to advocate for justice, accessible mental health care, affordable housing, and more.

The Service Learning Groups will be housed at Burkhead United Methodist Church 5250 Silas Creek Parkway.

The weeks of operation are: Monday-Friday:

July 5-9

July 26-30

For more info, feel free to contact me, Joyce Carter

The Community Engagement Team has committed to providing snacks once a week for the Philo-Hill CDF Freedom School located at Covenant Presbyterian Church. Snacks are needed for 40 students and seven staff. We will be delivering snacks every Tuesday, starting June 29.

If you would like to contribute snacks, please bring them to the church on Sunday and leave them in the designated box in the Narthex. We need the snacks by Sunday so that we can purchase extra if needed. Financial support is also welcomed. Make checks payable to Parkway UCC and note in the memo – Freedom School.

The first week we will be providing orange juice (not orange drink) and crackers(cheese).

July 9 – Apples and granola bars

Each week, items needed will be listed in the announcements.

Mindful of our status as a congregational community, we, the Personnel Committee, seek to remind all of us of our responsibility to consider what committee or team within the church community is caring for a specific concern any of us may have. While our minister is responsible for our overall welfare, many day-to-day activities and duties fall to the care of those within the congregation. We ask that when you have a particular concern, you consider which committee or team might be appropriate to address that concern and communicate with either the chair or a member of the relevant group. For example, questions or comments about hymns go to Worship and Education, concern about upkeep of the church building or grounds goes to Property, awareness of a family in need of a meal goes to Nurture.

Our goal is both to preserve our minister’s time and energy for his primary functions and to support increased awareness and involvement of all of us in maintaining our church community.

Thank you,

Michael Lange (Chair), Anne Herndon, Sean Nelligan