First Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the First Presbyterian Church in White Deer, Carson County. Now settle in, because this little story is about more than one church. It's about three.

White Deer's very first church building went up and was dedicated on the Fourth of July, 1909. A fine day to consecrate something, if you ask me. Independence Day, and here comes a house of worship.

The money to build it came mainly from the home churches of pioneer members, people who had pulled up stakes and headed out to the Texas Panhandle and hadn't forgotten where they came from. Other denominations pitched in with donations too. The Presbyterians got the building, but they weren't about to keep it to themselves.

For eleven years, the Methodists and the Baptists came through that same front door. Circuit pastors from all three congregations rotated their Sunday visits, so any given week you might get a Presbyterian preacher, or a Methodist, or a Baptist, depending on whose turn it was. Out on the frontier, you work with what you've got.

They organized a union Sunday School together. They organized a missionary society together. And when the offering plate made its rounds, every coin collected was split equally among all three churches.

Equal shares. No arguments recorded, anyway. That building stood as a worship center from 1909 all the way to 1969.

Sixty years of Sundays under one roof, shared by people who didn't let denominational lines get in the way of needing a place to pray. Then in 1978, the structure was moved from its original site. The ground it stood on holds the memory now, and this marker holds the story.

What the marker says

First church building in White Deer. Dedicated July 4, 1909. Financed mainly through gifts from pioneer members' home churches, and donations by other denominations. Also used by Methodists and Baptists for 11 years, with circuit pastors for the three congregations rotating their Sunday visits. A union Sunday School and missionary society were organized. All offerings were equally shared among the three churches. SUPPLEMENTAL PLAQUE: The First Presbyterian Church building served as a worship center from 1909 to 1969. The structure was moved from this site in 1978. (1979)