By Maggie Beamguard
Insider Editor
The tombstone of Catharine Gilbert — b. August 1, 1844, d. March 12, 1903 — stands sentry in the center of the cemetery of Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church in West End. The cedar tree under which it rests will certainly one day envelop within its bark the stone which leans against it, a living reminder of the steady relentlessness of change.
The bones beneath the stone and roots and sandy soil are 178 years old. They are older than cell phones, record players and Edison’s lightbulb.They are older than rock-n-roll, the Charleston and silent films. Older than the Civil Rights Movement, and the Great Depression and Spanish Influenza.
And they are older by a long-shot than the paved corridor of N.C. 211, which abuts the cemetery where they rest along with Catharine’s kin. They are the ancestors of the Cedar Grove church, founded in 1883.
As semi-trucks hurtle down the road, it’s hard to imagine horse drawn carriages and Model-T Fords once ambling past the church’s land.
It is the highway and its imminent outward spread which disrupted the modern worship life of the 139 year-old historically black church.
The simple cinder-block sanctuary was torn down a year ago to make way for the eventual road expansion. Built in the early 1970s, it was the second building on the church’s land, originally purchased in 1917 for $50 from Alex and Flora Dunlap.
Additional property was added in August 2008. But a portion of the cemetery is on a parcel belonging to Moore County Schools.
“A brief, informal survey of the graves indicates the first interment is 1903. It appears that in 1892, the property was conveyed to the ‘Public School Committee and successors,’” according to a statement from Moore County Schools communications director Catherine Nagy. “We are currently in the process of reviewing all the documentation that is available to us and will provide an update at a future board meeting.”
The circumstances surrounding demolition of the building dismayed the community of faith. Their pastor, the Rev. Paschal Anthony McNair, was in the hospital last year when his wife and co-pastor, Diane Chambers McNair, found the letter from the N.C. Department of Transportation in the door of the church on Aug. 22. The delayed letter had criss-crossed the state between the church and Raleigh for several weeks before arriving. The clergy couple was surprised to learn they had to vacate the premises by Sept. 12.
Paschal McNair would never return to the church. He died on Aug. 31, a day after his 52nd wedding anniversary.
Diane McNair picked up the mantle even while grieving the loss of her husband. There was work to do — a congregation to hold together, a move to oversee. They finished packing up just after Labor Day. And the demolition soon followed. Loss compounded loss.
“It was just shocking, and I could say devastating because, where are we going to go?” she said. The congregation hopes to rebuild farther back on the property, but there are challenges with grading the property and wetlands.
“We’re kind of waiting on the county to let us know if we can build there and what we’ll need to do.”
It seemed to the larger community that the church building simply vanished. Linda Donnel, a longtime family friend of the McNairs, says her Sunday School class at West End United Methodist Church has wondered what became of the Cedar Grove church.
“So many people have said ‘That church was gone overnight,’ and it bothered a lot of people,”said Donnel.
McNair has been asked as recently as last month what happened to the church.
For over a century, the church was home to worship, Bible study, fellowship, Vacation Bible School, youth activities and annual Homecoming services.
“Every fourth Sunday in August we would have a homecoming,” said McNair. “The folks that moved away would come back. That was a big thing because you get people from New York and Chicago and even little local communities around. They would all come back for the homecoming. And at the same time the revival started. That was the highlight.”
The final service in the building happened to fall on Homecoming Sunday. The news had come so abruptly that only McNair knew it would be the last.
She continues to serve as the church’s pastor during the congregation’s diaspora, leading a weekly Sunday service at 11 a.m. via conference call for around 20 regular attendees.
“I’m on the phone every Sunday. I’ll be so glad when we get home and we can come back together. Then I’m going to turn it over to a search committee,” she said.
The congregation, though diminished by their pastor’s death, their building’s loss and the impact of the pandemic, hangs on to hope for the future.
“We’re just hoping that we can rebuild and try to get everybody back together. And hopefully welcome new members. But we want to keep on keeping on.”
Despite the challenges of this season in the congregation’s life, McNair says she has learned about God in new ways.
“God is right there with you. I love the scripture that says God will never leave you nor forsake you. I have experienced that. It’s true.”
She knows her husband would be proud of the church for its faithfulness. “He would always say he was grateful, thankful, proud of you – always encouraging to keep on doing.”
And so they shall. While they make plans for rebuilding their place of worship, they will continue to care for the cemetery and the property they retained.
The eroded epitatah for Catharine Gilbert reads “Though lost to sight, to memory dear.”
The 1830s song by George Linley it quotes continues, “Thou ever wilt remain; One only hope my heart can cheer — The hope to meet again.”
Like an echo through time, they are words that remain relevant to the Cedar Grove congregation.
Donations in support of Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church can be sent to Cedar Grove Church, PO BOX 1085, West End, NC 27376.
Contact Maggie Beamguard at maggie@thepilot.com.
