Felton Presbyterian Church

Infobox religious building
building_name = Felton Presbyterian Church


location =
geo =
latitude =
longitude =
religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church (USA)
district = Presbytery of San Jose
consecration_year = 1893
status =
leadership = Edward R. Snedeker
website = http://www.feltonpresbyterian.org/

Felton Presbyterian Church is a moderately sized Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Felton, California under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of San José. Edward Snedeker is the current head pastor.

History of the church

In June of 1891, the first board of trustees was elected. The Rev. Alex Eakin was chairman of the meetings that followed when it was decided to build a church and call it the First Presbyterian Church of Felton. That first church, dedicated in June of 1893, was built at a cost of $1500 at the corner of Gushee and Felton Empire Road. It was constructed in a traditional, New England style. The little church served the congregation for 62 years. The original building is still in use as the Felton Public Library. The present church building on Highway 9 in south Felton was dedicated on January 2, 1955. Don Kint of Felton, acted as foreman, hiring a few carpenters and arranging for a steady stream of volunteers. According to Mr. Kint's memoirs, "At the present time such a project would be almost impossible. Not only because of the cost but because of building permits, county, state and church restrictions. One final word, the temporary wall that contains three (stained glass) windows is where the sanctuary was supposed to be. We are using the social hall as a sanctuary now. I wonder how soon there will enough faith to finish the church building. God will supply the money."

In 1961, members of the church realized that differences resulting from denominational philosophy were irreconcilable. After much deliberation, a group of members split off to form the Evangelical Free Church of Felton, now known as Felton Bible Church. The two churches now enjoy a renewed relationship between members, especially the youth groups. In 1969, Wee Kirk Church of Ben Lomond, united with First Presbyterian Church of Felton to become the United Presbyterian Church of Felton. The brass cross of Wee Kirk was placed over the redwood cross of Felton Church in the Sanctuary as a sign of their uniting. In 1987 the session members voted to change the name one more time to Felton Presbyterian Church.

Felton Presbyterian Church celebrated its 100th Anniversary in June of 1993. The church has undergone much change since it was founded, including a remodel of the current building, calling over 25 Pastors to service, and impacting the lives of thousands of people in the San Lorenzo Valley.

Pastors

# Alex Eakin 1891-1892
# Richard J. Campbell 1892-1894
# C.R. Nugent 1895-1896
# George R. Bird 1897-1898
# David F. Taylor 1899-1914
# J.W. Atkinson 1914-1915
# R.B. Hummel 1915-1916
# Edward J. Walker 1916-1927
# J.E. Delmarter Sr. 1928-1929
# J.E. Delmarter Jr. 1930-1934
# P. Forey 1934-1935
# Vernon Brown 1936-1937
# Ernest Israel 1937-1939
# W.P. Miles 1939-1942
# Henery J. McCall 1943-1945
# Don Allen 1945-1947
# Carrol B. Pederson 1947-1952
# G. Winfield Blount 1952-1958
# William B. Burke 1958-1965
# Don Munro 1965-1985
# Douglas Crocker 1986-1996
# Steven P. Moyer 1997-2001
# Edward R. Snedeker 2003-present

Links

* [http://www.feltonpresbyterian.org/ Felton Presbyterian Church website]
* [http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/libsch/felton.shtml Santa Cruz Library - Felton branch]