Covington Christmas

Chapter One The October day was bright, invigorating, and cool enough for a light jacket. Wine-colored dogwood leaves heralded the muted colors of a North Carolina fall: peach, plum, rust, cinnamon, and an array of yellows. Grace Singleton stepped from the porch of the farmhouse she shared with her friends, Amelia Declose and Hannah Parrish. Walking briskly, she traversed the lawn, crossed Cove Road, and turned left down the road to the church, where she had agreed to help young Pastor Denny Ledbetter clean out the church's attic. As she climbed the narrow pull-down stairs leading from the storage room off the pastor's office, Grace heard Denny Ledbetter's alarmed voice. "Good heavens. This is impossible! It's just terrible!" "What's impossible?" she asked, sticking her head into the dim attic. Pervaded by a musty odor, the attic was a dank, dusty room without ventilation other than the slatted ovals embedded in opposite walls. Two bare bulbs crusted with dust dangled on ancient wires from the ceiling. Denny sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, fenced by boxes. "This." He held out a folder and waved it in her direction. Fine dust wafted toward her and Grace sneezed. Denny did as well, five, six, seven times, one quick jerk of a sneeze after the other. He pointed to the boxes around him. "Most of this stuff is disposable, mainly bank statements dating from the late 1970s and 1980s. But then I found this. It's shocking and unbelievable. Come, read it. You won't believe it. It's very upsetting." He pulled several deeply creased letters from the folder and handed them to her. "Mrs. Singleton, if what this letter says is true, it's explosive." "Call me Grace, please. Everyone does." Grateful that she had remembered to slip them into the pocket of her jacket, Grace pulled out her reading glasses. Dated December 1, 1963, the letter was written on fine parchment yellowed with age, and addressed to Griffen Anson, Chairman of the Cove Road Community Church Council, Covington, North Carolina. The content was startling, and brief, and Grace read aloud. Dear Mr. Anson, We regret to inform you that Richard W. Simms has not been granted a degree from the seminary, and therefore the presbytery, which recommended Mr. Simms for seminary training, will not allow his ordination. Mr. Simms is thus not authorized to perform baptisms, weddings, or other rites and ceremonies, or to conduct services or to be deemed a pastor. Many fine young men have been graduated, and we would be pleased to assist you in your search for a pastor for your congregation. Sincerely yours, John P. Garner, President McLeod Theological Seminary in Ohio Attached with a rusted staple was a copy of another letter from the presbytery executive, confirming the fact that without a seminary degree Simms could not be ordained. Neither letter contained an explanation as to why Simms had failed to graduate. "What is a presbytery executive?" Grace asked. "Simms must have been a Presbyterian, and this letter is from the churchman who was overseeing his training and ordination. Something quite serious must have happened for them to dismiss him and not ordain him." Grace handed Denny the letters and removed her glasses. "These letters are over forty years old. How could this be?" Did Pastor Johnson know about this? No, he couldn't possibly have known. These events took place before his tenure as pastor. And if he had known, surely he wouldn't have kept such information secret all the years he'd been here. Denny shuffled several documents. "There's more. These are unsigned marriage certificates for the Craines, the Herrills, and three couples named McCorkle. Simms married them all between October and November of 1963. The church called him to service and installed him before they got these letters, I guess,Medlicott, Joan A. is the author of 'Covington Christmas ', published 2006 under ISBN 9781416524861 and ISBN 141652486X.