Worship In Smith Hall

On the first Sunday of June, as renovations proceed on the sanctuary, chapel, and office space, Smith Hall will become our worship home. Both the Second at Nine Service and the 11 a.m. Service for the Lord’s Day will be held there. The Second at Nine band will play, as usual, for the early service. The choir, accompanied by both a grand piano and small organ, will provide music for the later service. All of the sacraments will be observed there.

We will enter our church through the Westcott door or the sun dial door. The glass doors and all doors to both the sanctuary and chapel will remain closed for the duration of the renovations. Greeters and ushers will be on hand to guide us through the first few Sunday mornings and signs will be posted to make the way easier. Even so, this will be a new and exciting experience for all of us, and we’re sure to learn as we go.

Smith Hall has been cleaned and dressed for the occasion. The walls, woodwork, and windows have been scrubbed and freshly painted, new blinds have been installed, and newly purchased chairs will be in place. The Hall has taken on a life of its own – it’s open, light, airy, warm, and welcoming. The chancel cross will be placed on the wall, and the communion table and baptismal font will be brought from the sanctuary. Liturgical furnishings will include the ushers’ tables and chairs from the narthex.

The building which houses Smith Hall, originally called the church house and the first of the buildings to be erected on our Guilford site, was dedicated in 1925; services were held in it until the sanctuary was completed in 1930. We can imagine the spirit that enlivened our forebears as they held their first service in the church house in 1925. More than 120 years of history had led them to this place of worship. Now, 85 years later, we find ourselves back in “the church house,” as this new chapter in the life of our congregation unfolds. May the same joy and reverence and enthusiasm sustain us as we worship today in Smith Hall and look forward to the time when we will again worship in our sanctuary and chapel.

Church history from “One Hundred Fifty Years, Second Presbyterian Church.”