| It’s been just over eight months since
the Rev. Jonathan C. Wallace’s July 20, 2008 installation
as Bethesda Presbyterian Church’s new minister in Aberdeen. |
|
| Only a month prior, he moved to the Sandhills with his wife
Kim, a Pinehurst Elementary School second-grade teacher, daughter
Erin (17) and sons Taylor (13) and Andrew (10). “New” to both
church and community only in the most relative sense, Wallace
has wasted no time taking root where he was planted. |
| A member of the New Hope Presbytery Committee
on Ministry, serving 134 congregations in eastern North Carolina,
Wallace readily embraced the chance to introduce himself on
his first Sunday as Bethesda’s new minister. |
| “It’s a great occasion when you’re a new pastor,”
says Wallace, “[one] when you talk about what you do and how
you do it through explaining how you honor the Lord.” |
| Self-described as “born in plaid diapers” in Atlanta,
Wallace’s Presbyterian roots can be traced to his baptism
at downtown Atlanta’s Central Presbyterian Church. His family
moved to Springfield, Va., when Wallace was 7 years old. Viewed
as an involved 14-year-old youth group member at Springfield’s
Grace Presbyterian Church, Wallace and his pastor discussed
his thoughts of pursuing the ministry when he was a teenager. |
| “I tried to dismiss it, but the
idea never totally left me,” says Wallace. “It was not until
I was in college that I seriously considered the possibility
that I might have a call to the ministry.” |
| As a College of William & Mary undergraduate,
Wallace considered his religious studies to be his most wonderful
academic courses, yet he had worked hard for an accounting
degree. Upon graduation in 1985, he worked as a staff accountant
at Peat Marwick (KPMG) accounting firm in Washington, D.C.,
for the next two years. |
| Wallace says that the divine “hound of heaven”
that had led him to ponder the ministry as a youth pursued
his soul into his formative professional years. Without looking
back, he enrolled in Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur,
Ga., in 1987. |
| “[Seminary] was the best academic experience
of my life,” Wallace says. |
| After his first year, Wallace completed a summer
internship at First Presbyterian Church in Bay Minette, Ala.
From 1989-1990, he was an intern pastor at Gulf Breeze Presbyterian
Church in Gulf Breeze, Fla. Ordained in 1991, Wallace was
first installed at Summerville Presbyterian Church in the
same-named Georgia town through 1995. |
| For the next five years, he served at Coluumbus
Presbyterian Church in Polk County, before moving east with
his family to become minister at First Presbyterian Church
in Kinston, in 2000. Wallace proceeded to serve eight years
in a church known for its pastoral tenure, yet he was ready
for a new kind of ministerial challenge in becoming Bethesda’s
pastor in summer 2008. |
| “Bethesda has a rich history, and its congregation
is deeply respectful of that history,” he says, alluding to
the church’s progression through three houses of worship over
two centuries. “Our congregation is characterized by a very
strong sense of mission, both domestic and international.” |
| Among the local outreach activities in Bethesda’s
repertoire, Wallace sees a strong congregation support for
Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care Inc., and Family
Promise of Moore County. He was also pleased to have joined
a church rich with celebratory tradition. Looking out over
the expensive Old Bethesda Cemetery grounds on a clear morning,
Wallace spoke in anticipation of the 82nd annual homecoming
that his church will host this September at Bethesda’s 19th-century
historic church. |
| “Last year was hot, especially having worship
in an un-air-conditioned building, but it turned out to be
a beautiful day with lunch on the grounds afterward,” Wallace
says. |
| Far beyond Aberdeen’s town limits, his congregation
also supports global relief through such efforts as Bethesda’s
summer 2009 mission trips to Jamaica and Mexico and its ongoing
support of the mission work in India of Wallace’s Bethesda
pulpit predecessors, David and Sue Hudson. For seven years,
the Hudsons were Bethesda’s co-pastors, and David Hudson was
named area coordinator of Asia and the Pacific for the Presbyterian
Church (USA) World Mission in September 2008. |
| Wallace has also adopted Bethesda’s tradition
of ritual collaboration with two other Aberdeen congregations,
Page Memorial United Methodist Church and Aberdeen First Baptist
Church. The three churches rotate hosting joint services through
the year such as Easter Sunrise, the Sunday before Thanksgiving
and Christmas Eve. |
| “All three are strong, vital congregations,”
says Wallace. “We’re stronger when we’re united together,
and we have a habit of working together during the holiest
of times.” |
| Although an area resident for less than a year,
Wallace has had ample opportunity to formulate his sentiments
on serving a congregation whose lives reflect the spirit of
Aberdeen and the larger Sandhills community. |
| “Aberdeen has been one of the most welcoming,
embracing communities I’ve know,” Wallace says. “Like all
‘families,’ this community always has room to pull up one
more chair. As for the Sandhills, I’ve never lived any place
quite like it. Pinehurst…Southern Pines…Aberdeen…outlying
communities like Carthage…all make wonderful contributions
to the community.” |
