Felton Presbyterian Church
Felton Presbyterian Church is a moderately sized church located in Felton, California. It was formerly under the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of San José. Edward Snedeker is the current head pastor.
History of the church
In June 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 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 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Current building
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 1993.
List of 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