First Presbyterian to hold closing worship service, donate building to library Dec. 19

First Presbyterian Church of Eureka Springs will hold its closing worship service and celebration of donating its building to the Eureka Springs Carnegie Public Library at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at 209 Spring St. There will be a reception in the Fellowship Hall after the service.

Rev. Stewart Smith of 1st Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville and Rev. John Arnold of 1st Presbyterian Church of Rogers will be the presiding ministers.

Presbyterian services were first held in Eureka Springs during 1880 and 1881 by Rev. W.B. McElwee. During the summer and fall of 1881 he preached under a large tent located at the corner of Mountain and Spring streets. Worshippers sat on wooden benches but when cold weather came the services were discontinued.

In March of 1882 during an organizational meeting the church composed of 28 members was chartered under Ozark Presbytery, North, under the direction of Rev. J.J. Marks, D.D. The first recorded communion service was held on June 18 of that year.

In 1883 the women of the church formed the “Extra Cent Society” to raise money for a church building. Then in October of 1885, Powell Clayton donated the corner of Spring Street and Hillside as land for “… a stone church building of the value of at least $4,000.” The cornerstone was laid on May 13, 1886, with completion of the building by November. The 1888 statistical report showed a membership of 155.

The cut stone walls are of magnesium limestone. The building design has a modified cathedral floor plan with foreshortened transepts on the north and south. The narthex is under the steeple.

The stained glass windows were obtained from Hastings, Minn., through the help of H.B. Claflins. One design reoccurs at the bottom of the three large windows and the smaller windows on the north side of the church. This is the outline for a “door.” This motif is a symbol for Christ’s invitation: “Listen, I am standing art the door, knocking.” Rev. 3:20. It is an invitation to prayer and personal relationship that Christ extends to all people. Also see John 10:7 and Matthew 7:7.

In two other windows, the east and the south, the background design is made up of diamonds each containing a daisy. The daisy is a 15th century symbol of the innocence of the baby Jesus.

The West Window faces onto Spring Street and is lighted at night. It is elegantly designed and contains five colorful symbols. At the top can be seen the cross, crown and olive branch. The cross reminds us of Christ’s death and the crown symbolizes the reward of the faithful in life after death … “and I will give you the crown of life.” Rev. 2:10 The olive branch is widely recognized as a symbol of peace.

Two large dogwood blossoms appear directly under the cross and crown. The dogwood is a modern figure of the Passion of Christ. Legend has is that the dogwood was the source of the wood used for the cross.