Two months ago Jonathan Cordell of Jacksonville, Fla., had never heard of Poplar Springs Baptist Church, the church of Slovakian heritage in the Richmond area.
Interested in family history, he discovered the baptismal certificate of his great-grandfather, Martyn Gregor. In December 1911 Gregor became the first person baptized within the little Slovak community on Charles City Road. The officiating minister was Andrew Slabey of First Slovak Baptist Church in Philadelphia. He had been making the journey by train to preach and minister to the group. The Richmond church would not be formed for two more years, but already they had a baptism.
Fred Anderson
|
Cordell searched the Internet to discover more. He learned that Poplar Springs was celebrating its centennial over the Labor Day weekend. He and his wife, Charity, and his mother, Joan Gregor Cordell, traveled from Florida to a place they had not even known existed to be with a congregation with whom they had only distant connections. They were strangers among strangers.
But they must have left Richmond thinking they had spent a weekend finding home. Everyone present at Poplar Springs for the great anniversary was “put to home.” People extended the right hand of fellowship, exchanged information and engaged the visitors into the community. Of course, the Cordells wanted to drive around the surrounding farm country and see where Martyn Gregor and the other Slovakian immigrants had settled.
In 1910 three years before the constituting of a church, three families of Czechoslovakian extraction came from Pennsylvania to Virginia and established homes on farms in close proximity. They were about a mile from the Poplar Springs railroad station, which much later, became the name of the community. Maybe they already had a connection with the Slovak church of Philadelphia and Pastor Slabey.
Poplar Springs pastor Steve Crane (left) welcomes Charity, Joan and Jonathan Cordell, visitors with a family connection to the church.
|
These first families frequently gathered for worship in their homes. George Ukrop, head of one of the families, wrote Slabey the following poignant message: “We are sorry to say that we have no brother who could explain to us God’s Word. We hope, that if it is God’s will, that you will come to visit us.”
These original families still spoke and wrote Slovakian despite settling among English-speaking people.
In May 1911, Slabey made arrangements to come once a month to hold services. From the beginning the Virginia Baptist Mission Board took an interest in the new work, covering Slabey’s travel expenses. In January 1912 the little band of believers organized themselves as a mission of the Philadelphia church. They elected officers: George Ukrop was the first deacon, Stephen Ukrop was clerk, Martyn Gregor was treasurer and Anna Chudy was the first Sunday school teacher.
The original families donated land and a little church house was built and dedicated in November 1914. Valued at $600, it was a one-room building which in time was improved with a vestibule and an addition for Sunday school. The Mission Board continued to grant monetary support until 1952 when the church declared itself self-sufficient. It was an investment which paid great dividends.
In the early years the congregation was small, yet in 1921 it hosted the Czechoslovak Baptist Convention of the U.S.A. and Canada and has remained affiliated with that national body. From its inception, the Slovak church was bathed in prayer. There was a long-standing custom in the early years to hold prayer meetings before Sunday school and worship.
During the anniversary service, Brent S. Holder evoked thoughts of home by reading an old letter written by his great-grandmother, Anna Fuska Ukrop: “My dear children …. God’s protection and God’s blessing is being given by your mother. Having given to the Lord God always I am not leaving you any earthly blessings ….”
Yet the old woman offered the best gifts in her advice: “Serve Him with all your heart. Pray. Read God’s Holy Bible every day. This is the command of your mother.”
A vintage delivery truck from Ukrop’s Market was on hand at Poplar Springs’s celebration.
|
Holder shared that as an 18-year-old she had left the old country to meet her husband in America. He said: “[She] was going out in faith to look for something better and raised her family here and at age 80 left this message for her family. She thought of eternal wealth. She left the most valuable thing she had that she knew her children would need to get by in life.”
In 1952 the church built a substantial brick house of worship, destroyed by arson in 2004. Truly the glory of the present magnificent building and the state-of-the-art Christian life center exceed anything beyond the founders’ imaginations.
In the anniversary service, Bill Korman Jr., a dedicated lay member of the church, shared personal remembrances. He believed that the original families thought eastern Henrico County was “paradise” and there they created a community rooted in faith and characterized by love for neighbor. They also practiced a work ethic characteristic of first-generation Americans. He shared that he “came forward” during a revival held in 1954 when 11 were baptized. He asked for a show of hands of all those who had “come to know the Lord” at Poplar Springs and many hands were in the air.
Another long-standing tradition has been churchwide picnics. On Labor Day, the day after the church’s grand anniversary, everyone met at the Ukrop family farm hard by the church. Poplar Springs is known for a generous spirit. For 30 or more years it has hosted an annual picnic for all the pastors and their families within the Dover Baptist Association.
The home folks who gathered for this year’s picnic were welcomed by Robert S. “Bobby” Ukrop, a well-known local businessman. He remembered those who were not present, including his own late parents, Joe and Jacquelin, and Margie Ukrop, who served 50 years in the church nursery and died at age 100 in the church’s centennial year. He mentioned his aunt, Anne Valack, also at the century mark, who was unable to attend.
Bobby Ukrop also recognized the youth who were present, calling them the future of the church. He urged them to capture the spirit of the founders and exemplify the same “tradition of over-achieving, a can-do spirit and characteristic work ethic” of their spiritual ancestors.
He hoped they are finding home at Poplar Springs.
Fred Anderson ([email protected]) is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies.