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Each month, we throw a dart at a map and write about where it lands.

LOCATION: 11501 Bain School Road, Mint Hill

11501 BAIN SCHOOL ROAD, MINT HILL

Reminders and Redeemers

The members of a historic church in Mint Hill serve their community in the shadow of its history

THE HUM of landscaping equipment cuts through the chilly a ernoon air as workers beautify a marble columbarium. I’m in a courtyard of Philadelphia Presbyterian Church in Mint Hill, where the church places the cremains of members. Just yards away, tombstones from more than 200 years ago, so weathered you can no longer read their etchings, stretch up from the ground.

Founded in 1770, Philadelphia Presbyterian—named a er a church identi ed in the Book of Revelation—is one of the oldest churches in Mecklenburg County. Its original chapel building, built in the 1820s, bears painful physical reminders of the nation’s past: Mismatched bricks indicate a now-closed doorway slaves used to attend services, and the opening to the balcony where they were forced to sit still looms in the sanctuary.

Today, about 550 members worship in a larger, more modern building. They focus on how their faith can enrich their community today, says the Rev. Dr. Herbie Miller, the church’s senior pastor and head of sta . Philadelphia Presbyterian boasts a bustling preschool and a packed activities and outreach calendar. Members work with the congregants of Blair Road United Methodist Church to ll backpacks of food for 85 families; the backpacks go home with children from three local schools every Friday. The church hosts The Bulb, a food pantry, twice a month, when families in need can collect fresh produce instead of cans.

“Being a very old, historic church is great, but we don’t ever want to get complacent. We want to be forwardlooking,” Miller says. “How can we be a blessing to the community around us?” —Cristina Bolling