Churches
Newcomers to Fayetteville often are surprised by a couple of things:
The number of churches in town, and
The number of churches that actually do something besides meet on Sunday.
"This is a community of strong faith," said Rusty Long, director of Fayetteville Urban Ministry. For 35 years, the group has received support from across the spectrum of faith: from small store-front churches to some of the largest houses of worship in the Cape Fear region.
That support has allowed Fayetteville Urban Ministry to share that support with the needy in a variety of ways. From infant care to senior home repairs, from helping children find new friends to helping adults learn to read, from tax assistance to food and clothing, the organization helps an average of 6,000 people each year.
"A lot of churches and groups have helped us reach into the community," Long said. "Their continued support shows that Fayetteville is a city with a heart.
"Many churches offer specialized programs in our community, which is wonderful. Here, we can offer a variety of services under one roof. And many of the services aren't duplicated by other churches. We're able to provide for the needs in our community."
That, Long said, is because Fayetteville Urban Ministry has a culture of not saying "no."
"Some groups will say, 'We don't do that,' " he said. "If someone comes to us with a new or unique need we prefer to say, 'Is this something we can help with?' It makes a world of difference in how you look at things."
Here are a few other interesting facts about faith in Fayetteville:
St. Patrick Catholic Church is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in North Carolina. It was founded in 1831.
Two of the city's Episcopal churches feature unique stained glass. St. Joseph's Episcopal on Ramsey Street has five stained-glass windows designed and made by Tiffany of New York. They first were displayed at the California World's Fair in 1890.
St. John's Episcopal, on Green Street, boasts 19th-century windows made in Munich, Germany.
First Presbyterian Church on Ann Street was built using an ingenious system of trusses for the roof. It remains the only one of its kind in the state.
The national mission organization Operation Inasmuch was created in the mid-'90s at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church.
The oldest area church is Old Bluff Presbyterian near Wade. The original church was organized in 1758. A few tombstones at the original Presbyterian churches, such as Longstreet Presbyterian on Fort Bragg, feature tombstones with Gaelic inscriptions - a tribute to the Scots who settled in the area.