Interview with Reverend Dan Donaldson
The First Presbyterian Church was originally called Mt. Bethel on Main Street.
The church itself has had three conceptions. The first was built in
1780. The second was built was 1848, but was burned down in 1928. The
third conception is the church today, and is the site of the current
First Presbyterian Church.
It is important to note that even though the church as gone through many pains during its existence, that it has always served as a church. The building and the land the building is standing on has never been used for any purpose other than a church building.
Reverend Dan Donaldson is the 25th
pastor to serve at First Presbyterian since it’s inception in 1780. He
has currently served for 10 years, and looks forward to many more years
of service in downtown Greeneville. Reverend Donaldson spoke at length
of the building projects that have taken place during the church’s
life. He spoke of the possibilities of the fire that burned the
building down in 1928, and said that it was most likely an electrical
fire of some sort. After the church was rebuilt in 1928 using one wall
that remained, there were no additional structures added on until 1998.
In 1999 an effort was undertaken to modernize the facilities, and the
result is the modern church offices and elevators that one sees today
when visiting.
In regards to Rediscover
Greeneville, Reverend Donaldson sees a distinct “lack of stability” in
the downtown area. He says there has been a lot of rebuilding and many
new stores have come to downtown in the past ten years, but he also
says that there is always a store closing as well. With an air of
pride, he is sure to mention that the First Presbyterian Church is the
longest lasting and the oldest building in downtown.
When
asked about some of the problems he sees with downtown, Reverend
Donaldson points to the large number of vacant buildings in the
downtown area. Additionally, he points out the fact that there is
little room for residences in downtown, which is a stark contrast to
most other downtown areas. When asked about whether the downtown area
was inviting, he cited concerns that he had heard from people about
being afraid to visit downtown and park, for fear of getting tickets or
some other type of fines.
