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The SFPC Cross

The beautiful cross at the front of the sanctuary was created for our congregation in 2000 from Kentucky walnut by the Rev. Gerald H. Cooper, a woodturner and retired Presbyterian Minister living in Berea, Kentucky. Elements of the design came from a committee of Jim Baker, Bill Kirkland, Ann Ratliff, Sandra Moak Sorem, Judith Thornton, Jim Thornton, and Callie Williams.

•   The cross is the central image of the Christian faith. In the Catholic tradition, Christ usually is seen upon the cross, but in the reformed tradition the cross is empty as a proclamation of the resurrection.

•   The crossbeams represent the intersection of heaven and earth. The circle that joins the arms of the cross represents the eternal and unbroken presence of God.

•   The descending dove is the classic symbol for the Holy Spirit based on accounts of Christ’s baptism.

•   The Chi Rho on the right arm of the cross represents Christ. Chi and Rho are the first two letters for the Greek word Christos.

•   The Alpha and Omega on the left arm of the cross comes from Rev. 1:18, “I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

•   The vine symbolizes the Christian community. “I am the vine, you are the branches … ” (John 15:5). The vine grows from the base of the cross, symbolizing that our faith is deeply rooted in God’s good gifts.

•   The Celtic knotwork around the circle represents the human community growing from the vines to unity with God’s wholeness.

•   The dove represents baptism and the bread and chalice represent the Lord’s Supper. 

•   Three symbols on the cross represent the Holy Trinity – the Alpha and Omega (God, Creator), the Chi Rho (Christ, Redeemer), and the descending dove (Holy Spirit, Sustainer).

•   The Celtic Cross grew out of Irish monasteries from the sixth century and has been widely used in Scots-Irish Presbyterian churches.

History of South Frankfort Presbyterian Church

South Frankfort Presbyterian Church can trace its roots in Franklin County back to 1795 when the Hogsett Church, later known as Upper Benson Church, was organized in the home of Thomas Paxton.

Its membership depleted by deaths (including Paxton’s in 1844) and migration, Upper Benson Church disbanded in 1848. Some members went to Frankfort or Lawrenceburg churches but the greater part joined Lower Benson (by then renamed Franklin).

In his history of Bridgeport, Willard Rouse Jillson said the Franklin Church “gradually” lost membership during and after the Civil War … the primary trouble was the question of slavery, engendered by civil strife. Most of those who left the church were of Northern persuasion. They came, family by family, to Frankfort and many became members of the First Presbyterian Church.

Others began to meet in the Turner School House, Second and Shelby Streets. The Rev. A.M. Frazier, pastor of two Woodford County churches, ministered to the group.

Our church’s present site at Third and Steele Streets was purchased in 1880 for $1,400 and plans were made for a church building.

On May 27, 1884, 31 members of the new church petitioned the Presbytery of West Lexington for admission, although later that year presbytery boundaries changed and the church became part of the Louisville Presbytery. The first pastor was Robert E. Caldwell.

The first church building was a gray frame structure containing a “large one-room auditorium, with a small offset room in the rear for the infant class.” Sunday School classes met “here and there” in the auditorium. The building was heated by two coal stoves.

The brick building dedicated in 1904, as seen from the Steele Street side, resembled today’s structure in overall appearance.

Eventually, more Sunday School space was needed, and an annex was built behind the sanctuary. James Montgomery, Judge J.P. Hobson, and Judge William T. Fowler were key leaders in this project. The annex, completed in 1924, contained separate Sunday School rooms, a kitchen and an assembly room.

The addition which houses our present Fellowship Hall and Sunday School rooms was completed in 1964, and parts of the earlier annex were converted to office space. This was done during the term of our longest-serving minister, the Rev. John L. Hunt.

From 2000 to 2003, the church underwent major renovation in the sanctuary and adjacent buildings. The distinctive South Frankfort Cross in the sanctuary symbolizes the renewal of our church.

South Frankfort Presbyterian Church has a long record of significant mission support in the community and region. Among a host of mission outreach activities, our church currently provides volunteer workers and financial support for the nearby Kings Center, which conducts tutoring, Bible study, recreation programs and field trips for South Frankfort residents. The Resource Office for Social Ministries (R.O.S.M.) receives significant support, as do PCUSA mission co-workers Luta and Jeremy Garbat-Welch.

For the past quarter century and more, our church also has had a history of excellence in education and music.

Excerpted from a longer account in January 2001 by Livingston Taylor from articles by Alice Reading.