On Saturday, February 26th, nearly 40 persons (including 12 from Sardis) from seven different churches gathered for a day of service at the site of the former St. Lloyd Presbyterian Church in the Grier Heights community of Charlotte. St. Lloyd served as the church home for countless African American Presbyterians from the late 1800’s until the early 1960’s when the membership dwindled and the church closed. Upon the church’s closing, many of the remaining congregants moved their membership to the nearby Grier Heights Presbyterian Church. While the St. Lloyd church building is no longer there, the abandoned church cemetery remains.
In an effort to clean-up the overgrown cemetery, undaunted volunteers joyfully removed debris, threw away trash, cleared small trees, and cut limbs to help restore the cemetery and honor the memory of those buried there. While much progress was made in the clean-up effort, several volunteers noted that a follow-up day of service would enable additional progress to be made. As a result of this enthusiasm, another day of service to clean-up the St. Lloyd’s cemetery will be planned.
