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by Tom Watkins
Staff Writer
Gerrard Hall, a 490-seat auditorium on
the UNC campus, was as usual filled to
capacity for the weekly Chapel Hill Bible
Church service. Those arriving late, finding
no empty seats, stood in the back of the hall
and lined the balcony walls.
In the traditionally liberal-minded
community of Chapel Hill, many might find
it hard to believe that a church taking a
conservative view of Christian doctrine
could survive. Yet, the "Bible Church," as it
called by most, has not only survived but has
grown into one of the largest churches in the
community in its six short years of existence.
"We're unusual in the fact that nearly 90
per cent of our congregation is made up of
college students," George Coxhead, a church
deacon and former Chapel Hill alderman,
said.
Indeed, there are probably more UNC
students involved in the Bible Church than in
any other organization, on or off campus, in
Chapel Hill, with the possible exception of
the Black Student Movement. An average
Sunday when school is in session will find
some 450 students in attendance at worship
services, and pastor Jim Abrahamson
estimates that there are in excess of 500
students who are involved in the church in
one way or another.
"I feel part of the reason that we attract
students is that we provide conservative
Biblical theology and yet have an open
mindedness and respect for the academic
community," he said.
A brochure provided by the Bible Church
for visitors describes the church as "an
independent, non-denominational
fellowship that desires to glorify the Lord
Jesus Christ by encouraging individuals to
trust their lives to Him and follow His Word.
We accept the Bible as authoritative in all
matters of faith and practice, and we believe
that love for God and our neighbor are
fundamental to the Christian faith "
Abrahamson said that the church often
experiences identity problems because of its
status as independent and non
denominational. "There are many stereotypes some
people say that because we're non
denominational we're anti-denominational.
Because we take a strong conservative view
of the Bible, some equate us with Southern
fundamentalism, thinking that we're
unconcerned about social aspects and
generally backward. Some feel that we're
robbing the other churches of students.
: "Nothing could be farther from the truth.
A lot of our philosophy comes from an
One report
David Stacks
Staff Writer
Only one UNC student has been
hospitalized with symptoms of a flu-like
illness that has affected hundreds of students
in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system.
The illness among the public school
students has been identified as the B-type flu,
which includes the Honv Kong, Victoria and
Asian flu strains.
The only other place in the country that
has reported an outbreak of the B flu is
Close vote by finance committee
advises loan to Student Graphics
by Mike Wade
Staff Writer
The Finance Committee of the
Campus Governing Council (CGC)
voted 3 to 2 Monday to recommend a
$7,500 loan for Student Graphics, Inc.
Steve Gould, general manager of
Graphics, said the loan is necessary to
help the student-oriented company
recover from unavoidable costs. The
company suffered heavy financial losses
from recurrent breakdowns of
equipment, especially typesetting
machines, and was. closed for
approximately 20 days during August
and September 1976.
Marc Sandman, chairperson of the
Media Board, said a fair amount of the
money will be used to pay back salaries
of employees who were not paid in the
last month. Sandman said the
employees have continued working
because they believe in the organization.
Sandman told the committee that a
study to determine the viability of
Student Graphics will be completed
near the first of March. The study will
determine the need for Student
Graphics on the campus and also
recommend measures to help improve
the company's financial status.
Sandman had said that any
recommendation the committee made
not to appropriate the funds would be
premature before the study is
completed.
Graphics had originally asked the
committee for $8,500, $3,000 in a grant
and a $5,500 loan. The Finance
Committee's recommendation for the
$7,500 loan still must be approved by
the CGC
Student Graphics provides offset
printing to students at a lower price than
other printing establishments. It also
offers consultation and dirett mail
marketing orientation not available at
weanesaay. January zb. 1977 The Daily Tar Heel' 3
SDe Church offers an
attempt to look afresh at the New
Testament. It's a matter of starting with
Biblical principles and being creative in
bringing them to bear." '
Abrahamson cited his use of an overhead
projector during sermons as a good example,
describing it as a "good communicative
tool." Abrahamson's relationship to his
congregation strongly resembles that of a
teacher to his students, with many of those in
attendance busily taking notes during the
sermon.
i f " icy y k
The Rev. Jim Abrahamson uses an overhead projector to help recently began having
make his point in a sermon given last fall to an audience of over a.m. each Sunday.
500 in Gerard Hall at UNC. The Chapel Hill Bible Church
A graduate of Iowa State University and
Dallas Theological Seminary, Abrahamson
is one of the church's five elders and likes to
be known as a teaching elder.
"I'd rather be known as just another
brother in the fellowship," he said. "Being an
elder is not a step up, but a step toward being
more of a servant for the fellowship." The
elders, who are elected by the congregation,
are charged with the responsibility of the
spiritual oversight of the church. Six
deacons, also elected, tend to the physical
matters of the church.
of B flu at UNC more
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Ienn.
Health officials at Vanderbilt have seen 60 to
70 students per day.
The B flu is not the same illness as a
gastrointestinal ailment that is also common
this time of year, Dr. J.. MacCormack,
director of the state health service, said
Tuesday.
"The intestinal 'flu' is a viral infection and
may last 24 to 48 hours, MacCormack said.
Dr. James A. Taylor, director of the
Student Health Service (SHS), said the
similar commercial establishments.
Gould said another attribute of the
company is that it provides an
atmosphere that students are
comfortable in while providing them
with job training. He added that since
Student Graphics is a nonprofit,
student-oriented company, student
Referendum for amendment
called for in GPSF petition
by Charlene Havnaer
Staff Writer
The UNC Graduate and Professional
Student Federation (GPSF) is
circulating a petition for a campus
referendum, to be held sometime after
the election Feb. 9, on a proposed
amendment to the Student Government
Associaiton Constitution. The
amendment defines the status of
graduate and professional students with
regard to Student Government treasury
laws.
The "Amendment to secure the
Rights of the Graduate and Professional
Student Federation" sets guidelines for
the allocation of fees to GPSF.
If passed, the amendment would
require the Campus Governing Council
(CGC) to determine which student
organizations benefit all members of the
student body and which benefit only the
undergraduate students.
Student fees paid by graduate and
professional students would then be
used to finance only those organizations
benefiting the entire student body.
Graduate and professional student
fees would not be used to help finance
organizations restricted to
undergraduate students.
According to GPSF President Dan
Lindley, graduate and professional
student fees would be used to pay a
percentage of the budget of each
Although there are some people not
associated with the University who are
involved with the Bible Church, the vast
majority of those active in the church are
undergraduate and graduate students and
UNC faculty and staff members.
"We have about 80 to 90 true members,"
Coxhead said. "We don't go out seeking
members that's one of the unique things
about the Bible Church."
Yet the growth of the church has been
astounding. According to Dr. Henry R.
Lesesne, church elder and UNC assistant
professor of medicine, the church was
started by a group of some 15 persons, most
of them UNC faculty members, who saw the
need for a more evangelical ministry in
Chapel Hill.
"We had a group of about 20 who were
commuting to Blacknall Memorial
Presbyterian Church in Durham every
Sunday, and one day Paul Dunham (a
former UNC assistant professor of physical
education) asked Ed Henegar (Blacknall's
pastor) half-jokingly if he would come over
symptoms of the hospitalized student were
similar to those of the ill Chapel Hill
Carrboro students, but the U NC case has not
been confirmed as the B-type flu strain.
The UNC student was admitted to the
SHS infirmary Saturday after complaining
of muscle aches, fever, sore throat, and loss
of appetite. The student was discharged
Tuesday afternoon.
The illness was first discovered at the
Frank Porter Graham Child Development
Center Jan. 14, and by the middle of last
customers can get more personal
service.
Sandman told the committee that
many CGC-funded organizations
would have to ask for larger CGC
appropriations because their costs
would automatically increase if Student
Graphics were liquidated.
organization which benefits the entire
student body. This pei?4;htage would be
determined by the percentage of
graduate and professional students
making up the student Body,
GPSF feels that graduate and
professional students should not be
required to pay student fees to
organizations which restrict
membership to undergraduate students,
according to Lindley.
"Many organizations . such as the
Daily Tar Heel and the UNC Media
Board benefit all students. But, many
organizations such as the debating clubs
don't allow graduate and professional
students to participate as members, only
as coaches, and we don't feel that our
money should go for these," he said.
The amendment also states that any
unspent funds from the Student
G overnment's allocation to G PSF at the
end of the fiscal year would be reverted
to the GPSF surplus account.
A final stipulation of the amendment
is that the GPSF treasurer be the final
authority on questions raised by the
Student Activities Fund Office
regarding expenditure of the Student
Government allocation to GPSF.
The Student Government Election
Board requires that any petition calling
for a campus referendum have the
signatures of 10 per cent of the student
body.
alternative to
and do an early service in Chapel Hill. Ed
decided to do it, so on a Sunday morning in
October, 1970, we met together at Dunham's
home."
On November 1 of that year the Chapel
Hill Bible Church's first meeting in Gerrard
Hall was attended by some 40 people who
clustered together in the front of the hall.
"By the following spring, we were still
spinning our wheels, unable to find any
direction, and our budget was getting low,"
Lesesne said. "We still weren't getting much
Staff photo by Allen Jemigan
two services a week, at 9 a.m. and 10:30
student attendance about 50 at the most
but we still felt led to look for a pastor."
Abrahamson arrived on the scene in fall,
1971. and Lesesne still feels that the Bible
Church may have disbanded had they not
felt an obligation to continue after acquiring
a pastor.
Both Abrahamson and Coxhead
attributed the thriving of the Bible Church in
large part to a spiritual awakening among
students.
"I've been here 21 years and the primary
contact in my business has been with
expected
week had spread to all nine schools in the
Chapel Hill-Carrboro system and three
private schools.
The flu peaked in the Chapel Hill
Carrboro schools Jan. 1 8, when 225 students
were absent from Guy B. Phillips Junior
High School, which has a student body of
780. Absenteeism decreased as the week
progressed. On Monday, 81 students were
absent.
"It started almost overnight," Dr. Robert
Senior, a Chapel Hill pediatrician, said.
Senior and the three other pediatricians he
practices with normally see approximately
120 patients each day, but last Tuesday and
Wednesday the doctors' waiting room was
overflowing.
"The flu in Chapel Hill is a classical
pattern for a flu outbreak," MacCormack
said. "It started in the schools and later may
spread to the parents."
Taylor said he expects a flu outbreak
among UNC students and faculty any time.
"There are enough professors here with
kids in school to transmit the flu to the
campus. It could crop up any minute,"
Taylor said.
The B flu strain is different from the swine
flu, although the two types have similar
symptoms.Only two cases of the B flu have
been reported at the North Carolina
Memorial . Hospital (NCMH), a hospital
spokesperson said Tuesday. It is not known
how many cases have gone unreported.
"Since there is nothing that can be done
for it, people are not going to the hospital,"
Dick Broome, NCMH spokesperson, said
Tuesday. The only way to treat the B flu is
with aspirin and bedrest.
Joker snows
WCHL radio
Students listening to WCHL between I and 2
a.m. Tuesday may have thought their prayers had
been anwered when the station incorrectly
reported that Tuesday classes would be suspended
until noon.
But, the announcement was not due to an act
from above. A prankster, identifying himself as
being with a "Dr. Anderson's officer called the
station around midnight asking thar the
announcement be made, said WCHL General
Manager George McCall.
M cCall sa id the station received a second phone .
call about 1:40 a.m. informing the station that the
announcement was incorrect. After receiving this
information, the station tried to confirm the
announcement by calling the University Police
and Jack Gunnels, director of the UNC Personnel
Department.
Neither the U niversity Police nor Gunnels could
offer any information on the subject, so the
announcement was assumed to be false and was
discontinued, McCall said.
He said that precautionary measures will be
taken in the future to assure that all such
announcements are official before being put on
the air.
Charlene Havnaer
- ; ' - 'J
J-..', or,
conservative theology
students, and 1 saw a drastic change in
students in the late '60s," Coxhead said.
"There were religious students before, but 10
years ago a student would have been
ostracized for carrying a Bible on campus.
Now there are lots of kids with a real
commitment."
"There's been a real turnaround in the last
six years," Abrahamson concurred. "1 was
told that the year before 1 came it was
difficult to find a dozen committed Christian
students on the UNC campus. Now there are
hundreds in the Bible Church and many
more that I don't even know.1'
Abrahamson feels that'T number of
factors are responsible for the change.
"The big thing is that it's hard to walk the
line in Chapel Hill. Here a Christian has to
take a stand and needs to trust Christ
because he will be bombarded and tested
every day.
"There are basically two groups of people:
Christians who come to UNC and see a need
for growth as Christians, and those who are
converted to Christ here. 1 believe the real
issue in evangelism is hope. The academic
community says there is no hope. So people
are listening and responding to Christ.
Among Christians here there is a real hunger
for the Bible, for what God expects. I would
guess that a large number come because they
feel they are growing in their understanding
of the Bible."
Jeans are as commonly worn to the Bible
Church as suits, creating a casual
atmosphere. A typical service might include
expository Bible teaching by Abrahamson,
singing, and opportunities for anyone
present to share or pray aloud. There are
Sunday School classes for all ages and levels,
seminars, Sunday night meetings and
occasional retreats. The church sponsors
some eight missionaries, some of them
former members of the congregation.
The Bible Church also has occasional joint
worship services with the campus Black
Christian Fellowship ministry. One such
service in a larger campus auditorium last
year attracted over 700 persons.
"The goal we have is attempting to offer a
church that is authentically Christian and yet
authentic to the society we live in," Peter R.
Uhlenberg, church elder and assistant
chairman of the UNC sociology department,
explained. "We're highly committed to
historical Christianity and a belief in the
supernatural, and we seek to make this vital
in the lives of individuals.
"A lot of things go under the name of
Christianity. A lot of churches have eroded
to a humanistic rather than a supernatural
approach. I see the Bible Church as taking a
strong stand the whole idea of
As!
Construction continues on the Carr Mill
Carrboro near the railroad station.
mall
Ben Williams, who lives a few blocks
over on Oak Avenue, recalls that four
room houses rented for $4 a month.
After electricity wc installed, the rent
rose to $7 (utilities included).
Williams began work with the
Durham Hosiery Mill in 1917. His first
job was turning stockings for looping.
"The Durham Hosiery Mill was as
good an employer as you'd ever ask for.
Every Saturday afternoon they'd bring
around a copy of the Saturday Evening
Post for the employees," he said.
In 1940, Williams transferred to
Durham Full Fashion Hosiery, where
he spent 30 years as a supervisor in the
knitting division.
Williams said he is glad the developer
of Carr Mall is preserving the mill
structure.
"It's a landmark. Older people here
still have a sentimental feeling about
that place."
Other residents, including Mack
Watts, feel the town could have found a
better use for the mill structure.
"Maybe it could have been converted
into a rest home or recreation center,"
Watts said. "Malls, malls, malls. Money
isn't everything. How about the
congregation of the Baptist Church?
They'll be surrounded by buildings of a
commercial nature."
Watts regrets the loss ol good
commitment is stronger, there's more
vitality. There is a certain freshness here, and
it's really attractive to a lot of Christians."
Uhlenberg feels that the Bible Church
helps bridge the gap often opened between
Christianity and intellectualism. "In a sense
we are respecting the intellectual world, but
putting it under the rule of God."
Of the original group of 15, only Lesesne,
his wife and two other persons remain active
in the church, but it appears to have strayed
very little from its original objectives.
"All of us still left feel that the life of the
church is in the small groups," Lesesne said.
Over 150 persons are involved in some 15
groups, which provide a context for "'Bible
study and discussion, prayer and
fellowship," he added.
Primarily oriented toward students in the
past, the Bible Church is expected to take on
a new dimension in its ministry when it
begins construction on a permanent church
building next spring. The building, which
will be located adjacent to campus on the
corner of Mason Farm and Purefoy Roads,
is scheduled for completion by the end of
1977.
"Our immediate goal is for facilities to
expand our ministry to the community,"
Abrahamson said. "We would like the
building to be multiple use, including an
auditorium for 700 to 800 people, 15
classrooms and nursery facilities."
Abrahamson is well aware that having a
church building could change the Bible
Church's relationship to other churches in
the community.
"Most of the other pastors feel that the
Bible Church fills a void in conservative
theology. Most have been gracious toward
us, but 1 imagine some could feel threatened
by our rapid growth. Other churches are
built around families, and perhaps ours will
become more that way."
He also envisions the possibility of a Bible
school to perhaps be started by the church
some five to 10 years in the future.
"It would provide an opportunity for
students who are not going to seminary but
would like pastoral training. We'd also like
to get involved in a Christian elementary
school but then these aren't hard and fast
goals."
In the meantime, the Bible Church will
continue to be committed to providing a
stabilizing force in a transient community.
"We want to provide an atmosphere to
maximize Christian growth," Abrahamson
said. "Our real purpose is not to evangelize
Chapel Hill although this will be taking
place. We want to raise up a community of
disciples for Jesus Christ, and to do this will
be our outreach."
x o
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intS SiS xvtoeXij!bS
Staff photo by Bruce Clarkn
Mall, the new shopping area in downtown
Continued from page 1.
neighbors that characterized the
Alberta Mill era.
"Back then people were more
concerned with their responsibility to
their neighbors. People would stop you
on the street and ask 'How's the wife?'
All that's gone now.
"I'm not trying to hve in the past,"
Watts said. "It's just that you can't build a
successful future without a solid past. I
believe in change for the better, not just
change for the sake of change."
Meanwhile, the renovation of the
Alberta Mill into a shopping mall
continues. Carrboro's remaining
symbol of the past is being altered to
accommodate the demands of the
present.
The future of Carrboro remains
uncertain. Some town officials advocate
locating light industry along Highway
54 west of the town. A few others
advocate a merger with Chapel Hill.
Somewhere in the middle are
Carrboro's longtime residents, who take
pride in Carrboro's past and hope it is
indeed solid enough to sustain a
successful future.
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