March 11 Today in OPC History

On March 11, 1972 Pilgrim OPC in Raleigh, North Carolina, was particularized by the Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic. The Rev. Cromwell Roskamp, who arrived in the previous year, pastored the church until 1995, serving at first on a bi-vocational basis. Over time, the church grew despite the challenge of transience, with many families relocating. In 1975, the church began overseeing the development of the Matthews (NC) chapel until the latter’s particularization in 1980. After Roskamp retired, Douglas Withington was called in 1996, served as pastor until retiring in 2020 and was followed by Casey Bessette.

Pilgrim Church has been a part of three OPC presbyteries. Its life as a mission work began under the auspices of the Presbytery of the South. On December 31, 1971, it transferred to Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic, under the spiritual oversight of Grace OPC in Vienna, Virginia, until its particularization in the following spring. In 1999 it joined the newly formed Presbytery of the Southeast.

Picture: Cromwell Roskamp