Rev. Bill S. Middleton – Ministry Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Rev. Bill S. Middleton

The Reverend William Scott Middleton, Sr. (Presbytery of East Tennessee), known to most as Bill, died December 31, 2019, in Fort Worth, Texas where he lived with daughter Mary Jo and her family.

Bill was born October 8, 1930, to the farm family of Willie Green Middleton and Iola Denzle Scott in Hill County, Texas. In July 1942, he joined Antioch Cumberland Presbyterian Church about five miles south of Hillsboro, and was baptized by the Rev. J.S. Eustis. In 1946, he moved to Hillsboro.

Bill attended Jesse Elementary School, Hillsboro Junior High, and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1947. He then went to Hillsboro Junior College, Texas Tech in Lubbock, and Bethel College in McKenzie, Tennessee, before attending the Cumberland Presbyterian Theological Seminary, also in McKenzie., from which he graduated in 1956. He later took classes at Memphis Theological Seminary.

In 1951, Bill Scott came under the care of Corsicana Presbytery. He was licensed in 1952, and, on April 5, 1953, ordained. It was Easter Sunday. The Rev. M.F. Allen preached the ordination sermon and the Rev. L.B. Ballard delivered the charge.

On September 16, 1952, Bill Scott wed Janice Tull of Hickman, Kentucky. They had two children, Mary Jo (1954) and William Scott, Jr., (1958).

In 1952, as a student, Bill began preaching at Swan Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Centerville, Tennessee). He also served the Oak Grove (Henderson, Tennessee), Liberty (McMinnville, Tennessee), Wichita (Kansas), Saint Paul (Austin, Texas), Liberty (Campbellsville, Kentucky), the parish of Lenoir City, Oak Grove, and Clinchview (Lenoir City area, Tennessee), Virtue (Farragut, Tennessee), Mount Pleasant (Tennessee), Mohawk (Tennessee), Hopewell PCUSA (Louisville, Kentucky), Corntassel (Vonore, Tennessee).

Besides Corsicana Presbytery, Bill ministered in McMinnville Presbytery, Chickasaw Presbytery, Northeast Oklahoma Presbytery, South Texas Presbytery, Cumberland Presbytery, Mid-Kentucky Presbytery (PCUSA), Knoxville Presbytery, and the Presbytery of East Tennessee.

He attended Faith Fellowship Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Farragut, Tennessee, from 2005-2016 and then joined his children in Texas where he assisted the pastoral staff at Saint Luke’s in Fort Worth Texas, from 2016-2019, He kept his presbytery membership in East Tennessee.

Matthew Gore

Matthew H. Gore is a historian and journalist with a deep commitment to preserving and interpreting the past. He holds a BA in History, a BA in Journalism, and an MA in History, all from Western Kentucky University, which honored him with their prestigious James H. Poteet Award. He also pursued doctoral studies at the University of Kentucky. Gore has contributed extensively to both academic and popular publications, specializing in religious history, particularly within the Cumberland Presbyterian tradition. He is best known for his book The History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Kentucky to 1988 (2000), and his work has also ranged widely, covering subjects as diverse as The Origin of Marvelman (a British superhero of the 1950s and 1960s), the relative scarcity of East German philatelics, and the biography of British pulp artist Denis McLoughlin. Gore has spent much of his career in service to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where he holds key roles in communications, historical preservation, and publishing. Since 2018, he has served as editor of the Cumberland Presbyterian magazine for the Ministry Council of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church A past president of the Society of Tennessee Archivists, Gore is widely recognized for his leadership in archival work and his passion for sharing the narratives of faith communities with broader audiences.

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