SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICES
8:15 - Stratton Chapel
9:15 - Sunday School - All ages
10:30 - Sanctuary
Communion - 1st Sunday of the month
BRIEF HISTORY
During the period of Territorial government, 1798-1817, a number of Presbyterian missionaries found their way into the Natchez area. In 1807, the Rev. James Smylie from North Carolina held services for the Presbyterians in Natchez at the Adams C
ounty Court House, and that same year the Rev. Jacob Ricklow from the Presbytery of New Brunswick in New Jersey preached several months to the Natchez people. Under the ministry of the Rev. Daniel Smith, the First Presbyterian Church of Natchez was formerly incorporated on March 20, 1817. He continued as stated supply minister until 1819, when the Rev. William Weir was installed as the first pastor. A long and fruitful era at First Presbyterian began with the ministry of Dr. Joseph B. Stratton, who came to Natchez in 1843 and remained pastor until 1894. For the rest of his life, until 1903, he served as pastor emeritus. To date, First Presbyterian has had 21 installed ministers since 1819. FACILITY MILESTONES
First house of worship on present site completed in 1815. A new and much larger church building was erected in 1828-29. Galleries were added in 1830 and an addition of 16 feet was made bringing the sanctuary seating capacity to 800. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. In 1900, Stratton Chapel was completed, an addition to the east side of the sanctuary. In 1838, The Manse, corner of South Rankin and Orleans street was purchased. The Manse served as the home for First Presbyterian ministers until 2003. The Manse was sold to private individual in 2004. In 1956, First Presbyterian purchased the half-block immediately south of the church property and constructed an education building which was dedicated in 1964. The education building houses office, Sunday school rooms, a gym, and the Presbyterian Playschool daycare facility. In 1995, Stratton Chapel became home to Natchez in Historic Photographs, a large exhibition of images telling the story of life in the Natchez area in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today, First Presbyterian is a vibrant, intergenerational congregation blessed with a long and faithful history of worship, community, and mission in historic Natchez, Mississippi. Locally we provide services to people with food insecurity, those who are in hospitals and living in nursing homes, those who are grieving, and the elderly. We are active in racial reconciliation efforts, pre-school programs, and sponsorship of a Boy Scout troop. Beyond our local community we support a prison ministry and provide food, water and supplies to people who experience disasters such as floods,, hurricanes, and tornadoes. On an international level we send a medical mission team to Haiti each year, support a pastor in the Mexican Yucatan, and support Living Waters for the World. A cordial welcome is extended to all to worship here and to be part of our church community and mission.
