First Presbyterian Church

06/02/2026

05/31/2026

05/24/2026

05/21/2026

Every year, Presbyterians recognize Heritage Sunday, a day to reflect upon and learn more about the long and rich history of the Presbyterian Church in America. Heritage Sunday always falls on the Sunday closest to May 21, the opening date of the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in 1789.

God of grace and God of glory,
We give you thanks this day for all the saints who have gone before us —
for the bold ministers, elders and deacons who heard your call and answered
with courage, conviction and creativity.
We remember the work of your great Reformers,
not as frozen figures of the past, but as living voices who still challenge us
to be reformed and always reforming, according to your Word.
In their footsteps, we seek to love your people, in word and deed, proclaiming
grace, faith, Christ, Scripture, and glory to God.
As we honor today our Presbyterian heritage —
the beauty of shared leadership, the gift of a connectional church, and the
power of the Word embodied,
remind us that our heritage is not nostalgia, but a wellspring to draw from for
wisdom this day.
May we dismantle systems of oppression, care for your creation and embrace the
Spirit’s movement beyond tradition’s bounds.
May we be a people united not by fear, but faith;
not by scarcity, but abundance;
not by rigid doctrine, but our living call.
May our heritage not be a monument, but a mission –
prayerful, courageous, united, serving, and alive –
in Jesus Christ, our companion.
Amen.

05/17/2026

05/10/2026

05/03/2026

04/20/2026

This has an interesting Texas historical component.

The Presbyterian Historical Society, founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1857, is the oldest denominational historical society in the country. Its mission, specified in its constitution, is "to collect and preserve materials and promote the knowledge of the history of the Presbyterian Church." The Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston, South Carolina, was the location of the first meeting of the Society's founders; they decided to establish its headquarters in Philadelphia, home of the first presbytery in America.

In 1925, the General Assembly (PCUSA) established a Department of History as an integral part of the Office of the General Assembly. An agreement coordinated the activities of the Department of History and the Historical Society, and the Church took possession of the Society's collections.

The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Synod of Texas was organized in 1902. The General Assembly (PCUS) designated the Texas PHS as its official historical organization in 1926, moved its collection to Montreat, North Carolina, and renamed it the Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. This photo was snapped at Montreat inside the library and museum of the Historical Foundation.

In 1983, when the UPCUSA and PCUS reunited to form the PC(USA), it was decided that the historical organizations should merge to reflect this unity. Philadelphia remained the headquarters of the new Office of History/Presbyterian Historical Association, with Montreat as a regional office.

On June 21, 2006, the 217th General Assembly affirmed the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly’s decision to close the Montreat office of the PHS effective December 31, 2006, which resulted in relocation of holdings of that office to the Philadelphia PHS office as well as other archival institutions, such as Columbia Theological Seminary.