National Presbyterian Church, Washington DC, USA

National Presbyterian Church – Origin:
The National Presbyterian Church has evolved through four congregations since its early beginnings in 1795. The church’s rich heritage reflects the contributions Presbyterians have made to our city and the nation for the past 200 years. According to church publications, most of America’s presidents have attended services at National Presbyterian or its predecessor congregations.

The tradition of National Presbyterian Church of faith goes back to the early years of the White House’s construction when the stone masons held worship services on the grounds of the Executive Mansion.

By 1795, the group had grown large enough to form St. Andrew’s Church. After the resignation of its pastor in 1802, a small group persisted, meeting at several places between 1802-1811.

Members from the St. Andrew’s group officially established First Presbyterian Church in 1812. The church was located where the U.S. House of Representatives stands today.

By 1821, the church had 114 members and continued to grow.

In 1853, Rev. Byron Sunderland began a 45-year tenure as senior pastor. Sunderland is most notable for beginning to preach in favor of the abolition of slavery- which was a courageous act in a city that was essentially a conservative Southern town.

In 1866, Rev. Sunderland allowed Frederick Douglass to speak from the church’s pulpit when no other church in Washington would do so.

In the early 20th century, commericial development began to lead to the dispersement of the members of First Presbyterian.

Meanwhile, this same urban growth gave rise to many other Presbyterian congregations. With 53 charter members, Covenant Presbyterian Church was organized in 1885, flourishing with strong lay leadership and pastors.

By 1928, membership had grown to 1,800 and the pastor at the time, Rev. Charles Wood, became the first president of the Washington Federation of Churches.

Numerous proposals for a national church had been presented to the General Assembly throughout the 19th century.

In 1930, the Church of the Covenant was selected to “furnish the congregational nucleus about which this National Church should be organized.” It was considered that the now-demolished First Presbyterian Church should move across the city and merge with Covenant in June 1930. Covenant-First Presbyterian Church was publicly declared “The National Presbyterian Church” in October 1947.

The cornerstone of the present day National Presbyterian Church was laid by former President Eisenhower on October 14,1967. The congregation first worshipped in its new home on September 7,1969.

The year 1969 also marked the opening of the National Presbyterian School, a private institution that has grown to serve preschool through sixth grade.

National Presbyterian Church – Mission:
To lead people to become faithful followers of Jesus Christ together in God’s world

• Church Location: USA
• Church Service Schedule:

  Sundays:
  9:30 AM ET (EST: 2:00 PM GMT / EDT: 1:00 PM GMT)
  11:00 AM ET (EST: 4:00 PM GMT / EDT: 3:00 PM GMT)

• Watch Live: http://nationalpres.org/live
• Church Denomination: Presbyterian
• Church Beliefs: http://nationalpres.org/beliefs
• Church Website: http://nationalpres.org/