A Word Commemorating the 175th Anniversary of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
Happy Anniversary, First Presbyterian Church!
As our church turns 175, we are excited to take the opportunity to celebrate our history, and how God’s grace has sustained us along the way.
When my family and I visited the sanctuary for the first time in 2014, at the invitation of the Pastor Nominating Committee, I wrote that “Somehow, in some mysterious way, [Katie and I] felt the weight of almost a century of worship … a century of thousands upon thousands of people—sinners and saints alike—who have called this place their spiritual home.”
It’s a weight that has been accumulating since 1848, when a small group of Presbyterians gathered near Five Points to form the denomination’s first Presbyterian congregation in Atlanta. The city was only eleven years old, with a population of less than three thousand.
Today, Atlanta is just one part of a sprawling metropolis with more than six million people. As the city has grown, many of our members and friends have gone on to establish other Presbyterian congregations: North Avenue, Peachtree, Morningside, Trinity, Mount Vernon, and Kairos.
These churches are all examples of the risks and investments our leaders have been willing to take to meet the needs of our city and its citizens. Other risks have included establishing the state’s longest-operating preschool, embracing radio when others refused, launching the Samaritan Counseling Center and Childspring International, building global partnerships, prioritizing Community Ministries, funding our Epiphany projects, and forming partnerships across racial, religious, and international boundaries. Our ministry has continually expanded as God has shown us new possibilities.
In this issue of Focal Point, we celebrate our past as we chart a course into the future. We look at the inspiring lives of Rev. Charles Black and Rev. Connie Lee, who led our Community Ministries for three decades. We examine how worship has changed over the years. We go back to the great tragedy of a 1962 plane crash at Orly Field, which changed both the church and the city. We spend a week at the church to show a sampling of the many, many activities and ministries that happen over a seven-day period. And we meet members who’ve been a part of the congregation for more than fifty years, some of whom have children and grandchildren in the congregation.
Our church-wide email address is youbelong@firstpresatl.org. We hope you do feel that you belong here. Together, we share a history of humbly following Jesus Christ for the sake of the Gospel, this city, and the whole wide world.
Blessings,
Rev. Dr. Tony Sundermeier
Senior Pastor
First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
