First Presbyterian Church (Houston)

First Presbyterian Church
Map
LocationHouston, Texas
Country USA
DenominationECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians
Previous denominationPresbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church in the United States (AKA "Southern Presbyterian")
History
Dedicated1839
Clergy
Pastor(s)Curtis A. Bronzan

The First Presbyterian Church is a church in the Museum District of Houston, Texas.[1] As of 2012 it had 3,567 members.[2] The church has been located in the Museum District since 1948.[3]

History

The church was founded in 1839 by Rev. James Weston Miller.[4][5] He was from Pennsylvania as a foreign missionary in the Republic of Texas. The congregation consisted of 13 charter members. Initially, the church met in the Senate Chamber of the Republic of Texas, moving nearby to its first building in 1842.[3] Later the congregation become a prominent member of the Southern Presbyterian Church, and planted several Presbyterian congregations in Houston. The church grew rapidly. First Presbyterian begun mission efforts to South Korea and Brazil.[6]

The church moved to its current location in 1948. The new sanctuary building was the first air-conditioned sanctuary in Texas.[3]

In 2001 B. William Vanderbloemen was elected as the church's pastor.[1] Vanderbloemen resigned in January 2007 after taking leave in December 2006.[7]

In February 2014 the church voted whether or not to sever ties with the PCUSA, following a policy change in which the latter organization opened the possibility of the ordination of openly gay ministers. First Presbyterian narrowly voted to stay with the denomination.[8][9]

The building behind the Carnegie Library served from 1896 until it burned down in 1932.

In November 2016, the church decided to leave the PCUSA and align with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.[10][11]

The senior pastor is Curtis A. Bronzan.[12]

School

Presbyterian School is on the grounds of the church.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Minister elected to lead First Presbyterian Church". Houston Chronicle. 2001-11-12. Retrieved 2017-02-16. "Vanderbloemen said First Presbyterian is in the middle of a growing Museum District that is attracting new residents."
  2. ^ http://www.pcusa.org/media/uploads/research/pdfs/2012-cs-table6.pdf www.pcusa.org/media/uploads/research/pdfs/2012-cs-table6.pdf
  3. ^ a b c "Our Story | First Presbyterian Houston". fpchouston.org. Archived from the original on 2014-03-28.
  4. ^ Carole E. Christian, "MILLER, JAMES WESTON," Handbook of Texas Online <http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi18>, accessed October 08, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  5. ^ Robert Finney Miller, 'Early Presbyterianism in Texas as Seen by Rev. James Weston Miller, D. D.', The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1915, pp. 159-183 [1]
  6. ^ http://www.fpchouston.org/history.php Archived 2014-03-11 at the Wayback Machine www.fpchouston.org/history.php
  7. ^ Vara, Richard (2007-02-03). "Vanderbloemen resigns senior pastorate of Houston's First Presbyterian Church". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  8. ^ Walters, Edgar (2014-02-23). "Houston Church Opts Not to Defect From Denomination". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  9. ^ Tolson, Mike (2014-02-24). "First Presbyterian narrowly votes to stay with denomination". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  10. ^ "Texas Presbyterian Megachurch Votes to Leave PCUSA for Conservative ECO". 29 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Denomination - FPC Houston". December 2020.
  12. ^ "Leadership & Staff - FPC Houston". December 2020.
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