First Presbyterian Church (Tulsa)

First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa
First Presbyterian Church, Tulsa in 2007
Location	Tulsa, Oklahoma
Country	U.S.
Denomination	Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
Website
History
Founded	1885 (1885)
Founder(s)	James M. Hall
Architecture
Status	Church
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Gothic
Completed	1926

The First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa was organized in 1885. It originally met in the store owned by James M. Hall and Harry C. Hall. The first permanent minister, Reverend Charles William Kerr and his wife arrived in Tulsa in 1900. Kerr remained at this church for over 40 years. Under his leadership, the church became the second largest in its denomination (the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America). This church is part of the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery of the United Presbyterian Church in the USA (UPCUSA).

History

1880s to 1910

In 1882, two brothers, James M. Hall and Harry C. Hall, established a general store at what is now the intersection of First and Main Streets, near the Frisco railroad tracks in the Indian Territory town of Tulsa.^[1] James Hall has been credited with organizing First Presbyterian Church (FPC), the first permanent Protestant church in Tulsa, which began meeting at the store in 1885. The first ministers at this church were itinerant Presbyterian missionaries, whose salaries were paid by their denomination, the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (PCUSA). Rev. Robert McGill Loughridge, preached the first sermon on August 19, 1883 on the porch of the Hall store.^[2]

In 1901, Reverend Charles William Kerr, a missionary from Pennsylvania, answered a call to become the first permanent minister. He proved to be a very dynamic personality and instigated a rapid growth of the congregation. The discovery of oil at nearby Red Fork in 1901 and another at Glenpool in 1905 had initiated a population boom that would radically transform Tulsa over the next half century. FPC soon outgrew the Hall store and moved to a purpose-built clapboard structure at 4th street and Boston Avenue, completed in 1899.

James Hall had also founded the Union Sunday School, an interdenominational organization, with two other people. Later, he became superintendent of the FPC Sunday school, a position he held for twenty years.

1910 to 1926

In 1910, the church moved to a new three-story limestone building at the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Boston Avenue. An impressive building in its day, it had a domed roof and Ionic columns on the porticos.

When the infamous Tulsa Race Riot occurred on June 1, 1921, Rev. Kerr opened the basement of this structure to house refugees, primarily women and children, from the Greenwood district. One book about the riot states that the bodies of four dead black men were left at the church door.^[3]

1926 to Present

The third permanent building was completed in 1926, adjacent to the 1910 structure. This building is shown in the 2007 photo above. Mrs. Kerr dubbed it the "high kirk" of Tulsa.

The General Assembly of the PCUSA held its annual meeting at FPC in 1928. In 1932, Reverend Kerr was elected moderator of the General Assembly.

Rev. Kerr retired as Senior Pastor in 1941, and remained as Pastor Emeritus until his death.

The 1910 building was demolished in the early 1950s and replaced by the current C. W. Kerr Building.

In 2010, FPC began constructing a new facility at 7th and Cincinnati Avenue. This expansion will contain a new sanctuary on the south side, offices and classrooms on the north side, and a courtyard shaped like a Celtic cross in the middle. The new complex is said to cost $33 million.^[4]

The 1926 building was named as a supporting building in the Oil Capital Historic District.

In the fall of 2013, the church began a new leadership model: intentional co-pastors. The former senior pastor, Rev. Jim Miller, began sharing duties equally with Rev. Ryan Moore. Moore was formerly an assistant pastor at the church, until he left to pursue a doctoral degree at University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Although some Presbyterian churches have had husband and wife co-pastors, and others have temporarily had co-pastors while an older pastor was preparing to retire, the two at First Presbyterian are unrelated and Miller has no near-term plan to retire.^[5]

Notable ministers

• Charles William Kerr 1900 - 1941
• Edmund F. Miller, D. D. 1941 - 1957
• Bryant M. Kirkland, D. D.
• William Wiseman 1963 - 1984 ^[6]
• Ernest J. Lewis 1985 - 1990 ^[7]
• James D. Miller, Ph. D. 1992–present

Current Pastors

• Rev. James D. Miller, Ph.D.
• Rev. Ryan Moore, M.Div.
• Rev. James Estes, M.Div.
• Wambugu Gachungi, M.Div
• Rev. Dan Hutchinson, M.Div.

References

Coordinates: 36°08′59″N 95°59′14″W / 36.14972°N 95.98722°W / 36.14972; -95.98722 (First Presbyterian Church)