Philadelphia Church History Updates
2017 marks the 300th anniversary of the Presbytery of Philadelphia. In honor of that major celebration, presbytery churches are writing brief, updated congregation histories. Susan Aggarwal, a member of the presbytery's History Team and of PHS's Delaware Valley Council, is collecting these histories and sharing them with PHS. All completed histories can be viewed on the PHS website using the Philadelphia Presbytery 300 blog tag.
Sixty-eight histories are listed below, ordered by founding date:
1714: Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, PA
1720: Middletown Presbyterian Church, Media, PA
1725: Doylestown Presbyterian Church, Doylestown, PA
1725: Presbyterian Church of Deep Run, Bedminster, PA
1730: Lower Providence Presbyterian Church, Norristown, PA
1768: Third, Scots and Mariners (Old Pine), Philadelphia, PA
1770: Frankford Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1804: Tabernacle United Church, Philadelphia, PA
1811: Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church, New Hope, PA
1814: First Presbyterian Church in Kensington, Philadelphia, PA
1819: First Presbyterian Church of Norristown, Norristown, PA
1835: Marple Presbyterian Church, Broomall, Marple Township, PA
1837: First Presbyterian Church of Bridesburg, Philadelphia
1840: First Presbyterian Church of Glenolden, PA
1843: Jeffersonville Presbyterian Church, Norristown, PA
1848: First Presbyterian Church of Pottstown, PA
1848: Penn Wynne Presbyterian Church, Wynnewood, PA
1850: Arch Street Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1850: Media Presbyterian Church, Media, PA
1852: The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA
1854: The First Presbyterian Church of Darby, PA
1855: Central Presbyterian Church, Norristown, PA
1855: Olivet Covenant Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1858: Tree of Life Church, Springfield, PA
1859: Morrisville Presbyterian Church, Morrisville, PA
1861: Trinity Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1866: Aston Presbyterian Church, Aston, PA
1867: Oxford Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia
1870: Wayne Presbyterian Church, Wayne, PA
1873: Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, PA
1875: Ridley Park Presbyterian Church, Ridley Park, PA
1880: Mt. Airy Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1881: Grace Presbyterian Church, Jenkintown, PA
1884: Memorial Presbyterian Church of Fox Chase, Philadelphia, PA
1884: Summit Presbyterian Church, Mount Airy, PA
1885: Memorial Presbyterian Church of Boothwyn, Boothwyn, PA
1887: First Presbyterian Church of Lansdowne, Lansdowne, PA
1888: Langhorne Presbyterian Church, Langhorne, PA
1889: Olivet Presbyterian Church, Prospect Park, PA
1889: Overbrook Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1891: First Presbyterian Church of Ambler, Ambler, PA
1891: Narberth Presbyterian Church, Narberth, PA
1891: Wallingford Presbyterian Church, Wallingford, PA
1894: Wissahickon Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1895: Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, Swarthmore, PA
1896: Elkins Park Presbyterian Church, Elkins Park, PA
1899: Thomas M. Thomas Memorial Presbyterian Church, Chester, PA
1902: Calvin Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1907: First Presbyterian Church of Ardmore, PA
1907: Holmes Presbyterian Church, Holmes, PA
1909: Holy Trinity-Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1909: Presbyterian Church of Llanerch, Havertown, PA
1917: Christ’s Community Church, Drexel Hill, PA
1923: Roslyn Presbyterian Church, Roslyn, PA
1924: First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, PA
1924: Yeadon Presbyterian Church, Yeadon, PA
1929: Mayfair Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1933: Glading Memorial Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1946: Woodside Presbyterian Church (Woodside Church), Yardley, PA
1947: Bethel Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1950: First Presbyterian Church of Warminster, PA
1956: Valley Forge Presbyterian Church, King of Prussia, PA
1962: Lenape Valley Presbyterian Church, New Britain, PA
1966: Church on the Mall, Plymouth Meeting, PA
1982: Concord Liberty Presbyterian Church, Glen Mills, PA
1996: New Spirit Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA
1996: Podowon Presbyterian Church, Drexel Hill, PA
2005: Broad Street Ministry, Philadelphia, PA
PHS holds the first presbytery minutes in America, which date to the 1706 meeting of "The Presbytery"--the predecessor group of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, which first met as a body in 1717.
As more church histories are completed, PHS and the Presbytery of Philadelphia will be sharing them with Philadelphians and Presbyterians around the country.
This year's celebrations will culminate in a worship service on October 7, with the Rev. Dr. Craig Barnes, President of Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Denise Anderson, Co-Moderator of the 222nd General Assembly, appearing as guest preachers. A related presbytery initiative is the campaign to raise $300,000 for its ministry partners. Watch the campaign video below.
