The Presbyterian Historical Society offers free exhibits that you can bring to your next meeting or event. You may download an exhibit to print yourself.
The exhibits below are downloadable in PDF format and printable at sizes up to 16" x 20" or 18" x 24." For best results, refer to the recommended print sizes. Printing on a heavy weight, glossy paper, and either laminating or mounting onto foam core will increase the durability of the exhibit panels.
To view each PDF file you must have Adobe Reader software installed on your computer. For a free version of this software from Adobe, go to: http://get.adobe.com/reader/
Since the 1700s, division and reunion have been constant throughout the history of the Presbyterian Church in response to disagreements over theological and social issues. In 1983, the long anticipated reunion of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (UPCUSA) and the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS) brought an end to a division that had lasted over 100 years. Over 14,000 Presbyterians gathered at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, on the evening of June 10, 1983, to hear the Declaration of Reunion, celebrate communion, and march through the streets of Atlanta.
- This exhibit includes 2 panels printable at 16 x 20"
A depiction of Presbyterian involvement in the African American Civil Rights Movement, focusing on the late 1950s to 1960s. Themes include Commissions and Conferences, The Church in Mississippi, Protests and Marches, and The Church and Segregation.
- This exhibit includes 4 panels printable at 16" x 20"
A visual timeline of Presbyterian women gatherings, groups, and individuals.
- This exhibit includes 2 panels printable at 11" x 16"
Postcards of Presbyterian congregations in Western Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh.
- This exhibit includes 2 panels printable at 16" x 20"
John Calvin (1509-1564) had a great impact on the theology of Protestant Churches. The exhibit, created to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birth, highlights his childhood, adult life, Reformation theology, political career, reform work in Geneva, and more.
- This exhibit includes 10 panels printable at 16" x 20"
The Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA) was the first Protestant denomination in the United States to organize a missions committee at the national level. In 1802, the General Assembly appointed seven members to the initial Standing Committee of Missions, four clergy and three lay persons. The success of the committee and the subsequent growth in mission work led the PCUSA to change the standing committee to a more permanent Board of Missions in 1815 and to organize a separate Board of Foreign Missions in 1837. An 1838 resolution passed by the General Assembly stated "that it has always been the duty of the church to make known the gospel to all the world..."
- This exhibit includes 6 panels printable at 16" x 20"
Women had no official role in the early American Presbyterian church with all denominations initially barring women from leadership positions. After the Revolutionary War, women worked to expand their role and formed female voluntary associations to further religious and educational causes. And by the 1830s and 1840s, women began serving as missionaries for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA) in foreign countries and in the American west.
- 6 panels printable at 16" x 20"
Three hundred years ago in Philadelphia, the first presbytery met in the colonies. Of the probable attendees, Moderator Francis Makemie (c.1658-1707) is the most remembered. Considered by historians the father of organized American Presbyterianism, he was also a missionary, landowner, merchant, and early fighter for religious liberty. Born in Ireland, Makemie studied for the ministry in Glasgow, was ordained in Ulster, and then sent as a missionary to the American colonies.
- 5 panels printable at 16" x 20"
For most Protestants, singing praises to God has taken the form of psalms or hymns. Early American Presbyterian governing bodies left the decision of singing psalms or hymns up to the individual congregations. As a result, Presbyterian churches across the young United States used a variety of psalters and hymnals in their worship.
- 5 panels printable at 16" x 20"
As Americans moved into the Southwest, early ministers found two distinct communities-Native Americans and Roman Catholic Mexicans (New Mexicans)-and very few educational opportunities for either group. Because the men of the Board of Home Missions were reluctant to expand into the new territory, Sheldon Jackson turned to church women for support. In 1878, the Woman's Executive Committee of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. organized and dedicated themselves to financing and overseeing mission schools among "exceptional populations."
- 6 panels printable at 16" x 20"
The Presbyterian Church affirms its historical continuity with the whole Church of Jesus Christ by maintaining communion and community with other branches of the one catholic Church and engaging in shared missions. Some of Presbyterian's earliest participation in ecumenical activities started in 1817 with the founding of organizations that were to become the American Sunday School Union and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
- 6 panels printable at 16" x 20"
