City Presbyterian Church (originally Park Congregational Church and later Pilgrim Congregational Church) is the name of a church located in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The current congregation has no direct connection to the one which originally occupied the building. The building sits on a lot bound by 13th Street and Classen Drive, and therefore has two different street addresses. The "front" (main entrance) of the church is at 1433 Classen Drive, but the address listed on church literature and used for mail delivery is 829 NW 13th Street. The congregation, which informally calls itself "City Pres," is affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...

Building history

Originally called Park Congregational Church, the church was designed by the Oklahoma City architectural firm

Hawk & Parr Hawk & Parr was an architectural firm in Oklahoma. It designed many buildings that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Its Mission/Spanish Revival style Casa Grande Hotel, for example, was built in 1928 and was listed o ...

and built in 1920, of red brick and limestone in

Late Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. The name of the congregation was changed to Pilgrim Congregational Church soon after, and the building was known by this name for most of its history. During its heyday the church was the place of worship for many of Oklahoma City's civic leaders, including ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

s publisher

E.K. Gaylord Edward King Gaylord (March 5, 1873 – May 30, 1974), often referred to as E.K. Gaylord, was the owner and publisher of the ''Daily Oklahoman'' newspaper (now ''The Oklahoman''), as well as a radio and television entrepreneur. Born in Atchison, Ka ...

.Richard Mize
"Oklahoma City's historic Pilgrim Congregational Church house goes on the block"
''

'', June 18, 2011. From 1924 to 1935 the church was led by Frank Milton Sheldon, who wrote a number of religious texts, later became the minister at

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

's NRHP-listed Grand Avenue Congregational Church, and was described by the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' as "one of America's best known ministers". The congregation was later absorbed into Oklahoma City's Mayflower Community Church, a member of the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

, and sold the property to a local architect in the late 1970s. The architect used part of the property for offices while renting out the main worship space for religious functions, then attempted unsuccessfully to convert part of the space to residential use before selling it in 1989. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1984, but fell into disrepair under subsequent ownership.Janice Francis-Smith
"Doctors redevelop church into health and wellness center"
''

The Journal Record ''The Journal Record'' is a daily business and legal newspaper based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its offices are in downtown Oklahoma City, with a bureau at the Oklahoma State Capitol. ''The Journal Record'' began publication in 1937, though an ...

'', January 27, 2003. In 2000 the building was purchased by a pair of doctors, who later announced plans to convert it into a health spa. They added an indoor swimming pool and other facilities, but the spa project was unsuccessful. The building was offered for sale by auction in June 2011, but failed to sell.

Congregation history

City Presbyterian Church, founded by Doug Serven and Bobby Griffith, started with a group of about 20 people who began meeting in a private home in Norman, Oklahoma in the summer of 2011, with the goal of planting a PCA church in downtown Oklahoma City. That fall and winter they held a few worship services, started small group meetings throughout the city, and held social events and service projects in an effort to reach out to the Oklahoma City community. City Presbyterian held its first worship service on January 15, 2012. From January 2012 through March 2014 it met in space which was rented or borrowed from various churches in downtown Oklahoma City. On September 8, 2013, City Presbyterian Church announced that it had entered into an agreement to purchase the building formerly belonging to Pilgrim Congregational Church. The purchase was completed on November 1, 2013, and after completing renovations the church held a "grand opening" of the building on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014. On Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2014, City Presbyterian Church officially transitioned from a mission church to a self-governing congregation within the Presbyterian Church in America."And there you have it – a long post on thankfulness"
, City Presbyterian Church (accessed 2015-06-19)

References

External links

City Presbyterian Church

* * {{NRHP in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma Presbyterian Church in America churches in Oklahoma Churches in Oklahoma City National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma City

Building history

Congregation history

See also

References

External links