Our History

Organized on November 4, 1832, First Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest congregations in Tallahassee. Its Greek revival sanctuary, completed in 1838, is the only church building still standing from Territorial days. 

From its beginning, the church has been involved in the life of Florida’s capital city. The Territorial government designated the sanctuary as an official refuge in dangerous times, and to this day the church is a place for refuge, service, worship, study, and nurture. 

Several local service organizations got their start at First Presbyterian, including Habitat for Humanity and the Shelter of Leon County.

Land Acknowledgement

As we come to worship, we acknowledge that the land on which we are meeting is the traditional and ancestral homeland of the Apalachee, Miccosukee, Seminole, and Black Seminole peoples. The people who called this beautiful land home for millennia were decimated, forcibly removed, and coerced from their homes. We recognize, remember, and are challenged by the stewardship of these indigenous peoples and their land. We acknowledge that the building in which we worship was built on the backs of enslaved peoples and funded by the sweat of their brows. We also acknowledge that until the mid-20th century we excluded people based on race. We repent of our complicity in the harm done to our siblings in the human family. We see our wrongs. We remember their place in our story, and we commit to shape our worship and service to reflect God’s dream for a world where all members of the human family live together in justice and peace.