First Presbyterian Church (San Luis Obispo, California)

Last updated
First Presbyterian Church (San Luis Obispo, California)
Location981 Marsh St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
CountryUnited States
Denomination Presbyterian (PCUSA)
Website http://www.fpcslo.org/
History
Founded1875
Founder(s)McDowell Reid Venable
Architecture
Architect(s) Thornton Fitzhugh (1904) William Orr (1928) Curtis Illingsworth (1987)
Style English Arts & Crafts (1904) Gothic Revival (1928)
Years built1904-1905
Clergy
Senior pastor(s) John A. D'Elia, PhD

The First Presbyterian Church in downtown San Luis Obispo, California is located at 981 Marsh Street on the corner of Marsh and Morro Streets. It holds Sunday services and also midweek gatherings.

Contents

The mission of First Presbyterian Church is to glorify Jesus Christ and to be instruments of God’s healing, reconciling, life-giving presence in the world.

Building History

First Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church founded by Civil War veteran and San Luis Obispo county judge, McDowell Reid Venable in 1875 with eleven charter members. It was the third Protestant church founded in San Luis Obispo. Prior to the erection of its current building, property was purchased at the corner of Marsh and Morro Streets and a small, wood church building was constructed. In 1884, this small church was replaced by a slightly larger Victorian Stick-Eastlake church that seated nearly 200 people. In 1904, this building was relocated to the lot next door where it was used by the congregation and the community for two more decades. The cornerstone for the church's present building was laid in 1904. Construction was completed in 1905 using granite quarried from nearby Bishop Peak in the English Arts and Crafts style.

The Educational Unit (the Hart Building) was constructed and dedicated in February 1929. A local journal observed that it was “…the first building, other than a church, to be devoted exclusively to religious education in San Luis Obispo…” The A. G. Wilson Fellowship Hall was built in 1987 and has been the center of church fellowship activities and it is also used for many community events. In 2001 the stone sanctuary was earthquake retrofitted.

Congregation History

[1]

Leadership

The church belongs to the Santa Barbara Presbytery within the Synod of Southern California. First Presbyterian Church is currently under the leadership of Pastor John A. D'Elia, PhD. The Youth and Children Ministries, as well as Adult Education, are overseen by Jenifer Rabenaldt. Front Porch, the college ministry, is directed by Joel Drenckpohl. [2]

Relationship to California Polytechnic State University

Front Porch, (Presbyterians of Reasoned Christian Hope) is a ministry of the Santa Barbara Presbytery (PCUSA) in partnership with FPCSLO. Front Porch is directed by Joel Drenckpohl. While many participants are Presbyterians, many are not. [3]

Housing Project

In the Spring of 2008, the City of San Luis Obispo approved the construction of a Housing Project to supplement the ministry of Front Porch. The project is to be built on the site of the old Front Porch building near the dead-end of Foothill Blvd. near the Cal Poly campus. This project includes approximately 40 rooms, a ministry hall, a cafe, a kitchen, and a residence for the director and her/his family. The project was scheduled to be completed in mid-2010.

See also

Related Research Articles

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa 18th-century Spanish mission in California

Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa is a Spanish mission founded September 1, 1772 by Father Junípero Serra in San Luis Obispo, California. Named after Saint Louis of Anjou, the bishop of Toulouse, the mission is the namesake of San Luis Obispo. The mission offers public tours of the church and grounds.

San Luis Obispo County, California County in California, United States

San Luis Obispo County, officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.

Atascadero, California City in California, United States

Atascadero is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, about equidistant from Los Angeles and San Francisco on U.S. Route 101. Atascadero is part of the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses the extents of the county. Atascadero is farther inland than most other cities in the county, and as a result, usually experiences warmer, drier summers, and cooler winters than other nearby cities such as San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach. The main freeway through town is U.S. 101. The nearby State Routes 41 and 46 provide access to the Pacific Coast and the Central Valley of California.

Morro Bay, California City in California, United States

Morro Bay is a seaside city in San Luis Obispo County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, the city population was 10,757, as of the 2020 census, up from 10,234 at the 2010 census. The town overlooks Morro Bay, a natural embayment with an all-weather small craft commercial and recreational harbor.

Nipomo, California Census-designated place in California, United States

Nipomo is a unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 12,626 at the 2000 census, and grew to 16,714 for the 2010 census.

San Luis Obispo, California City in California, United States

San Luis Obispo is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, in the U.S. state of California. Located on the Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway between the Bay Area in the north and Greater Los Angeles in the south. The population was 47,063 at the 2020 census.

Central Coast (California) Region in California, United States

The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undeveloped stretch of coastline known as Big Sur. From south to north, there are six counties that make up the Central Coast: Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz.

Area codes 805 and 820 Area codes in central California, United States

Area codes 805 and 820 are California telephone area codes; 805 was originally split from area code 213 in 1957. They include most or all of the California counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, plus the southernmost portions of Monterey County.

Bishop Peak (California) Volcanic plug in San Luis Obispo, California, United States

Bishop Peak is a 1,546-foot (471 m) volcanic plug in San Luis Obispo, California. It is the tallest of the Morros or "Nine Sisters", a chain of similar peaks stretching to Morro Bay. Often said to take its name from its resemblance to a bishop's miter, it is named in homage to the town's name. "Obispo" is the Spanish word for Bishop.

Avila Beach, California Place in California, United States

Avila Beach is an unincorporated community in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, located on San Luis Obispo Bay about 160 miles (257 km) northwest of Los Angeles, and about 200 miles (320 km) south of San Francisco. The population was 1,576 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Avila Beach as a census-designated place (CDP).

Los Osos, California Unincorporated community in California, United States

Los Osos is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, Los Osos had a population estimated to be 16,533 in 2019.

KCPR is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to San Luis Obispo, California. Owned by California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, the station is operated by students from its on-campus studio located in the Graphic Arts building. In addition to its FM broadcast, KCPR streams its programming online 24 hours a day and has established a growing social media audience.

Alex G. Spanos Stadium

Alex G. Spanos Stadium, formerly known as Mustang Stadium, is an 11,075-seat multi-purpose stadium on the campus of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in the U.S. state of California. The stadium is named after Alex Spanos, a Cal Poly alumnus, American billionaire real estate developer, founder of the A. G. Spanos Companies, and the majority owner of the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL).

KCLM is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to Santa Maria, California and serves the Santa Maria—Lompoc area. It is rebroadcast via translator K221FV in San Luis Obispo, California on 92.1 FM. Both KCLM and the translator are owned by California Lutheran University and air a public radio format, simulcasting KCLU-FM in Thousand Oaks, California.

Los Osos Valley

The Los Osos Valley is a valley within San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast of California region.

Elfin Forest Natural Area Nature reserve in California, United States

The Elfin Forest Natural Area is a nature preserve protecting a unique plant community in Los Osos-Baywood Park, San Luis Obispo County, central California. It consists of prehistoric sand dunes, rising 150 feet (46 m) above southern Morro Bay, on the north of Los Osos-Baywood Park.

Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area and Morro Bay State Marine Reserve

Morro Bay State Marine Recreational Management Area (SMRMA) and Morro Bay State Marine Reserve (SMR) are two marine protected areas that provide protection for Morro Bay Estuary on California's central coast. The two marine protected areas together encompass 3.31 square miles (8.6 km2). Within the SMRMA, fishing and take of any living marine resources is prohibited except that north of latitude 35° 19.70′ N the recreational take of finfish and aquaculture of oysters, pursuant to a valid state water bottom lease and permit, is permitted. And recreational hunting of waterfowl is allowed unless otherwise restricted by hunting regulations. The SMR protects all marine life within its boundaries. Fishing and take of any living marine resources is prohibited.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Myanmar is a conservative Reformed denomination in Myanmar.

San Luis Obispo County Fire Department

The San Luis Obispo County Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of San Luis Obispo County, California as well as the communities of Los Osos, Pismo Beach and Avila Beach. CAL FIRE a California state agency, functions as the fire department for San Luis Obispo under a contract with the county, and has done so since 1930. The department has 180 full-time employees in the Department. These full-time employees are supplemented by up to 100 seasonal firefighters, 300 paid-call and reserve firefighters, and 120 state inmate firefighters.

San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Branch of California superior court with jurisdiction over San Luis Obispo County

The Superior Court of California, County of San Luis Obispo, also known as the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court or San Luis Obispo Superior Court, is the branch of the California superior court with jurisdiction over San Luis Obispo County.

References

  1. ↑ "First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo history". Archived from the original on 2008-06-05. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
  2. ↑ "First Presbyterian Church of San Luis Obispo staff". Archived from the original on 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  3. ↑ "Front Porch". Archived from the original on 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2008-10-27.

Coordinates: 35°16′49″N120°39′39″W / 35.2802°N 120.6609°W / 35.2802; -120.6609

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.