On a single block of East Thach Avenue in downtown Auburn, the same congregation has been worshipping since 1850. First Presbyterian Church of Auburn was established by the Presbytery that year to serve the students and faculty of what was then the East Alabama Male College, now Auburn University, and the townspeople of the surrounding community. Three sanctuaries have stood on that block in turn, and the church has continued to mark itself as a mission presence - both on the university campus and across Lee County. Today the congregation counts about 550 members and still gathers in the same downtown location, still committed to the dual calling that shaped its founding.

A Co-Pastor Ministry

First Presbyterian is served by a co-pastor team. The Rev. Dr. Kathy Wolf Reed and the Rev. Nick Reed share the work of preaching, pastoral care, and leadership of the congregation. Around them, a small staff carries the rest of the ministry: Dr. Damion Womack directs the music program and Tyra Crowe serves as organist and pianist. Chris Sarkowski is the Director of Ministries for Children and Youth, and Brittany Branyon directs UKirk Auburn, the church's campus ministry. Two faith community nurses, Janet Widell and Erin Uptain Brown, lead the health ministry that touches the mind, body, and spirit of the congregation.

The congregation is governed by the Session, a body of elected elders led by Clerk of Session Susan Bannon. Responsibility for the church's mission and work is divided among committees - including Adult Education, Children and Youth, Congregational Life, Finance, Generosity, Legacy, Mission, Personnel, Property, University Ministry, and Worship - with members of the Session chairing each one.

Two Sunday Services and a Sunday School Hour

Worship on Sunday morning happens in two distinct settings. At 9:00 a.m. in the chapel (entered from Thach Avenue), a worship service with weekly communion gathers in the smaller space. Coffee, donuts, and fellowship fill Baird Hall from 9:30 to 9:45, and at 9:45 Sunday School meets for all ages in the Education Building. At 11:00 a.m. the congregation moves into the sanctuary for the traditional worship service, the same service that is broadcast live on YouTube and on radio station WQSI FM 99.9 each week. A recording remains available afterward for anyone who cannot tune in live.

The 11:00 service is also broadcast on the radio for those without internet access. The full video worship archive stretches back through 2026 and is available through the church's YouTube channel.

What to Expect on a First Visit

First-time guests are warmly welcomed at First Presbyterian. The church's own guidance on a first visit covers the basics. Parking is available behind the sanctuary, including handicap spaces, but the lot is limited, so overflow parking is available at the Auburn University library parking deck, the AU Conference Center and Hotel parking deck, the Aerospace/Wilmore lot off Magnolia Avenue, and the Northcutt Realty lot on Gay Street. A parking map is published as a reference.

What to wear is described as deliberately varied. People arrive in blue jeans or casual slacks as easily as in suits and ties, and women wear everything from casual pants to dresses. The church simply asks that visitors be comfortable.

Children are encouraged to attend worship with their parents. Quiet worship bags with activities that complement the week's Scripture are available at the main entrances of both the chapel and the sanctuary. A staffed nursery on the bottom floor of the Education Building in Room 107 serves children from birth through age three and is run by trained, CPR-certified workers. Children ages three through six leave worship after the children's message, called the Word to Grow By, and head to Godly Play - a Montessori-based children's worship program - in Room 104, where they can be picked up at the end of the service.

Children, Youth, and Confirmation

Children's ministry at First Presbyterian is organized by stages. The nursery ministry provides a safe, loving environment for the youngest children, staffed by CPR-certified workers. The preschool ministry adds Sunday School, Godly Play, music and worship education, recreation, crafts, and an annual Vacation Bible School. The elementary ministry continues that pattern and adds Worship Readiness, a program designed to prepare elementary-age children for full participation in the sanctuary service. Families can direct questions to Chris Sarkowski, Director of Ministries for Children and Youth.

Youth ministry serves middle and high school students with Sunday School, a Confirmation program for seventh and eighth graders, a Sunday night Bible study, a monthly midweek fellowship, Presbytery retreats, summer camp at Living River (the Sheppards and Lapsly Presbytery camp), Montreat Youth Conferences, and a varied slate of service events throughout the year. Youth also serve as leaders in Vacation Bible School, in worship, and on service projects.

UKirk Auburn: Campus Ministry at Auburn University

Because the church was founded in part to minister to students and faculty of Auburn University, the campus ministry remains central to its identity. UKirk Auburn, affiliated with UKirk, the PC(USA) Presbyterian campus ministry network, welcomes undergraduate and graduate students from any local college or university. Throughout the school year, UKirk provides Sunday morning worship with the larger congregation, a Sunday night dinner and Bible study, fellowship and community-building events, intramural sports through Auburn University, service projects, worship leadership opportunities, and participation in the wider ministries of First Presbyterian. The annual Montreat College Conference is a regular highlight.

Brittany Branyon directs the program, and a key feature of the ministry is the Sunday night meal, which is provided by families and members of First Presbyterian who sign up to cook, drop off a prepared dish, or donate toward the cost.

Adult Learning: Sunday School, Bible Study, and the Leith Lectures

First Presbyterian offers a wide range of adult formation. Adult Sunday School classes cover a variety of formats and subjects; some meet year-round, others seasonally, and visitors can be matched with a class by contacting Rev. Kathy Wolf Reed.

Presbyterian Women meets in Circles at both day and evening times from September to May, studying the denominational curriculum and engaging in service projects throughout the year. The group opens and closes its year with a church-wide gathering.

Men's Bible Study, led by Rev. Nick Reed, is open to all ages and meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 8:00 a.m. in the church library. The gathering includes light refreshments and explores a book of the Bible.

An Annual Women's Retreat is held each January for women seeking sabbath rest. The retreat includes time for re-creation, study, prayer, and setting intentions for the year ahead.

The John Haddon Leith Lecture Series honors the legacy of former FPC pastor and Reformed theologian the Rev. Dr. John Leith. Held on a biannual basis, the three-day series invites an eminent theologian to lead the congregation and guests in thoughtful discussion and learning.

Mission and Outreach: A Web of Local Partnerships

The mission statement of First Presbyterian runs like this: to be a nurturing community of faith that loves God and loves neighbors as themselves, giving special attention to those Jesus called the least of these - the poor, hungry, sick, lonely, imprisoned, and oppressed. That commitment shows up in a dense network of partnerships with organizations across Auburn and Lee County.

Two of those organizations are housed inside the church building itself. Presbyterian Community Ministry, founded by First Presbyterian in 1968, offers interest-free loans and grants for utility and rent payments and home repairs. First Presbyterian continues to provide financial support, leadership, and office space. BraveHearts Center for Place and Purpose, a joint outreach of First Presbyterian and the Auburn University Social Work Program in the College of Liberal Arts, provides a place where individuals with disabilities can grow in health and fitness, life and job skills, community outreach, academics, and creative arts.

Beyond its walls, the church partners with the Domestic Violence Intervention Center, contributing through the Global Witness and Peacekeeping Offering and through Presbyterian Women. Volunteers serve at The Community Market, a Food Bank of East Alabama program that lets Lee County families in need choose groceries in a friendly store-like environment, on the second Saturday of each month. The church has given to Nourish Wellness, a multidisciplinary pediatric wellness center, through Legacy/Endowment funds. Through Habitat for Humanity and the WeHelp Coalition of Lee County, eleven local churches join in building Habitat homes, with funds raised at the annual Cookie Walk in December.

Internationally, the congregation supports PC(USA) Mission Co-Workers, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and the International Peacemaking Program. Closer to home, the church supports Village Friends, which assists seniors in maintaining independent lifestyles in Auburn and Opelika; R.E.A.C.H. (Refresh, Encourage, Activities, Care, Hope), a respite ministry for those with early to moderate memory issues; Alabama Arise, a statewide advocacy organization; and the Auburn City Schools Emergency Medical Fund, which helps children not covered by medical insurance.

The church also points to Living River, the Sheppards and Lapsly Presbytery camping and conference center, which hosts faith-based youth camping and spiritual retreats and includes the Cahaba Environmental Center, where thousands of youth learn about the environment each year.

A Matthew 25 Congregation

First Presbyterian is a designated Matthew 25 congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a commitment organized around three areas: building congregational vitality by deepening faith and active engagement with community and world; dismantling structural racism by advocating and acting to break down the systems, practices, and thinking that underlie discrimination and oppression of people of color; and eradicating systems of poverty by working to change laws, policies, plans, and structures that perpetuate economic exploitation of people who are poor.

Congregational Care: Nurses, the Blessings Bunch, and Sowers and Knitters

Congregational Care at First Presbyterian runs on three tracks. The Faith Community Nurse Program is led by two trained nurses on staff and includes blood drives, a flu vaccination clinic, health education programs, and support for those facing medical concerns.

The Blessings Bunch organizes the practical acts of love that keep a congregation connected: meals for new parents and people recovering from surgery, rides to doctor's appointments, cards and prayers during illness, tragedy, or loss, and other forms of outreach that make sure no one feels isolated.

Sowers and Knitters traces its roots back more than forty years, when a group of women began sewing school dresses for young girls in need, inspired by John 4:36-38. Today they make infusion pillows for Spencer Cancer Clinic, pillowcase dresses for girls in Africa, blankets for the Presbyterian Women layette project, knitted caps for the homeless, and prayer shawls and quilts for homebound members.

Giving and the Four Special Offerings

The congregation is fully supported by giving. Online gifts can be made through a secure Vanco platform to the General Fund, the Facilities Improvement Fund / Sacred Community Project, or the Special Offerings Fund. A separate FPC Auburn Payment Account handles non-charitable payments such as youth trip registrations. Checks can be dropped in the offering plate on Sunday or mailed to the church office.

Each year, First Presbyterian participates in the four PC(USA) special offerings. One Great Hour of Sharing provides relief from catastrophic events and supports food resources and the dismantling of structures that perpetuate poverty. The Pentecost Offering encourages, develops, and supports younger members in building a life of faith. The Peace and Global Witness Offering equips the church to act as peacemakers. The Christmas Joy Offering provides assistance to current and retired church workers in need, develops future leaders at Presbyterian-related colleges, and equips communities of color.

The Building, the Block, and George Petrie

First Presbyterian has existed in three sanctuaries within the same block of downtown Auburn. At one point in its history, the building was even pressed into service as a classroom space when the main API campus building burned in 1887. George Petrie, the author of the Auburn Creed, was an active member of the congregation for fifty years, and his long tenure links the church to one of the most enduring documents of the university.

Today the building still anchors that block on Thach Avenue, with the sanctuary and chapel, the Education Building, and Baird Hall for fellowship. The 11:00 sanctuary service is the traditional service that has defined the congregation for generations, while the 9:00 chapel service keeps a more intimate setting with weekly communion.

Beliefs and Denomination

First Presbyterian is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). A summary of the denomination's theology appears in the PC(USA) Book of Confessions, including A Brief Statement of Faith, which the church has quoted on its own page: "In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth praying, 'Come, Lord Jesus.'"

Becoming a Member

Anyone interested in becoming a member of First Presbyterian can indicate so on the Friendship Pad during Sunday worship, let an usher know, or contact one of the co-pastors directly. The path that follows includes a meeting with a pastor, a meeting with the Session (typically scheduled just before the Sunday service at which the candidate is received), and reception by the congregation.