On a corner of Park Street in Charlottesville, just steps from the Downtown Mall and the University of Virginia, First Presbyterian Church has long served as a gathering place for an active congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Locals refer to it simply as First Pres. Its sanctuary houses a Casavant Frères pipe organ and a Fazioli grand piano. Its grounds include a Memorial Garden, a Carriage House, and a half-day preschool that has welcomed Charlottesville families since the 1960s. Its kitchen has been serving a hot Wednesday lunch to neighbors in need for more than forty years. First Pres is known for blending contemporary and traditional worship, for a music ministry that regularly stages major choral works with orchestra, and for a network of regional mission partnerships that stretches from Charlottesville to western North Carolina.
Two Sunday Services, One Story of Faith
The Sunday rhythm at First Pres follows a familiar shape that has grown up around two distinct services. At 9:00 in the morning the Contemporary Service fills the sanctuary with a more informal feel. Casual dress is welcome, the Praise Team leads congregational singing with newer arrangements, and the Lord's Supper is celebrated every week. At 10:00 a.m. the congregation gathers for fellowship and Sunday Classes for all ages, an hour that runs across the building with adult study, children's music time, and youth formation happening at the same time. Nursery care is available for infants through two-year-olds during worship and the Sunday class hour. At 11:00 a.m. the Traditional Service fills the sanctuary again with hymns, the Sanctuary Choir, and a more formal order of worship, with communion observed monthly. Fellowship continues after the 11:00 service as well.
First Pres describes its worship as seeking to magnify the glory of God and proclaim the gospel through worship that challenges the mind, nourishes the spirit, honors tradition, demonstrates liturgical depth, exercises creativity in its use of music and the arts, and addresses the needs of individuals and families today. Both services are livestreamed at 9:00 and 11:00 and remain available afterward, so members who travel, are homebound, or live out of town can keep up with the life of the church.
A Sanctuary Built for Music
Music is woven into the identity of First Pres in a way few churches can match. The sanctuary is home to a Casavant Frères Organ, Opus 3738, installed in 1995. It has three manuals, forty-two stops, and fifty-nine ranks of pipes, and it is used to play the best of five centuries of organ literature in worship and in concert. Beside it sits a Fazioli grand piano prized for its tone and nuance, heard both as a worship instrument and as a recital instrument. Detailed organ specifications are published online.
The Sanctuary Choir presents a varied repertoire every week, ranging from Renaissance motets and English choral anthems to the most recent sacred choral compositions. Each year the choir presents at least one major choral work with orchestra and soloists. Recent presentations have included Puccini's Messa di Gloria, Schumann's Mass in C minor, and Elgar's The Light of Life. The Praise Team leads the early service with contemporary arrangements and harmonies. A handbell ensemble enriches worship monthly on five octaves of Malmark handbells and also takes its music out into the community for concerts. Children's music is led by Ashley Ravitsky, the Assistant Director of Children's Music, who teaches elementary-aged children to sing, read music, and participate more fully in worship during Sunday School.
Beyond Sunday mornings, the Music on Park Street series turns the sanctuary into a recital hall. Admission is free. Performances have included Jeremy Thompson playing French Impressionistic piano works by Vierne, Schmitt, and Debussy, a rare performance of Anton Bruckner's Mass in D minor with professional orchestra, choir, and soloists during a regular worship service, and Robert Schumann's Requiem, Op. 148, presented for choir, soloists, and orchestra ahead of All Saints Day. The Music on Park Street programming, the C
Wednesday Lunch at the Soup Kitchen
For more than forty years, First Pres has run one of the longest continuously serving weekly soup kitchens in Charlottesville. Every Wednesday, regardless of weather or holidays, a team of volunteers prepares and serves a hot meal and bagged lunches to neighbors in need. In a typical week the kitchen serves between 80 and 90 hot meals and distributes 35 to 40 to-go lunches, adding up to more than 6,760 meals a year. The work is supported by Loaves & Fishes, a regional mission partner that shares large donations of chicken, pork, bread, and fruit. A Goodwill and Blessing Table in the serving area lets members of the church and the broader community drop off items and clothing; about 95 percent of what is left is picked up each week.
The kitchen is sustained by four rotating team leaders and a wide circle of volunteers who shop, prep, cook, serve, and clean up, contributing roughly 40 hours a week. Students from Charlottesville Catholic Middle School and The Covenant School help by baking desserts and assisting with meal preparation. The Soup Kitchen has become one of the defining rhythms of the congregation, a place where baptized and unbaptized, members and strangers, share a table together.
Walking with Western North Carolina
In the fall of 2024, Hurricane Helene cut a path of destruction through western North Carolina. First Pres answered with a five-year mission commitment to come alongside families rebuilding their lives. The project is a partnership with University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, the Piedmont Area Presbyterians, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and the G-5 Collective of Old Fort, North Carolina. Initial funding of 25,000 dollars from the Mission and Benevolence Endowment's income fund was pledged, with a total of 125,000 dollars committed over five years. University Presbyterian added a 25,000 dollar grant in the project's first year.
The first undertaking was the Edwards House in Old Fort, North Carolina, where Ryan and Deena Edwards lost their home when floodwaters blasted through the walls and pushed the house off its foundation. Ryan, who serves as maintenance director at Presbyterian Camp Grier, had worked sixty consecutive days during the storm providing essential services to local residents. Two volunteer construction teams from First Pres and University Presbyterian traveled to Old Fort in May 2025 and framed the walls of a 960-square-foot house, built a large front porch deck, erected the roof trusses, applied the plywood roof deck, and poured the concrete footings for the porch. They also helped neighbors by building a large storage shed for one and power-washing the exterior of a nearby home. Both teams stayed at Camp Grier. By March 2026 the Edwards family had moved into their new home, an outcome made possible by roughly 228,000 dollars raised across churches, foundations, and individual donors, with the project finishing in the black.
The work in western North Carolina continues. A new Piedmont Presbyterian Mission Group trip is planned each year, with future projects aimed at renovating storm-damaged homes, clearing debris, and strengthening community ties. The church invites members to support the effort through giving, prayer, and volunteer labor.
Children, Youth, and the Preschool Next Door
First Pres takes its calling to the next generation seriously, both inside the church and through its preschool.
The Children's Ministry invites children into the life of the church at every age. Nursery care for infants through two-year-olds is offered in Room 127 during worship and the Sunday class hour. Preschool-age children in the 3s and 4s gather in Room 131 for storytelling and music. Kindergarten through second grade meet in Room 129, a Godly Play classroom that uses Montessori-inspired figures to draw children into the biblical story. Third through fifth grade meet in Room 215, where the morning includes snack, a Bible lesson, music and movement, and creative build time. Each Sunday morning class also spends twenty minutes in the music room singing, dancing, and praising the Lord with Ashley Ravitsky. Hearts & Hands, a family mission initiative, invites families with children through fifth grade to serve together in the community each month. Faith & Family, led by Rachel Thompson Orfield and Liz Forney, is a parallel community for parents that meets weekly to reflect on faith, family life, and spiritual growth. Vacation Bible School is held each summer.
Youth Ministry, directed by Aubrey Hill, serves middle school and high school students through Sunday Classes, Youth Group, and retreats. In Sunday School, eighth graders are invited each year to write a faith statement, be confirmed, and become official members of the church. High schoolers gather for Feasting on the Word, a Bible study that follows the scripture used in Sunday morning worship. Youth Group meets on Sunday evenings from 5:30 to 7:30 for food, fun, and conversation about faith and life. The ministry is supported by adults who provide Sunday dinners, lead small groups, and greet youth in worship.
First Presbyterian Church Preschool has been a half-day outreach ministry of the church since the 1960s and now serves children and families throughout the wider community. Classes meet from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on weekdays and include a 20-to-24-month class, two-year-old classes, three-and-four-year-old classes, and Pre-K. Optional Lunch Bunch and enrichment programs extend the day, and a Summer Camp runs at the end of each school year. The school is play-based, child-directed and teacher-guided, and committed to social, emotional, and outdoor learning. The Nature Playscape on the preschool campus includes a 6-by-12-foot sandbox, tree stumps, a mud kitchen, a large magnetic board, and multiple outdoor activity sets that invite exploration. Two fully qualified lead teachers staff each classroom. The Preschool Director, Maria Brown, brings more than thirty years of experience in early childhood education and oversees a teaching staff that includes Melanie Anderson (Music Teacher), Catey Anderson, Krissy Balcells, Winn Ballard, Sarah Bradshaw, Leigh Ann Bush, Melanie DeBerardinis, Heidi Figler, Alicia Frye, Kim Haise, and Rachel Harris. Tuition for the 2026-27 school year ranges from 270 dollars a month for the two-day program to 430 dollars a month for the five-day program.
Growing in Faith as Adults
Adult formation at First Pres takes many shapes and meets on many days of the week.
Sunday morning adult classes at 10:00 a.m. include Faith & Family: Growing Together, led by Rachel Thompson Orfield and Liz Forney, a class for parents of children and teens that engages practical and theological topics; an eight-week study called WWW: The "What" and the "Why" of the "Word," led by Anita Brockett in the Chapel; and short-term topical series such as Speak Yet Again, a study of Christian themes in King Lear led by Charles Chadwick in the Agape Classroom.
On Mondays the Monday Morning Bible Study meets on Zoom from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., the Men's Luncheon gathers on the second Monday of each month at 12:30 p.m. in the Agape Classroom, and Lectio Divina meets that evening on Zoom.
On Tuesdays the Tuesday Morning Lectio Divina meets on Zoom from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. Presbyterian Women Circle 6 meets on the second Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. and combines fellowship, discussion, and Bible study with a focus on the PW/Horizons Bible study, Finding Resilience, Joy, and Our Identity in Jesus Christ. Mission Sewing meets on the third Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in Room 216 to make baby layettes, blankets, gowns, and toys for newborns in Presbyterian hospitals in the Congo and Malawi, processed through Church World Service, and simple dresses for Little Dresses for Africa.
On Wednesdays the Weekly Women's Bible Study meets from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in Room 215 and on Zoom from September through May, choosing topics together and enjoying thoughtful discussion.
On Thursdays the Quilt Sowers meet from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Room 216, creating quilts for children being baptized at First Pres, for clients of Georgia's Friends, and for semi-annual sales that benefit mission partners. The Brown Bag Bible Study meets at 12:30 p.m. in Room 140 and on Zoom, led by David Forney.
Twice a year the Supper Club brings together groups of eight to ten members for monthly meals, with a new Daylight Diners option for those who prefer to gather before dark.
Presbyterian Women and the Rhythm of Fellowship
Presbyterian Women at First Pres traces its history back to 1789 in this country and is open to every woman of the congregation. Members gather in Circles, Bible studies, and small groups where church acquaintances become close friends and a lasting support group.
The Elizabeth Circle meets on the first Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in Room 216. Presbyterian Women Circle 6 meets on the second Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. and supports floral arrangements during Advent for homebound members, recycling cards for St. Jude's Ranch for Children, the Fellowship of the Least Coin, Georgia's Friends food pantry, and the Meals on Wheels pet food pantry. The Weekly Women's Bible Study meets on Wednesdays from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in Room 215 and on Zoom. Mission Sewing meets on the third Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. The Prayer Shawl Ministry invites knitters, crocheters, and weavers to create shawls, lap robes, and prayer squares for those facing health and life challenges, with a special set of gifts going to graduating high school seniors each year. The Quilt Sowers meet on Thursdays and provide a quilt to every child baptized at First Pres.
The 2025-2026 Presbyterian Women Coordinating Team includes Brenda Welborn as Moderator, Holly Phelps as Secretary, Lynn Ferguson as Treasurer, and a missions team made up of Diane Brownlee, Sally Clarry, Nancy Markos, Bonita Metz, Norma Miller, April Spann, Katherine Warren, and Mary Williams. Three PW offerings are collected annually. The Birthday Offering, collected at the Spring Gathering, supports mission projects selected by the Creative Ministries Offering Committee; since 1922 more than 22 million dollars have been given through the Birthday Offering. The Fellowship of the Least Coin Offering, collected at Circle meetings, is a worldwide prayer for peace and reconciliation begun in 1965. The Thank Offering, collected at the Fall-Winter Gathering, splits its giving between medical missions worldwide and selected mission projects.
Outreach Near and Far
The Christian Outreach Committee organizes First Pres's commitment to neighbors near and far, working through a network of mission partners that include regional and global efforts.
In the Charlottesville area, Abundant Life Ministries has offered holistic community development in the Prospect neighborhood for twenty-five years, with academic tutoring and spiritual support for children K through teen and economic support for adults. The Alliance for Interfaith Ministries provides one-time financial assistance to prevent eviction and utility disconnection, with programs targeting senior homelessness and helping domestic violence victims. Georgia's Friends offers residential support for women making a fresh start after consequences related to drug and alcohol addiction and co-occurring mental health challenges. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville brings members together on the second Saturday of each month for monthly builds, with no special skills required. The Haven provides showers, breakfast, and laundry facilities for the homeless and very poor. Loaves & Fishes operates the food pantry that supplies much of the Soup Kitchen's food. PACEM (People and Congregations Engaged in Ministries) provides emergency shelter and meals during the coldest months; First Pres hosts guests in the church building every night for two weeks each winter. Palmetto International Missions promotes the health and well-being of rural communities in Honduras through housing and community infrastructure projects; First Pres members join three PIM trips each year, in February and July, to help build cinder block homes.
Beyond the region, the Western North Carolina Mission Recovery Project continues for the foreseeable future, and the church's history of global mission includes seven years of work in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, house-building in Honduras, Mexico, and Haiti, and health care in Brazil. First Pres supports the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, the Emergency Food Network, the FPC Preschool scholarship fund, the Montreat Conference Center, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and the Presbytery of the James. Hearts & Hands brings families with young children into monthly service opportunities. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving the congregation hosts a full Thanksgiving meal for guests at Blue Ridge House.
Baptism, Communion, and the Reformed Tradition
The two sacraments of the Reformed tradition hold a central place at First Pres. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are understood to be signs of the real presence and power of Christ in the Church, symbols of God's action, through which God seals believers in redemption, renews their identity as the people of God, and marks them for service. The Lord's Supper is celebrated every Sunday at the 9:00 a.m. service and every month at the 11:00 a.m. service. The Baptism page invites parents and adults to make arrangements through the church office.
First Pres frames its life around the words of Luke 10:27: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Its mission statement calls the congregation to worship God faithfully and joyfully, to nurture faith through education and fellowship, and to serve one another, the community, and the world with humility and love.
Pastoral Leadership and Staff
The Rev. Dr. David Forney has served as Pastor and Head of Staff since the fall of 2011, after earlier pastorates in Tennessee and a tenure on the faculty of Columbia Seminary. He earned a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Kansas, an M.Div. from Princeton Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. The Rev. Dr. Rachel Thompson Orfield is the Associate Pastor, having previously served as Pastor and Head of Staff at Harpeth Presbyterian Church in Nashville. She earned her M.Div. at Duke Divinity School and a D.Min. at Columbia Theological Seminary. The Rev. Jay Sanderford is Parish Associate, returning to First Pres after a distinguished career serving Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic.
Jeremy Thompson is Director of Music, having begun his work at First Pres in 2013. A native of New Brunswick, Canada, he earned his doctorate in music performance at McGill University in Montreal. Aubrey Hill is Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries, holding a Master of Arts in Public Theology from Union Presbyterian Seminary. Nancy Lutz serves as Faith Community Nurse. Ashley Ravitsky is Assistant Director of Children's Music and serves as Early Childhood Music Specialist in Albemarle County Public Schools. Andrea Gray is Nursery Supervisor, and Fariba Pakinejad serves as a Nursery Care Provider. Maria Brown is Preschool Director.
Support staff includes Adam Barber as Communications Director, Steve Brown as Finance Director, Paul Curreri as A/V Technician, Lynne Haley as Office Administrator, Michael Joyce as Facilities Manager, and Ellen Roberson as Program Coordinator.
Visiting First Pres
First Presbyterian Church sits at 500 Park Street, with the church office and mailing address at 507 7th Street NE and the preschool at 503 7th Street NE. The Carriage House, an additional building on the property, sits at 516 Park Street. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Parking is available in a large lower lot accessible from 7th Street NE, in a small lot next to the Carriage House, and on the surrounding streets. The upper lot closest to the Sanctuary is reserved for those with walking impairments on Sundays. A parking map is published online.
The congregation encourages first-time visitors to come as they are. The 9:00 a.m. service welcomes casual dress, while the 11:00 a.m. service tends toward a more traditional feel. Nursery care for children under three is available during both services and the 10:00 a.m. Sunday Class hour. Services are livestreamed at 9:00 and 11:00. The Sunday bulletin, weekly newsletter, and announcements are posted online. Members and visitors can also keep up through the ShelbyNext church database and online directory, through the church's weekly E-news, and through its Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube channels.
First Pres is a congregation that has learned to hold many things at once: contemporary and traditional worship, deep musical tradition and open-hearted welcome, a long-running neighborhood kitchen and a five-year mission in another state, a half-day preschool and a full program of adult formation, the Sacraments of the Reformed tradition and the everyday work of loving one's neighbor in Charlottesville.