A Place for All Generations on Armistead Avenue
First Presbyterian Church sits at the corner of South Armistead Avenue and Victoria Boulevard in Hampton, Virginia, a brick and stained-glass home where NASA engineers, teachers, physicians, carpenters, and stay-at-home parents worship side by side. The congregation describes itself as a dynamic and active Christian community that gladly welcomes all people who long for a transformational experience of faith, and the language is not window dressing. Children lead worship as assistant liturgists. Youth host a Haunted Hallway at the annual Trunk or Treat. Adults pack ten thousand meals for children abroad twice a year. And every Thursday at lunchtime, dozens of neighbors who are experiencing homelessness or food insecurity line up for a hot meal served by the Mission Team.
The church's motto is Connect, Grow, Go, and its three front doors, labeled Connect, Grow, Go, give a sense of what those words mean here. Connect is the call to gather, with all the differences that real community brings, and be a witness to a divided world. Grow names the children's, youth, and adult ministries designed to invite every person into meaningful relationships with God, each other, and the community. Go points to the hands-on service and partnerships that address hunger, homelessness, disaster relief, and community development on the peninsula and beyond.
Two Services, Two Styles on Sunday Morning
Sunday at First Presbyterian begins with a 9:00 a.m. Casual Worship Service held in the Fellowship Hall, up the stairs and to the right. The service is led by a team of singers and instrumentalists and embraces a contemporary worship music style. Coffee and donuts are available before and during the service, and the 9:00 gathering is live streamed on YouTube so members and friends can worship from anywhere.
At 11:00 a.m. the Traditional Worship Service fills the Sanctuary. Worship leaders and the chancel choir offer a variety of musical styles, both historical and contemporary, accompanied by organ and piano. Hearing devices are available at this service; large print bulletins can be requested from an usher.
Children of all ages are welcome in either service. Childcare is offered for infants through age four in room 204. Older children are invited to the first fifteen minutes of either service for the children's message, after which they may remain in worship or move to children's church in room 203. The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month and on special occasions, and all who proclaim faith in Jesus Christ are welcome to participate. Baptism, the sign and seal of God's covenant, is offered for infants, youth, and adults.
Between the two services, at 10:10 a.m., the church gathers for First Forum, First Pres Believes, and State of the Church gatherings, an opportunity to hear from community leaders, dig deeper into Reformed theology, and learn more about the church's ministries.
A Building Built for Welcome
Long before they wrote anything about accessibility, the people of First Presbyterian acted on it. After moving to the corner of Armistead and Victoria in August 1952 and breaking ground for the sanctuary on March 19, 1961, the congregation completed major updates and renovations in 1999. That campaign, called Now All Can Come, added a commons area, a large kitchen, and an elevator, along with several accessibility features.
Today, handicap-accessible parking spaces, both standard and van accessible, are available in the Victoria Boulevard parking lot, with a covered drop-off area. First-floor restrooms are equipped with wheelchair-accessible stalls. The elevator serves all floors. The Fellowship Hall includes family tables and rowed seating with removable chairs that can be rearranged for different needs. In the Sanctuary, two sections feature cutouts and modified pews that create spacious seating for wheelchairs.
The church's most beloved piece of architecture may be the simplest. The bell in the tower was given by the Sunday School children of the church and dedicated on March 17, 1963. It still rings today, calling all to worship.
From Stonemason to Sixteen Pastors
First Presbyterian's story begins with a stonemason from Scotland. Samuel Cumming was born in 1816 and came with his parents to Baltimore at age seven. After losing his father young, he was raised by his strict Scotch Presbyterian mother, trained as a mason, and traveled to Hampton to work on the stone fortifications at Fort Monroe. He liked the town, married, opened a merchandise store, and raised seven children. After his first wife's death he married Diana Armistead, had two more children, and worshiped at her home church, St. John's Episcopal.
Encouraged by area Presbyterians, Cumming asked the Norfolk Church to petition the East Hanover Presbytery to appoint a committee to organize a local congregation. On March 18, 1879, the committee met with nine Hamptonians in the Cumming home, and on April 6, 1879, twelve people were accepted into membership in the newly formed Hampton Presbyterian Church. Samuel Cumming was unanimously elected, ordained, and installed as the first Elder. Sixteen days later, the Ladies' Society was organized.
For four years the congregation relied on guest preachers and irregular schedules. Their first pastor, the Rev. John Gray Anderson, arrived on April 30, 1884, dividing his time among four area churches. The first church building went up on Chapel Street in 1885; the next, on West Queen Street, was dedicated May 26, 1895, and remained the place of worship until the 1952 move to Armistead and Victoria.
The Rev. Eric R. Peltz, the sixteenth pastor, was welcomed in October 2022 and installed the following June. A graduate of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in organizational trust. He and his wife, Ellen, live on the peninsula with their four children.
Children Who Lead Worship
The Director of Children's Ministry, Donna Herring, leads a program the church is known for. Children serve as assistant liturgists, guiding the congregation through the Call to Worship. A spontaneous kids choir lifts up a joyful noise during various seasons. During both Sunday services, kids interact with Pastor Eric during the Time with Children, then head out to Sunday School to engage with the same scripture passage discussed in adult worship.
Seasonal traditions anchor the year. Trunk or Treat fills the lawn with wildly decorated cars sharing candy while the youth host a Haunted Hallway inside the building, with visitors choosing their scare level: one, two, or three. Breakfast with Santa brings pancakes, ornament making, and a visit from an in-house Santa during the Christmas season. On Palm Sunday, the youth hide Easter eggs across the lawn for the younger students to find.
Youth Group Every Sunday Night
Youth Directors Kathy and Abe Rivera have led the youth at First Presbyterian for six years. Youth Group meets every Sunday night at 5:30 p.m., starting with a meal, shifting to games, and ending with study or community service. The youth connect with the wider church through RISE Against Hunger events, Christmas caroling at retirement communities, preparing and serving meals for the local Night's Welcome homeless shelter, and creatively hiding Easter eggs for the younger kids.
They connect with Jesus during lock-ins, retreats, mission trips, and conferences. Youth trips, often in partnership with PASSPORT Mission, include a mission component and a week of exploring faith in community.
Adults Growing Together
Adult Ministry at First Presbyterian is built around small groups and Bible study. The Westminster adult class meets on the third floor every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. to seek God's guidance and a greater understanding of the Word. The Ladies Small Group meets Monday evenings twice a month for fellowship and study. The Men's Small Group gathers every Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m., studying the Bible passage for the upcoming Sunday's sermon and praying for one another. Additional evening Bible studies happen seasonally, especially in fall and spring.
Music as a Vital Expression of Faith
Music at First Presbyterian is described as more than an accompaniment to worship. The Contemporary Music Team, led by Martha Owens, includes vocalists, guitars, bass, drums, and keyboard, and supports the 9:00 a.m. service with an eclectic, generally modern sound. Martha has been leading worship at First Presbyterian since 2013 and brings a background in music ministry and chaplaincy along with classical training from William & Mary.
The Chancel Choir, directed by Traditional Music Director and Accompanist Steve Kolb, sings at the 11:00 a.m. service. A four-part ensemble, the choir performs music from across the historical spectrum - Renaissance to Gospel to Contemporary - and rehearses Wednesday evenings at 6:45 p.m. for nine months of the year. Handbell ensembles for children and adults present music at the 11:00 a.m. service and rehearse on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 6:45 p.m. during the school year. Dan and Janet Burdette have directed the handbell ensembles for thirty-five years.
Care, Support, and a Listening Ear
The Deacons of First Presbyterian take seriously the Bible's instruction to be servants, or diakanoi, to one another. They show compassion to shut-ins, visit the sick in the hospital, provide home-made blankets for newborns, send cards to the lonely, and organize meals for grieving families. The Mission Team coordinates the Thursday Meal Program, which provides a hot meal every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Those who come to the church's doors are offered a Manna Bag with snacks and connected with community partners like H.E.L.P., Hampton Ecumenical Lodgings and Provisions, for further assistance.
Pastor Eric is an ACF-certified coach and loves to connect over coffee, lunch, or happy hour with anyone who needs prayer, wants help discerning the next faithful step, or simply needs a listening ear.
Mission on the Peninsula and Around the World
The Thursday Lunches, which began as a way of filling a gap in the community's support systems, now serve more than thirty people experiencing homelessness every week. A Night's Welcome, a program that provides a safe space for the unhoused to sleep during cold winter months, sees the church host for a month and serve hundreds of warm meals. Faith@Work Sundays send the congregation out after worship to serve local nonprofits, shut-ins, and other community concerns.
The church partners with several organizations it helped bring into existence, including Peake Childhood Center, Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center, and H.E.L.P. FPC hosts the H.E.L.P. food pantry and, with volunteers from churches across the peninsula, creates food bags to sustain hungry families through the week.
RISE Against Hunger happens twice a year after worship, when an intergenerational gathering packs ten thousand meals that are sent around the world to enable children to attend schools in under-resourced countries. An annual mission work-trip sends youth and adults to rehab homes in communities still reeling from the effects of hurricanes on the East Coast, with recent trips focused on New Bern, North Carolina. FPC partners with three missionaries: Yulia Badachok in Ukraine, Tom and Nancy Rach in Mexico, and Nita Pride in the United States. The church also supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Church World Service to provide relief to refugees, migrant farmers, and other vulnerable populations.
What It Means to Be Presbyterian
First Presbyterian belongs to the Presbyterian Church (USA), a denomination rooted in the Reformed tradition of John Calvin. At the core of Presbyterian belief are the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, justification by grace through faith, and the priesthood of all believers. That last conviction shapes the church's governance: at every level, the Presbyterian church is led by a combination of clergy and laity, men and women alike. The Session, the church's governing body, meets at 7:00 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month, except November and December when it meets on the third Thursday.
The church is distinct in two major ways: it adheres to a pattern of religious thought known as Reformed theology, and it practices a form of government that stresses the active, representational leadership of both ministers and church members.
Restoring Our Future
Running through 2028, the Restoring Our Future campaign is the congregation's three-year effort to care for the buildings that carry the ministry. Key projects include renovating the sanctuary, fellowship hall, and gathering spaces; repairing windows, the steeple, and walls; updating lighting, flooring, and bathrooms; improving accessibility and safety; strengthening technology and communications; and opening the building for community partners and ministries. The campaign extends from November 2025 through November 2028 and is grounded in a 70x7 Prayer Journey.
Giving and Legacy
Online giving is available through the church's Breeze portal, with options for credit card or electronic check transactions. Text-to-Give is also available by sending a message to (757) 280-3589. People seventy and a half or older may donate up to $100,000 from their Individual Retirement Accounts directly to the church. Securities may be transferred to the church's brokerage account at Tri-River Investment Group of Davenport and Company, LLC.
Legacy Giving, through wills and bequests, retirement plans, life insurance, and real estate or nontraditional assets, allows members to support the church's mission for generations to come. Members who share their intentions are welcomed into the Legacy Society, which has already benefited from gifts like the more than $150,000 left by Dick and Dort Pride to support Missions, essential building repairs, and the sponsored Troop 29.
Weddings, Memorials, and the Scatter Garden
First Presbyterian hosts weddings for members, former members, and their immediate family. Couples meet with the pastor and submit a Wedding Reservation form to lock in their date. Wedding Guidelines and the reservation form are available from the church office.
The church also welcomes funerals and memorial services for members, former members, and their immediate family. Families may choose to inter ashes in the church's scatter garden, a peaceful space where loved ones' remains can be returned to the earth as part of a religious service. The pastor and staff are available to guide families through every step of the planning.
A Church with Room at the Table
First Presbyterian's welcome is explicit. The congregation accepts people of all genders, races, sexualities, abilities, and personalities to come to the table of God's grace and to work together to extend that grace to everyone. As Pastor Eric writes, the church is not perfect, but that is why its members need each other, and need newcomers, to fulfill the mission God has set on their hearts.
The church's continuing story is shaped by that conviction. Every Sunday, the bell in the tower rings out over Armistead Avenue, calling all to worship, and the congregation answers by feeding the hungry, teaching the young, comforting the grieving, and sending its members out into Hampton and the world to shine Christ's light and share Christ's love.