Westwood First Presbyterian Church stands at 3011 Harrison Avenue in the Westwood neighborhood of Cincinnati, where a Presbyterian congregation has been gathering under one name or another since 1881. The current stone sanctuary, dedicated in 1926, remains the centerpiece of a community known for its Tyrolese stained glass, its 67-rank pipe organ, a handbell and choral music program that has filled the building for generations, and a scouting troop that is one of the oldest continuously operating in the city. The congregation belongs to the Presbytery of Cincinnati of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and its long-running partnerships with neighborhood groups have made the building a busy hub on the West Side.
140 Years on the West Side
Presbyterian mission in the Westwood area traces back as far as 1823. The early congregation struggled and nearly dissolved around 1840, but it persevered, building a small church on Mozart Avenue and, in 1844, purchasing land at the corner of Mozart and Higbee Avenues where, tradition says, thirteen families worshipped. That original building still stands, used for years by Westwood Salem Presbyterian Church, later by City on a Hill, and now by Cincinnati Public Schools for preschool education.
Stability was hard-won. A German Protestant congregation shared the building from 1865, and after years of debate over whether to formally affiliate with the wider Presbyterian Church - partly over questions that ranged from financial assistance to whether beer parties could be held on the premises - the conservative faction applied to the Cincinnati Presbytery in April 1871 and became the Westwood German Presbyterian Church with 46 charter members.
Another group of Westwood residents had a different idea. According to an entry in John M. Miller's diary, a meeting with that congregation was set for September 12, 1881 to decide whether to join the German body or to petition the Presbytery for a new congregation. The decision was to start fresh. On Sunday, October 16, 1881, the Presbytery's committee came to Westwood and officially organized the Presbyterian Church of Westwood with about 26 charter members. Sixteen men had met in council the week before and asked the committee to come.
The 1920s brought rapid growth to Westwood, and on March 12, 1925 the congregation incorporated as the Westwood First Presbyterian Church. A year after that, on November 7, 1926, the entire congregation and Sunday School marched from the Montana and Cheviot Avenue building that had served them for 35 years to their new home at 3011 Harrison Avenue. The stone building features gothic arched openings, buttresses, a square bell tower, and two wings added later to provide classrooms and fellowship space. Only the sanctuary was finished at the time of the dedication; the stained glass windows were installed and dedicated in April 1928, designed and crafted by the Tyrolese Art Glass Company (Tyroler Glasmalerei Anstalt), founded in 1861 in Innsbruck, Austria and still in operation. Ground was broken on the north wing on June 7, 1935, with Joseph Steinkamp as architect, and the final wing was added in 1957 to the south and west.
The congregation marked its 140th anniversary in 2021, and in 2023 it celebrated another milestone - the 100th anniversary of Boy Scout Troop 107, which had been authorized in November 1922 and remains one of the oldest continuously operating troops in Cincinnati.
A Sanctuary of Stone, Stained Glass, and Sound
The architecture of the building is attributed to the firm of Hannaford & Sons, the successors to Samuel Hannaford, who retired around 1895 and died in 1911. The gothic-arched stone, the buttressed walls, and the square bell tower give the sanctuary a deliberate weight that visitors often remark on. The Tyrolese windows glow in amber and color across the nave, drawing the eye upward, while a balcony and exposed organ pipes frame the front.
The instrument behind those pipes is a four-manual, 67-rank pipe organ that retains many pipes from the Moeller organ installed in 1946 and from a 1981 expansion directed by Mark Lively. The instrument was restored by the Miller Pipe Organ Company of Louisville, Kentucky in 2003 and is heard in worship every Sunday as well as on the Westwood First Concert Series. Couples marrying in the sanctuary regularly comment on the acoustics, the balcony, and the stained glass.
Sunday Mornings at 10:30
Sunday worship at Westwood First runs from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the main sanctuary. The service follows a traditional pattern of scripture readings, a sermon, hymn singing, and choral and organ music, with Holy Communion served on the first Sunday of each month. Music is provided by Director of Music Ministries Heather MacPhail on the organ, by the Chancel Choir, and by soloists. Coffee fellowship is offered before and after the service.
The building is open for Sunday School and the Kids' Zone on the 4th floor during the 10:30 worship service every other week, with Bible readings, crafts, and activities for children ages 4 to 10. Programming is also offered on Palm Sunday, Easter, Christmas, and other special holidays.
Parking and the main entrance are reached from 3326 Koenig Avenue. The mailing address is 3011 Harrison Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211. Office hours run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A Generations-Old Music Ministry
Heather MacPhail has led the music ministry at Westwood First since 1993. She holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she concentrated in piano performance and accompanying. She serves as Music Assistant for the Cincinnati May Festival Chorus and as accompanist for the Summer Chorus at Riverbend, and she is on the faculty at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she coaches undergraduate and graduate piano majors and serves as Staff Accompanist for the faculty trio Miami3. She is also a frequent keyboardist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a member of the American Guild of Organists, and a regular recitalist throughout the region.
The Chancel Choir is open to adults and teens. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., and the choir sings for Sunday morning worship, for special services, in community outreach projects, and on the Westwood First Concert Series. The choir's repertoire ranges from Handel's Messiah to newly commissioned spiritual pieces. The Chancel Bells, the church's adult handbell ensemble, rehearses on Thursday afternoons and rings in worship, at Westwood First events, and in community mission settings.
The Westwood First Concert Series has been a West Side tradition since 1981. For more than four decades the free series has presented local, national, and international performers of every genre in the sanctuary. The 44th season begins in October 2026.
Formation, Workshops, and Soul Place
Spiritual formation at Westwood First is led by the Rev. Rebecca Bosarge, a Teaching Elder in the PC(USA) and a pastor in the Presbytery of Cincinnati. She holds a Master of Arts in Spirituality from Bellarmine University and an M.Div. from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and her ministry focuses on individual and congregational formation through adult education, preaching, and retreats.
Westside Abbey meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at 6:00 p.m., each session hosted by a different speaker and exploring a different topic in Celtic spirituality and the Celtic mystics. The Common Good Workshops, offered bi-weekly in the sanctuary, are free community sessions of discussion and practice on deepening awareness of Christ's presence in daily life; the series is made possible through a grant from the Presbytery of Cincinnati.
Each year Westwood First also hosts a church-wide conference. The 2025 gathering was the inaugural Soul Place Gathering, a two-day event built around the Celtic themes of place, pilgrimage, poetry, presence, and prophetic imagination drawn from Ian Bradley's The Celtic Way. The 2026 Soul Place Gathering takes place Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11, with keynote speakers Peter Block, the Rev. Dr. Mary Laymon, the Rev. Rebecca Bosarge, the Rev. Rolf Billes, and musician Ben Sollee. The format mixes short presentations with creative, intentional conversations and small groups in what the planners describe as brave space.
Children, Young Adults, and Family Life
The Kids' Zone on the 4th floor welcomes children ages 4 to 10 every other week during the 10:30 worship service, and is open for special holiday services such as Palm Sunday, Easter, and Christmas. Three staff positions focus on the generations around that room: Maddie Wells serves as Young Adult Connector, Adam Hayden as Young Adult and Family Coordinator, and Cristan Tye as Young Families Coordinator. Presbyterian Women operates Circles 1 and 6 with monthly gatherings that combine prayer, Bible study, and fundraising for missions, along with PW luncheons that bring all circles together for programs on the wider mission of the organization. New member classes are offered quarterly under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Dr. Rich Jones.
Neighbors Under One Roof
Westwood First has long opened its building to community groups. Cub Scout Pack 107, Scouts BSA Troop 107, and Scouts BSA Troop 1107 all meet on Monday evenings starting at 6:30 p.m. as active units of the Dan Beard Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Troop 107, chartered in 1923, celebrated its 100th anniversary on May 6, 2023 with a resolution from the 135th General Assembly of Ohio, and over its lifetime has produced more than 50 Eagle Scouts. The Family Pack serves boys and girls in grades K through 5, while Troop 107 serves boys ages 11 to 17 and Troop 1107 serves girls in the same age range.
Other groups share space in the building as well. City Gospel Mission's Princesses Ballet offers free dance lessons to low-income girls ages 3 to 18, with mentoring that builds character, self-esteem, and discipline. The Westwood Woman's Club, which marked its own 125th anniversary in 2021, gathers at the church for fellowship and philanthropy on behalf of the Westwood community. The Westwood Historical Society uses space at the church to gather and share the personal stories of the people who shaped the neighborhood, and Peanut Butter & Jam Sessions hosts interactive classical-music concerts for children ages 2 to 6 in the sanctuary.
The church also gives directly to a number of partner organizations around Cincinnati, including BLOC Ministries, the WestFed Food Pantry, My Neighbor's Place, Shelterhouse, the Salvation Army, and Kids4Peace.
Joining the Work
Volunteers are welcome year-round at Westwood First. Opportunities include preparing and serving meals, mentoring, neighborhood cleanup, food bank delivery, tutoring, greeting, gardening, and building maintenance. Giving is accepted online through the church's giving portal, by mail to 3011 Harrison Avenue, in the offering plate on Sunday morning, or during weekday office hours. Member classes are held quarterly for anyone interested in making Westwood First their church home.