First Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Scurry County, on a June day in 1892, a small group of people decided a community worth living in was a community worth praying in together. June 13th, to be precise.

The Reverend W. W. Werner gathered seven charter members, just seven, and organized what they called the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Seven people. You could fit them in a good-sized living room, and yet they had the nerve to put the word First right there in the name. That kind of confidence tends to age well in Texas.

The years rolled on, and in 1906 that original church body joined something larger, the Abilene Presbytery, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Roots deepening, connections spreading. Then came 1924, and the congregation made a move.

They left their first home at Avenue Q and 26th Street, and for a stretch they worshipped in a basement over at Avenue R and 28th Street. Now, a basement is not a sanctuary, but a congregation with that kind of founding grit was not about to let a temporary ceiling limit a permanent faith. They stayed the course, and in 1929 the sanctuary was completed.

Look up inside that church today and you'll see leaded stained glass memorial windows, put there to honor the small, dedicated congregation who built this place. Small is the word the marker uses, and it doesn't say it as a criticism. Small and dedicated, those two words belong together in this story.

And then there's the bell. Forged in 1902, still used regularly to this day. It came from a white frame church built in 1904.

That bell has been calling people in longer than most institutions in the county have existed, ringing out across Scurry County in a voice that was already seasoned before a lot of folks around here were born. Seven charter members on a June morning in 1892. A basement for a sanctuary.

A bell forged in 1902 that still rings. Some things that start small just refuse to stay that way.

What the marker says

Organized June 13, 1892, as the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, by The Rev. W. W. Werner, with seven charter members. In 1906 original church body joined the Abilene Presbytery, Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Congregation moved from its first location (Ave. Q and 26th) in 1924. Used basement at Avenue R and 28th Street for worship until sanctuary was completed in 1929. Leaded stained glass memorial windows honor small, dedicated congregation who built this church. Bell, forged in 1902 and still used regularly, came from white frame church of 1904. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1969