Westminster Presbyterian Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nacogdoches County. Now settle in, because this is a story about something that doesn't always make the history books: a congregation that just kept showing up, decade after decade, for a town that needed it. The Presbyterians have been part of Nacogdoches since the eighteen thirties.

That is a long time to be anywhere. Several churches organized later in the century, and then in 1893, a man named Reverend B. A.

Hodges sat down with twelve founding members and they established Main Street Presbyterian Church, under the Cumberland denomination's Presbytery of Texas. Twelve people. That's it.

You could seat them all at two dinner tables. Around 1900, the church constructed a wood frame building right on Main Street, designed by a noted Nacogdoches architect by the name of D. A.

W. Rulfs. Now, a wood frame building is a humble thing, but it was theirs, and they filled it up.

They filled it up so well, in fact, that they outgrew the structure entirely. So in 1930, the congregation completed a new sanctuary and a manse at the corner of North and Powers streets, and that's when the church became known as Westminster Presbyterian Church. New name, new address, same calling.

They weren't done building, either. Westminster Fellowship Hall went up in 1965, and then an educational building was added in 1998. But here's the thing about Westminster that the marker really wants you to understand.

This congregation has a rich history of helping those in need. During World War One, they stepped up and led Nacogdoches County's War Savings Stamps campaign. The whole county.

Then in the nineteen twenties, they were working with local Boy Scouts and with students at Stephen F. Austin State Teacher's College, which you know today as Stephen F. Austin State University.

They helped found the Head Start program right there in Nacogdoches. They ran a Senior Citizen Nutrition Center. A Telephone Reassurance Program.

A Samaritan Counseling Center. They partnered with Habitat for Humanity and Love Inc. And through all of it, the congregation also stressed music ministry, both in worship and out in the community.

More than a hundred years after Reverend Hodges and those twelve founding members got together and started something, Westminster Presbyterian Church is still standing at the corner of North and Powers, still showing up, still leading. Twelve people once sat around and decided to begin. That's how you get a hundred years.

What the marker says

Presbyterians have long played an important role in Nacogdoches; the earliest Presbyterian influence here dates to the 1830s, with several churches organizing later in the century. In 1893, Rev. B. A. Hodges and twelve founding members established Main Street Presbyterian Church under the Cumberland denomination's Presbytery of Texas. Around 1900, the church constructed a wood frame building on Main Street designed by noted Nacogdoches architect D. A. W. Rulfs. After outgrowing the structure, the church completed a sanctuary and manse in 1930 at the corner of North and Powers streets and became known as Westminster Presbyterian Church. The congregation added Westminster Fellowship Hall in 1965 and an educational building in 1998. Westminster Presbyterian Church has a rich history of helping those in need. During World War I the church led Nacogdoches County's War Savings Stamps campaign, and in the 1920s worked with local Boy Scouts and with students at Stephen F. Austin State teacher's College (now Stephen F. Austin State University). The congregation helped found the Head Start program in Nacogdoches. Other ministries of included a Senior Citizen Nutrition Center, Telephone Reassurance Program, Samaritan Counseling Center, Habitat for Humanity and Love Inc. congregation has also stressed music ministry, both in worship and in the community. Today, more than 100 years after its founding, Westminster Presbyterian Church continues to play a vital role as a spiritual and community leader in Nacogdoches. (2009)