Welcome to
Lexington Presbyterian Church
120 S. Main Street
Lexington, VA 24450
William M. Klein, Pastor
About Us
Click on the underlined links for more information.
Visiting Us |
Membership |
Governance |
Administration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worship Schedule | Joining The Church | Mission Statement | Wedding Policy |
| Directions | New Members | Session | Funeral Policy |
| Local Weather | Committees | Gifts and Bequests | |
| History | Our Staff | Cancellation Policy |
Mission Statement
We believe God intends for us
to be sound in our faith, our service to one another, and our mission
beyond our walls and doors. Our task is to understand, embrace, rejoice
in, and share that intention.
To that end, we seek:
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To be an authentic, vigorous community of Christian believers within the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition and loyal to the Presbyterian Church (USA);
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To put into practice our understanding of God's grace by being welcoming and inclusive;
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To present effectively God's Word through our worship, preaching, Christian education, music, serving, and congregational life;
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To emphasize understanding the Bible and God's call through it;
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To draw nonbelievers to faith and believers to spiritual depth; and
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To use our gifts to do God's work by reaching out in love to the community and the world at large.
Approved by session, April, 2007
Full Time Staff
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Pastor | William M. Klein | Send email |
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Director of Christian Education | Olivia L. Patton | Send email |
| Administrative Assistant | Lila G. Rogers | Send email | |
| Custodian | Douglas L. Stevenson |
Part Time Staff
| Parish Asso. for Visitation | Deborah H. Klein | Send email | |
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Organist/Director of Music | William McCorkle | Send email |
| Handbell Choirs Director | Ruth W. Floyd | Send email | |
| Financial Secretary | Cynthia G. Irby | Send email | |
| Night Security Officer | Ricardo L. Haston | ||
| Preschool Caregiver | Janice R. Updike | ||
| Nursery Caregiver | Hilary K. Bergmann | ||
| Kitchen Worker | Connie Bryant |
Non-paid Positions
| Treasurer | D. Rae Carpenter, Jr. | Send email |
| Clerk of Session | Mary P. Atthowe | Send email |
| Librarian | Charlotte D. Gunn | |
| Pastor Emeritus | L. Randolph Harrison |
To learn more about the Presbyterian Church (USA) and our individual congregation, we invite you to attend our "Explore" Class, which is led by our Pastor, Bill Klein. The schedule can be obtained from the church office.
For additional information about joining our church, click here.
| William M. Klein, Moderator | ||
| Mary P. Atthowe, Clerk | ||
| Class of 2008 | Class of 2009 | Class of 2010 |
| Douglas M. Caldwell | Amy K. DeHart | Gregg B. Amonette |
| SueNell C Dillon | J. Hardin Marion | George R. Bent |
| Richard C. Emrey | Sandra B. Nye | Laura C. Brown |
| David B. Hawkins | Randolph H. Shomo | Warren J. Bryan |
| Whitney W. Huffman | Michael M. Strickler | Shirley G. Claiborn |
| Bruce M. King | Louise W. Stuart | Jane T. Horton |
| Marjorie M. Page | Beth B. Thompson | Robert W. Moreschi |
| Barbara S. Winfrey | Michael F. Tschantz | Emily S. Reel |
Click here for pictures, class of 2009
Click here for the Statistical Report Summary for 2007.
Click here for more information on the spiritual leadership of Presbyterian elders.
During the American
Revolution, Rockbridge County was formed from a portion of Augusta
County. The county seat, Lexington, was named after its counterpart in
Massachusetts and established in 1777. Lexington Presbyterians attended
Hall's Meeting House, five miles to the west of town, established in
1746. On 15 April 1789, the Lexington Presbyterian Church was authorized
by Lexington Presbytery, as a new church development project of New
Monmouth Presbyterian Church (formerly Hall's Meeting House).
The first minister in 1789 was the Rev. William Graham, who was also
Rector of Liberty Hall Academy (now Washington & Lee University). Having
met out of doors in an oak grove or under a tent during the warmer
months and in the county court house in the colder months, by 1799 the
Lexington congregation. began meeting in a new brick church located in
what is today the NW corner of the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery.
For the first thirty years of its life, the Lexington Presbyterian
Church, though meeting for worship separately, remained linked to New
Monmouth Church, both churches sharing the same Session and pastor.
In the early 1840s, as a result of desiring a more comfortable place of
worship in a more central location in town, the Female Working Society
of the Presbyterian Church, purchased and gave to the church the lot at
the corner of Main and Nelson Streets, on which the current building
stands. The Greek Revival structure, designed by Thomas U. Walter, was
completed in 1845. In 1895 the church added wings to accommodate
continuing growth and activity. The building was enlarged, improved, and
refurbished again in 1899. In 1906 a greatly needed church school
building was erected and by 1922 was enlarged. In 1953 the church
launched a major campaign to renovate and enlarge the education
building, now named Murray Hall. In 1979, the church was registered by
the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission as a Virginia Historic
Landmark. In 1998 the interior of the sanctuary was renovated. July 18,
2000, the sanctuary burned. The congregation reoccupied the restored
sanctuary on January 5, 2003.
As a part of the restoration of the sanctuary, a contract was entered
into for a Fisk organ from Gloucester, MA. This organ was delivered in
2006 and installation completed in early 2007.
General Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson was a member of this church from
the year of his arrival in 1851 as a professor at the Virginia Military
Institute until his death in 1863. Until his departure from Lexington in
April of 1861, Jackson taught a Sunday School Class that was
well-attended by the town's African-American population. Jackson's next
return to Lexington was for burial in the Presbyterian Cemetery on 15
May 1863. The cemetery has since been renamed the Stonewall Jackson
Cemetery.
The Lexington Presbyterian
Church has had in its history seventeen pastors and six stated supply
ministers. From its membership have come thirty-six pastors, and from
the church some fourteen have gone to the foreign mission field.
A much-used lecture room stood beside the church building after 1845,
sandwiched between the sanctuary and a private dwelling. In 1905 the
house was purchased from Mrs. Lucy Houghawout by the church and a new
classroom building was erected in its place by 1907. In 1952 the land
behind this classroom building through to Randolph Street was purchased,
and by 1956 a new enlarged Christian Education Building had been
completed. In May 1957, the new building was named Murray Hall for Dr.
Joseph James Murray, pastor of thirty-three years.
The Presbyterian manse, located at 6 White Street, was completed in
1848, fashioned from bricks salvaged when the original church building
was razed. The manse was first occupied by Dr. William S. White, pastor
from 1848 through the Civil War years, and for whom the street was later
named. The architectural style of the manse is Cottage Gothic, and was
very avant-garde at the time. The manse has been continuously used to
house the Lexington Presbyterian Church pastor and his family. The
Misses Ann and Susan Johnstone, lifelong members of the church, left
funds in their bequest that were used for a complete restoration of the
manse in the mid-1960s. November 1999, the Sam W. Rayder Manse Endowment
was established through a gift he made of an insurance policy. The
purpose of the endowment was to provide for capital needs of the Manse.
The shed behind the manse was completely restored during the Summer of
2000.