History
The First Presbyterian Church of Corpus Christi was formed on May 12, 1867, following the Civil War, with eight members. Construction materials were purchased for a building, but the yellow fever epidemic of 1897, (which killed one-fifth of the city’s white population) also killed the church’s minister and one member. The wooden construction materials were used for coffins.
In 1868 the church’s first building was built, without window panes or pews and with only a dirt floor. By 1875 the membership grew to fifty, and in 1879 a manse was built.
Early in the 1900s lots were purchased where the present Six Hundred Building is located, and a handsome red brick structure was erected by Henrietta King in memory of her husband, Capt. Richard King, with beautiful Tiffany stained glass windows in memory of her father, who had established the first Presbyterian church in South Texas at Brownsville in the 1850s. Following the disastrous hurricane and tidal wave of 1919, the Red Brick Church -served as shelter and sustenance for the city. The women of the church served food to about 700 people a day.
Early in the 1900s lots were purchased where the present Six Hundred Building is located, and a handsome red brick structure was erected by Henrietta King in memory of her husband, Capt. Richard King, with beautiful Tiffany stained glass windows in memory of her father, who had established the first Presbyterian church in South Texas at Brownsville in the 1850s. Following the disastrous hurricane and tidal wave of 1919, the Red Brick Church -served as shelter and sustenance for the city. The women of the church served food to about 700 people a day.
In 1903, Mrs. Rachel Doddridge bequeathed her home on Upper Broadway to the church, and on August 17, 1930, the present sanctuary was built and our church moved into its present location. The three story Doddridge building houses the church’s offices, choir facilities, library, chapel and children’s Sunday School rooms. The construction note was paid off during the depression. After World War II the buildings were air conditioned and the lots north and south of the building were purchased. Then, during the church’s Centennial Celebration in 1967, a new wing was added to house Kleberg Hall, the living room, kitchen and additional class rooms.
In October 2017, First Pres completed a year-long gracious separation process from Mission Presbytery, PC(USA) to unite with ECO: A Covenant Order of Presbyterians. ECO is a denomination of more than 350 churches nationwide. One of the key differences between ECO and PC(USA) is the way we understand the mission of the Church and how that mission is carried out. FPC continues to see the mission of the church as making disciples of Jesus – the mission of the congregation is to carry out that mission of making disciples.
OUR ECO AFFILIATION
ECO is one of the newest and fastest growing Presbyterian denominations in the United States. The Presbyterian leaders who envisioned a new denomination were motivated by a desire to have an identifiable foundation of Essential Tenets which would provide both unity and mission, and a denominational structure that was less bureaucratic and more nimble to do effective ministry in the 21st century. ECO is made up of both large and small churches, and these churches are grouped into regional “presbyteries” to coordinate ministry and mission. There are about 350 congregations in ECO, and each one affirms the centrality of Jesus Christ, the authority of God’s Word, and a commitment to engaging the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
