116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
First Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids celebrates 175 years
‘We can barely imagine what might be in store for us,’ says Pastor Heather Hayes
Jun. 4, 2023 5:00 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — First Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids is celebrating its 175th anniversary Sunday, with a renewed promise of staying “downtown for good.”
The church, which formed in 1847, has been an active advocate of social justice, housed many social services agencies, and was integral in the creation of Cedar Rapids landmarks like Coe College and Geneva Tower in downtown Cedar Rapids.
Today, the church is looking toward the future with a goal of being a part of the solution to support people in Cedar Rapids who are unhoused, said Heather Hayes, pastor of First Presbyterian Church.
As the U.S. approaches what could be another “contentious” election — including the 2024 presidential election — Hayes said church leaders are learning about how to “achieve healing in the midst of conflict.”
“It’s humbling to think about when the church was founded, there were under 100 residents in Cedar Rapids,” said Hayes. “When you think of the changes we’ve been through since, we can barely imagine what might be in store for us.
“I think we’ll have to take a page from the book of our forebears and trust and see where God takes us,” she said.
The church is celebrating Sunday with a service open to all at 310 5th St SE. At 9 a.m., the church’s archives will be on display, there will be games for the kids and a presentation will be given by local historian Mark Stoffer Hunter. A worship service begins at 10 a.m.
“It’s pretty awesome to be a part of something that has stood the test of time,” Hayes said.
A church home for six generations
Six generations of Melissa Randall’s family have been members of First Presbyterian Church going back to the 1860s, she said.
"We have a strong history in the community. To me, that’s very important,“ she said.
Randall, who has been a member of the church’s archive team for the last 25 years, said she recalls spending hours as a child playing in the church’s basement, which was a gym at the time.
She also remembers marching around her Sunday school classroom to the song “Onward Christian Soldiers” and a pastor who, with sleight of hand, would pretend to pull a quarter out of the children’s ears.
Mary Noland Houtz, who has been attending First Presbyterian since 1995 and also is a member of the archive team, said one of her favorite stories in the church’s history is the one about its three bells.
In the 1870s, one of the founding members of First Presbyterian — Mary Ely — paid to have a bell donated to the church. The first bell arrived from Troy, New York, cracked and was sent back.
Once the second bell arrived and was installed, it also was found to be defective, Noland Houtz said. When it was removed, it fell through the ceiling, through two floors and landed in the church’s basement, she said.
It was the third bell that the church still has today, which -- although used sparingly because of its age — will be rung Sunday morning as a part of the 175th anniversary celebration.
Longest-standing church in Cedar Rapids
First Presbyterian Church was founded one year after Iowa became a state and before Cedar Rapids was formally incorporated by the Iowa State Legislature in 1849. It was founded by nine people, including Alexander and Mary Ely — for whom the town of Ely is named.
While not the oldest church in Cedar Rapids, it has been in its current location longer than any other in the city. The first church to be established in Cedar Rapids was St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, which was founded in 1843, Stoffer Hunter said.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell said the church is a “testament to the profound impact that cultural entities and landmarks have had in shaping” the city.
“As we approach our city's own 175th anniversary in January, let us mark this milestone with optimism, reflecting on the values that guide us as we look forward with anticipation to our community’s shared future,” she said in a statement to The Gazette.
The church has had two locations in Cedar Rapids. Its first was at the intersection of what is known today as Second Avenue and Third Street SE in a building affectionately known as “Little Muddy” because when it rained, it looked like the building was “melting,” Stoffer Hunter said.
The church was built with about $900 and made out of crushed stone and grout, a muddy, lime-like substance that provided an adhesive for the stone.
Construction of the church’s current building -- at 310 Fifth St. SE -- began in May 1867, and cost $27,000. Stoffer Hunter said the church received “sharp criticism” at the time because the city was not developed beyond what today is Third Street SE.
Over the years, the building has survived several floods and a derecho’s hurricane-force winds that swept through Eastern Iowa in August 2020. Most recently, the building flooded on Christmas Day in 2022 because of broken pipes. The fellowship hall and church offices are still being repaired.
The church also played an important role in launching the construction of Geneva Tower, a high-rise apartment building that provided affordable housing for low-income elderly. It first opened in 1970 on Fifth Ave. SE, just a few blocks away from the church.
First Presbyterian Church was instrumental in starting what today is known as Coe College, founded by the church’s first pastor Williston Jones in 1851.
Community outreach
Today, First Presbyterian Church is home to Linn Community Food Bank, a volunteer organization that provides a three-day emergency supply of food to families in need. A family may visit the food bank up to 24 times a year.
The church also hosts a Sunday evening meal program open to the public and people who are unhoused. The program, which began in 1988, receives financial support from the Local Mission Budget, the Presbyterian Women and the annual Hunger Offering and Linn County Emergency Food & Shelter grant.
About a dozen people volunteer each Sunday to prepare and serve the meals from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Volunteers are from First Presbyterian’s congregation, other churches, youth groups and civic organizations.
Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters