Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. First Church will services with imposition of ashes 12 noon and 7:00 PM. The evening service will be live streamed.
On street parking is available with placard.
Join us for a fun Mardi Gras Celebration service on Sunday, February 11 at 9 AM. Let the good times roll!
Please join us for a joyous Service of Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve.
On-street parking is available with placard. This service will be live streamed.
Christmas Eve Family Worship for all ages. Communion will be served.
On-street parking is available with placard. This service will be live streamed.
On Christmas Eve, we will have 3 services:
Traditional Worship @ 11 AM
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Christmas Eve Celebration! @ 4 PM
Christmas Eve family worship service for all ages.
Service of Lessons & Carols @ 8 PM
Our annual joyous Service of Lessons and Carols.
On-street parking is available with placard and live stream will be available for all services.
A Service of the Longest Night will be held in the church sanctuary. This is a winter service of hope and healing that encourages those going through times of sorrow and grief during the holidays. Inspired by the solstice, winter’s longest night, this service will have special music and liturgy while allowing you space “to be.” We hope you will join us as we worship God during this special time.
On-street parking is available with placard. This service will be live streamed.
On December 3 we will celebrate traditional worship at 11 a.m. with a Service of Lessons and Carols for Advent. This service, different from our Lessons & Carols for Christmas on Christmas Eve, will be focused on the Advent texts and music, allowing us to focus on the prophetic news of the coming of Christ.
A memorial service for Eve-Ann Wilson will be held at First Church, with a reception in Old Buttonwood Hall immediately following the service.
Our year of commemorations concludes on Sunday, November 5. As we celebrate All Saints Sunday we will give thanks for the generations who have gone before us. Following the Celebration Service we will place our time capsule in the church vault to remain for the next 25 years. For the traditional service, our choir is preparing special music with guest music director Donald Nally, director of the Grammy-winning vocal ensemble The Crossing. Former clergy of First Church will be present and participating in worship. The day culminates with a champagne reception in Old Buttonwood Hall. Please join us!
On Sunday, July 9, at 11 AM we will combine Celebration! and Traditional worship in a single service in the sanctuary to sing God’s praises together. Hymn requests from the blue hymnal will be taken at the service. If you would like to request a hymn that is not in the blue hymnal, please send your request to Andrew Senn so we can include it in a hymn booklet. (We can’t promise that we’ll be able to sing every requested hymn during the service!)
After the service the Deacons will host an ice cream sundae social in Old Buttonwood Hall. Please join us!
On Sunday, June 4, there will be a celebration of the history of music at First Church as part of the observance of the 325th year of the congregation. Trinity Sunday’s worship will reflect liturgy appropriate for the observance of the day.
Following the 11 AM service there will be a special reception in Old Buttonwood Hall to mark the occasion.
At 1 PM Andrew Senn will give a presentation on music at First Church in the sanctuary that will feature the organ. This will be an excellent opportunity to get a primer on the organ and the music at First Church.
Felix Mendelssohn's unfinished oratorio "Christus" & John Sanders Reproaches.
On-street parking available with placard. This service will be live streamed.
Communion; Music of the French Baroque: François Couperin and Jean-Baptiste Lully
On-street parking available with placard. This service will be live streamed.
Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. First Church will offer in-person services with imposition of ashes 12 noon and 7:30 p.m. The evening service will be live streamed.
On street parking is available with placard.
Please join us for a fun Mardi Gras Celebration service on Sunday, February 19 at 9 AM.
On Christmas day, we will offer one service of worship, at 11 AM. Our worship service will take the form of a Moravian Lovefeast. The Lovefeast is an historical liturgy that involves singing hymns (in our case, Christmas Carols) and an Agape Meal. An Agape Meal is different from communion in that there is not a memorial component, but similar in that it seeks to draw Christians together in fellowship. Join us for this worship service to sing carols and have a cookie!
On-street parking is available with placard.
Please join us for our annual joyous Service of Lessons and Carols, held this year on Christmas Eve. Festive brass prelude music starts at 8:30 pm, and will then join with the choir, congregation, and organ to lead our favorite carols in the service at 9 pm.
On-street parking is available with placard.
Christmas Eve family worship service for all ages.
On-street parking is available with placard.
A Service of the Longest Night will be held in the church sanctuary. This is a winter service of hope and healing that encourages those going through times of sorrow and grief during the holidays. It is also for those who may be discouraged, depressed, or hopeless, or may be reliving past memories of holidays spent with loved ones or family—for better or worse. Inspired by the solstice, winter’s longest night, this service will have special music and liturgy while allowing you space “to be.” We hope you will join us as we worship God during this special time.
On-street parking is available with placard.
A memorial service for Virginia Mesibov will be held in the sanctuary on Saturday, December 10 at 2:30 PM. On-street parking is available with placard.
On December 4 we will celebrate traditional worship at 11 AM with a Service of Lessons and Carols for Advent. This service, different from our Lessons and Carols for Christmas on Christmas Eve, will be based around the seven ancient “O Antiphons.” Each of the antiphons highlights a different Messianic name for Christ from the Old Testament. It is a more mystical and introspective service than its Christmas counterpart, and really helps us to focus on the prophetic news of the coming of Christ.
A memorial service for Bob Cole will be held in the sanctuary on Tuesday, November 15, at 11 AM. On-street parking is available with placard.
On Sunday, October 23, at 11 AM, there will be a special worship service observing our building’s dedicatory service 150 years ago, that includes scripture readings and hymns from that original service and a Commemoration Reception following the service in Old Buttonwood Hall that will recall the more formal post-worship receptions of the past, and will feature a menu of earlier times and a silver and tea and coffee service that has been in our church vault for many years.
On display in the Old Buttonwood Hall will be historic photographs and artifacts recalling the history of our building. There will be only one worship service on October 23, and that joint service will include special activities for children featuring architectural features and artifacts in the sanctuary.
From September 11 through October 9, Dr. Baron Mullis is preaching a 5-part sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer. The series provides an opportunity to enrich our learning with a moderated discussion on the sermon following the 11 AM worship service each week. The discussions will be held in the MacColl Room, with both in-person and virtual attendance. Please join us!
To attend virtually, watch the live stream of the worship service at 11 am here. Please register below to receive the Zoom link for the post-sermon discussion.
Please note that live streaming of this service will not be available. A video of the service in Old Buttonwood Hall will be posted for viewing at a later time.
Audio files of the worship service and the sermon will also be available.
On Sunday, July 31, we will combine the Celebration and Traditional services at 11 am in the sanctuary to sing God’s praises together, followed by an ice cream sundae social in Old Buttonwood Hall. All are welcome!
Please send your favorite hymn requests to Andrew Senn so that they can be included in the hymn booklet. (But we can’t promise that we’ll be able to sing every requested hymn during the service.)
Please note that live streaming of this service will not be available. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we invite you to view one of the worship service videos on our website.
An audio file of the sermon will also be available.
Please join us for Choral Evensong on Sunday, June 5 at 4 PM. With its roots in the ancient monastic tradition, this meditative, early evening service is centered around the singing of a significant portion from the Psalms, as well as the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. The service is sung mostly by the choir, with the congregation joining in hymns and prayers.
Preses and Responses - Andrew Senn
Magnificat and Nunc dimittis - Sarah MacDonald
Behold, O God Our Defender - John Scott
Blest Pair of Sirens - Hubert Parry
At First Presbyterian Church, we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect our community. We have adopted guidelines consistent with the City of Philadelphia’s mandates and recommendations as to masking and other COVID-19 safety protocols. Accordingly, for those who are vaccinated, mask use is optional for services in the sanctuary, but is required for those who are not vaccinated.
For those unable to attend, it will also be live streamed on the church’s website.
On street parking is available with placard.
Please join us for Choral Evensong on Sunday, May 1 at 4 PM. With its roots in the ancient monastic tradition, this meditative, early evening service is centered around the singing of a significant portion from the Psalms, as well as the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. The service is sung mostly by the choir, with the congregation joining in hymns and prayers.
At First Presbyterian Church, we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect our community. We have adopted guidelines consistent with the City of Philadelphia’s mandates and recommendations as to masking and other COVID-19 safety protocols. Accordingly, for those who are vaccinated, mask use is optional for services in the sanctuary, but is required for those who are not vaccinated.
For those unable to attend, it will also be live streamed on the church’s website.
On street parking is available with placard.
A memorial service for Margarite Vallery will be held at First Church on Thursday, March 10 at 11 AM.
There will be a viewing beginning at 10 AM. The family has arranged for a light repast in Old Buttonwood Hall after the memorial service.
Although advance registration will not be required, mask and social distancing protocol will follow current city guidelines. If you are fully vaccinated, mask use is optional. If you are not fully vaccinated, masks are required. Certain pews are marked to be left vacant so that those attending can be physically distanced. Please check-in with an usher when you arrive.
On-street parking with placard will not be available, but the church’s discount rate with SP+ Parking garage (2107 Sansom Street) will be available; see an usher or go to the office to validate your parking receipt.
