WPC History
Westminster Presbyterian Church is the second oldest Presbyterian Church in Dallas.
As Dallas grew, members of First Presbyterian Church saw the need for a second Presbyterian church in the city. At an 1891 Presbytery meeting in Colorado City, Texas, delegates asked for a commission to consider establishing a new church to serve the rapidly expanding residential district in far north Dallas, which is now the heart of the city.
Dr. A.P. Smith, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, served as Chairman of the commission. Other members included W.L. Lowrence, City Evangelist; James D. McLean, Presbytery Evangelist; and ruling elders from First Presbyterian. As suggested by its new minister, Dr. McLean, the church was named Westminster Presbyterian Church. The organizational meeting was held March 13, 1892, and the charter listed seventeen members. The next Sunday, three new members were received into the congregation.
Early Years
The city of Dallas grew, and so did WPC: fifty members by the end of the first year and 144 members by March 1898. Dr. McLean resigned in 1894 to be succeeded by another state supply pastor, Dr. Walter C. Roe. Dr. Roe served until 1897, when he left to do mission work among the Indian tribes of Oklahoma. Dr. Robert Hill became the next stated supply and was installed as the first installed minister in 1898. He served until July 1915—the longest tenure of any of the eighteen senior ministers in the history of the church to date.
Initially, the church was built on leased land at the corner of Phelps and Thomas Streets. Two years later, another lot was purchased at 2118 Thomas Street, and a larger frame building was erected. Several years later, this frame building was moved to the corner of McKinney and Fairmont and enlarged. The congregation pledged $16,175 toward the first phase of the construction. When pledges fell short, members signed personal notes to complete the construction. More money was borrowed to complete the sanctuary, and by 1923, all notes were paid.
By 1908, Westminster had grown to 350 members, necessitating even larger facilities, so the congregation moved to Fairmont and Mahon. For reasons unknown now, this building was not dedicated until 1923, and at that time, the congregation had grown to 471 members.
Move to Devonshire
In 1942, 528 members celebrated WPC’s 50th anniversary. The only living member of the original founding congregation was present.
World War II ended, and Dallas was again growing in the North. The decision was made to move the church farther north, resulting in the purchase of four acres at Devonshire and Purdue for $15,600. For nine years, WPC carried out all activities in a frame building and prefabs, which Rev. Robert Stewart later described as “GI Gothic.”
On April 25, 1954, the ground was broken, and on February 6, 1955, the cornerstone was laid for a Georgian-style structure with graceful columns and a portico. When the new building was completed in September of 1955, it had plenty of room for its 637 members. Dr. Walter A. Bennett, having just become the new minister, officiated at the dedication of the building and served WPC until 1968, when he left to serve St. Charles Presbyterian in New Orleans. His tenure became the second longest in Westminster history.
In 1957, Fellowship Hall was added to the north end of the property and served as a gym with a stage. That year, we reached our peak membership of 802.
In 1967, the church’s Mother’s Day Out program became the beginnings of the Westminster Presbyterian Church Preschool and Kindergarten as a mission of our church. Also in 1967, WPC marked its 75th anniversary (with 700 members) by playing host for the first time in its history to the annual meeting of the Synod of the Sun.
A Proud Heritage
WPC was instrumental in the beginnings of three other Presbyterian congregations: Highland Park (Dallas), Covenant (Farmers Branch), and Canyon Creek (Richardson). We have also sponsored many faithful followers of Christ in seminary, provided college scholarships, and provided internships for seminary graduates.
Historically, Westminster has had a strong commitment to Christian Education. As it was mentioned earlier, we had several adult classes. We have been fortunate to have had very good teachers and members with seminary training, such as Dick Powers, George Gee, and Chris Harper. The bedrock of the church, of course, was its ongoing ministry in the name of Jesus Christ, plus its efforts to help alleviate the problems of hunger and homelessness in Dallas. WPC has always done its duty in the mission world, and we have had many driven leaders chair the Mission Committee. WPC supported Missionary Alva Hardie, who went to Brazil in 1912. We provided the entire support for Beth Edwards, who served as a missionary to the Congo beginning in 1926…. the Bill Jennings family in South America…the Clarence Bassett family in Mexico, and the missionary work in Bangladesh of Scott and Melanie Smith, he a child raised in this church.
Westminster also has a history of working with other churches. From 2009 to 2015, members from Westminster and Emmanuel Presbyterian Church in Bedford partnered together annually on mission trips each summer to the Beaumont/Port Arthur area to repair damaged homes caused by hurricanes. We have also partnered with Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church, located close to Love Field, to feed the homeless.
Our Last Fifty Years
The Morrison Chapel was dedicated in 1971 (having been built in 1955) after it was furnished by the family as a memorial to the late John L Morrison Sr.
In the seventies, we had a baseball field at the back of the property and a men’s softball team with 22 members, which ended the 1974 season with 14 wins and 5 losses. There was also a boys basketball team for grades 10-12. Fifty members volunteered to deliver food for Meals on Wheels during April. There were eight Women’s Circles with 25-50 members in each, and there was one meeting at night to meet the needs of the working women of the church. There were seven children’s Sunday School classes and eight Adult classes with worship at 8:30 and 11:00. The Session comprised eleven committees and the Board of Deacons six.
In 1973, Senior Minister Robert J. Stewart, 44, collapsed while walking to his car in the church parking lot. Upon arrival at Parkland, he was pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack. He had served WPC since 1968. Four months later, our Fellowship Hall was formally dedicated to his loving memory. Our Associate Pastor, Rev. Richard C. Powers, took over in his stead until a new senior minister, Dr. Robert Leslie, was called in 1974. Afterward, Rev. Powers left to take a sabbatical for rest and study. During this time, plans were drawn to build a new educational wing, finally eliminating the unsightly “GI Gothic” outbuildings. When Robert Leslie resigned in 1981 to become senior minister at First Church in Bryan, Dr. Walter Bennett, by then retired, returned to serve as our interim minister until a new minister was selected. The congregation in 1984 honored Dr. Bennett with the designation of Pastor Emeritus, and he and Deedy attended our church faithfully until the end of their lives.
Dr. Charles Taylor became Westminster’s 14th senior pastor on July 1, 1982 (membership = 567). He arrived just in time for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new educational wing. The building was completed in 1983 at nearly $1 million, but no debt was encumbered. The congregation had already underwritten the new building fund before the last brick was laid. In 1985, the Session merged the work of the Board of Deacons with the work of the Session. That year, we also joined North Dallas Shared Ministries.
Dr. Taylor continued to make music an integral part of the worship service. The choir was growing in numbers, but the aged organ was playing out. So a fund was established, and soon, adequate money was available to replace the old organ. Robert L. Sipe was engaged to build a new organ, and it was completed in 1988.
In 1992, we celebrated our first hundred-year anniversary with 615 members.
Dr. Ron Salfen served the church as our installed minister from 1999-2005. He taught a very well-attended Bible Study class every week for two years. Boy Scout Troop #35 began meeting in Fellowship Hall in the 2000’s.
Dr. Salfen resigned to join First Presbyterian Terrell after a 6-year tenure.
Rev. Karl Schwartz came to us from a church in Kerrville in 2007 with his wife and young family. In 2014, after an extended leave of absence, Karl was encouraged to resign out of concern for his health. Thankfully, he was able to reenter the ministry a few years later.
Today
and
Tomorrow
The church has a proud record of benevolent giving and is renowned for its warmth and friendliness. In the first part of the 21st Century, our preschool attracted young couples, and the neighborhood changed once more. Strollers and tricycles were again seen along Devonshire. WPC had geared up with a strong program to meet the challenge of new members: multiple Sunday School classes, Dinners for 8, VBS, Wednesday night dinners before choir practice, and Bible study. We had a Chancel choir, a Children’s choir, and a Bell choir.
We established a Community Garden and a neighborhood dog park. We had three potluck dinners a year, held an annual cookie Christmas party at Grace Presbyterian Village, had an all church Christmas dinner with a Christmas play, home-bound communion, served Breakfast at the Bridge, Session Retreats, Children’s Time during the Worship Service, and even a talent show.
In 2015, the Boy Scouts created a labyrinth on the south front lawn, and the next year, the preschool built a playscape for its students. In 2017, we celebrated our 125th anniversary with the theme of Rooted in Love and a celebration luncheon with former members and ministers in attendance. At this time, we had an active Sunday School class, a Women’s Bible study, a knitting group, a book club, and many hands-on mission projects.
Today, our church is growing rapidly and embraces the title "multi-generational" more than ever. Our congregation age ranges from baby to 99 and we have seen a resurgence of young adults joining the church in recent years. We now have active women's and men's Bible studies, Sunday school for all ages, weekly after-church fellowship time, and many service and mission projects active in our community. We look forward to the future with our hope in Jesus Christ and trust that He will use our church for His glory and the good of many people.
PASTORS
1892 - 1894
James D. McLean
Organizing Pastor
1894 - 1897
Dr. Walter C. Roe
Stated Supply Pastor
1897 - 1898
Dr. Robert Hill
Stated Supply
1898 - 1915
Dr. Robert Hill
1915 - 1919
Dr. Henry W. Burwell
1920 - 1928
Dr. T.O. Perrin
1928 - 1936
Dr. Manford George Gutzke
1936 - 1942
Dr. Paul F. Bobb
1943 - 1947
Rev. Raymond A. Deison
1947 - 1951
Rev. H.A. Woestemayer
Rev. Anton J. Van Puffelen
Rev. John M. Williams
Rev. Walter L. Brown
1955 - 1968
Dr. Walter A. Bennett
1968 - 1973
Rev. Robert J. Stewart
1973 - 1981
Dr. Robert H. Leslie Jr.
1982 - 1997
Dr. Charles A. Taylor
1997 - 1999
Rev. Roy T. Sherrod
Rev. James A. Beverly
Interim Pastors
1999 - 2005
Dr. Ronald P. Salfen
2005 - 2007
Dr. Elizabeth Johnson Pense
Interim Pastor
2007 - 2014
Rev. Karl E. Schwarz
2014 - 2015
Alexander "Sandy" McLachlan
Interim Pastor
2015 - 2019
Rev. Nicole Bates
2019 - 2022
Rev. Alex Lee-Cornell
Interim Pastor
2022 - Present
Rev. Dr. John Blacklock
Interim Pastor