Our congregation’s history begins in hearts and minds of faithful dissent. By the late 1840’s, a growing movement of Christian abolitionists was gaining strength in the struggle against slavery. These abolitionists could no longer abide in the union of Christian faith and a nation filled with slaves and slave-owners. In Columbus, in 1852, a cluster of such believers from Second Presbyterian Church decided that they were Congregational at heart and they parted amicably with Second Presbyterian to form the Third Presbyterian Church. With 42 people transferring membership on Friday, September 24, 1852, the members of Second Presbyterian Church sent them off with this benediction:
“In view if the importance of this occasion, we add our expression of sympathy with those who leave us, and an earnest desire that the great Head of the Church may be with them and help them. May He make them a church of His own, to glorify Him and promote His Kingdom in the world! May those who remain and those who go, when toil is here .finished, meet in heaven, and together form a part of the church triumphant there!”
See the drop-down menu for more historical information from the Archives