North Presbyterian Church

Who We Are

All are welcome!

We are dearly loved by God
and called to be God's people.

At our core,
we are called to:
worship and praise God,
be in intentional fellowship with one another,
and to live out the Great Commandment in our mission response.

We will not give up for we know that the one who started a good work among us
will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

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We are not perfect and we do not live fully up to our vision, but we know that this is the journey that we are called on. If you feel that being on this journey is also something you are called to, we would welcome you to come visit and even to make this a place that helps you on your journey.

We seek to fully live our life out as a Mission Church, serving those in our community. We are open to where God is calling us to be his hands, feet and voices. We have a history of working in the area of hunger action and operate a Community Meal and Ethel's North Pantry on Saturdays. We have also been involved in health ministries and other community issues.

We seek to fully live our life as a Fellowship Church, developing relationships with other believers. Opportunities for this fellowship is woven through everything that we do as a church. Those involved with the church also have one or more smaller groups to be connected with to deepen this sense of fellowship.

We seek to live our life as a Worship and Praise Church, focusing our lives on praising and worshiping God. Worship is important to us not only when we are together for weekly worship services but also in our own lives. We are seeking to foster ways to deepen our individual prayer lives.

Come and seek with us what the church should be.

Vibe
Casual, Traditional Liturgy, Progressive, Inclusive, Multigenerational

Programs
Community Service, Social Justice, Faith and Work, Missions, Adult Education, Food Pantry

Denomination
Presbyterian

Size
Small

Language
English

Founded
1847

Contact

Phone

(212)926-5162

Website

http://www.northpresbyterian.net

Our Services

Service Times

Sunday

11:00am - Weekly Worship Service

What to Expect

What are services like?
The services are structured like many Presbyterian services, with some characteristics that are drawn from the broader Christian (especially African-American) tradition. As a congregation focused on moving towards exemplifying a Worship and Praise Church, we are also open to exploring and incorporating new elements to our worship style - watch how this plays out in the future.

What is the community like?
The neighboring community is in a state of flux and represents both Harlem and Washington Heights. Most of our members come from the local community. The church community is welcoming of people of different racial-ethnic backgrounds and cultures while still having a large presence of African-American participants as was typical for the community before its present composition.

What if I'm not a Christian?
You are still welcome to join us. We would welcome having you in our midst.

Leadership

Christopher L. Smith

The Rev. Christopher L. Smith began preaching at North Presbyterian Church in the spring of 2007. Following several terms as Temporary Pulpit Supply, the session asked him to take on a larger role and since January 1, 2008, the Committee on Ministry of the Presbytery of New York City has appointed him to serve North Presbyterian Church as its minister (formally as Temporary Supply and Moderator of Session). The Rev. Christopher L. Smith is a minister member of the Presbytery of New York City. His undergraduate degree in chemistry and mathematics is from Beloit College. He completed his seminary studies at Yale University, where he was a Carpenter Scholar. He holds other masters degrees in applied mathematics (from SUNY Stony Brook), education (Lehman College) and educational leadership (Touro College). He holds an honorary doctorate and is presently working on doctoral studies. Following seminary, Christopher was ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament by Milwaukee Presbytery (having been an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Beloit). He has served congregations (in different capacities) in Iowa, Indiana and New York. Among his pastoral specialties are pastoral care and counseling, interim ministry, polity/transition/structural/visioning processes and education. He has served on church committees in his presbyteries and at the national (General Assembly) level. Christopher is also involved as a senior chaplain with the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, through wihich he is also involved in emergency services (search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security). He is also a licensed mental helath counselor who practices as a pastoral counselor (he is the clinical director of Seeking Shalom). Within the presbytery, Christopher is the past chair the Commitee on Ministry and is on the Permanent Judicial Commission. He previously served on the several of the presbytery's other committees, including General Council. He has also remained involved nationally with the Presbyterian Serious Mental Illness Network that he was the national chair of for four years. Christopher was born in Nuremburg, Germany and spent most of his growing up years in England and Wales. His family's home is in Indiana, which is where his mother, sister, brother-in-law and niece still live. Christopher moved to New York City in the summer of 2001 and worked in the city's school system for seven years. Christopher would like to welcome you to North Presbyterian Church. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact him through the church office at (212)926-5162 or by email at [email protected]