Our History
Over a century ago, a handful of Christians had a desire to provide a Sunday School for kids in the Queen Anne community. Within a year, the gathering grew to the point that a church of several families was founded. On July 28, 1905, the Third United Presbyterian Church was formally established. Within another year the name was changed to reflect the community the church served, becoming Queen Anne United Presbyterian Church. The current building housing the sanctuary was built in 1907. We have been witnessing to the love and hope of Jesus Christ from our red brick building on the corner of Fifth & Howe for over 100 years.
Like many churches in existence for this long, we have had our ups and downs. From our initial outreach, through the early ‘60’s it was mostly ups. The congregation’s roots extended back to a smaller, Presbyterian denomination in Scotland known for its strength of character and commitment to its beliefs. In the first fifty years of the church this strength of character and commitment contributed to significant growth and outreach. By the late 50’s membership had grown to over 250 people. The place was packed with two services Sunday mornings, numerous classes and activities of all sorts through the week. An additional building was added to accommodate the growth
In 1958, the United Presbyterian Church of North America, of which we were a part, merged with the larger Presbyterian denomination in the U.S. Some of the folks at Queen Anne didn’t believe that the merger was in the best interest of the congregation. So, in 1964, about half of the congregation decided to break with the denomination and start their own church. The split took a lot of steam out of the engine for those who remained. By the mid-‘70’s, at least from the outside, things looked a little bleak.
However, a committed core of believers knew that God was not yet done with our witness here at the top of the hill. Through a great deal of prayer and hard work and the guidance of an outstanding pastor, the Rev. Henry Fawcett, things started to pick up again. Since the late-'70's, the congregation has continued to grow some in size, even more in depth and in service. We are now in the second century in the history of this congregation and we concur with the vision that God will continue to work in and through us for years to come.