The National Presbyterian Church is a Christian congregation of approximately 1,800 members of all ages from the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. The motto of the church is "A ministry of grace, passionate about Christ's mission in the world."
The congregation meets at 4101 Nebraska Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. Designated as the national church of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the building complex occupies a 12-acre campus comprising six separate structures, including a main cathedral in the Neo-Gothic style—the third largest religious center in the nation’s capital. Its cornerstone was dedicated on October 14, 1967, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The site also includes the National Presbyterian School, which provides pre-school-to-Grade 6 education. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools and is open to all children.
The National Presbyterian Church dates its origins back to 1795, when a group of Scottish stonemasons working on the construction of the White House met together for worship. Since then, the congregation has been housed in several buildings across the city. Numerous presidents as well as other national and international leaders have attended the church. In 1866, the pastor invited Frederick Douglass, noted black abolitionist, to speak from the church's pulpit when no other church in Washington would do so. The church has hosted the British royal family, Mother Teresa and many other notable leaders.
Read more about National Presbyterian Church: The Church Today, Architecture, Notable Milestones, Theology, The Library and Archives
Famous quotes containing the words national, presbyterian and/or church:
“All men are lonely. But sometimes it seems to me that we Americans are the loneliest of all. Our hunger for foreign places and new ways has been with us almost like a national disease. Our literature is stamped with a quality of longing and unrest, and our writers have been great wanderers.”
—Carson McCullers (1917–1967)
“What I often forget about students, especially undergraduates, is that surface appearances are misleading. Most of them are at base as conventional as Presbyterian deacons.”
—Muriel Beadle (b. 1915)
“For often at Church I’ve seen the stained high glass
Pour out the Virgin and Saints, twist and untwist
The mortal youth of Christ astride an ass.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)