175th year for Lansing First Presbyterian Church marked by legacy of community

Congregation sizes are smaller than they once were at the First Presbyterian Church of Lansing, but members continue to keep alive the 175-year-old institution's spirit of community outreach and giving.

They do so humbly, with the grace of humor and good intentions.

"Our celebration this year for the 175th is scaled down from what they did in (the) 150th because they really had some movers and shakers on that planning committee," ordained elder Brian Koon said. "They really had some outstanding church members."

He imagined the 510 W. Ottawa Street church's 200th will be a "big blowout," but as the 175th anniversary is in full swing and reaches the official anniversary date on Dec. 17, he finds there's still much to celebrate.

Church members have organized several celebratory events this year and are planning an anniversary dinner after the 10 a.m. Dec. 4 service. They are looking forward to rededicating the church founded in 1847 after the 10 a.m. Dec. 18 service.

Despite the decline in membership, which stands at about 200 now, Koon is happy membership is more diverse. The church's anniversary logo has the words "diversity, community outreach and social justice" wrapped around a cross.

In 2015, the church started getting more involved with social justice issues, which led to a more diverse church community.

Recently, Pastor Stanley Jenkins said the church pledged to donate $100,000 in reparations through various means to the Justice League of Greater Lansing.

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Also, the church has hosted a Black ministry and gained Black and Lebanese congregants, continuing the work of 1879, when First Presbyterian helped start Lansing's oldest Black church, the Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Northwest Initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on the welfare of northwest Lansing residents, uses space in the church for a food pantry, a prison re-entry program and others.

"We used to be known as a stuffy white church, but now, we have grown into a quite progressive congregation," Koon said. "We have Cameroonian people, people from Lebanon, Willye Bryan, (a local Black leader). We're still predominantly white, but we are a diverse congregation."

Rev. Calvin Clark founded the church on Dec. 17, 1847, and held services inside a school, according to a historical marker outside First Presbyterian. It recognizes U.S. Army Brig. Gen. W. W. Atterbury as the church's first pastor, beginning in 1848 and concluding his tenure six years later in 1854.

According to the marker, "the congregation held its early services in a school, the legislative chambers of Lansing’s first capitol, an inn and a storage building called 'God’s Barn.'"

Koon said the state legislature granted the group land and built the church's first location at North Washington Avenue and Genesee Street. Women from the church purchased a bell in 1856 that rang several times each day as the city's official clock, according to church records.

A growing population in Lansing (then Michigan, Mich.) forced the church to relocate to Capitol Avenue and Allegan Street in 1889. Koon added that automotive pioneer Ransom Eli Olds was responsible for the church's last relocation to Ottawa Street in 1947.

The North Washington Avenue and Genesee Street location is now the site of Lansing Community College, according to church records. The Capitol Avenue and Allegan Avenue building was torn down for a parking structure.

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Both Koon and longtime member Russell Jenks said the congregation outgrew each of the sites.

Jenks said the Presbyterian church is facing the same problem all other downtown Lansing churches are facing — declining memberships. He said the church had 800 members in 1961 when he married his wife Sue.

Rich and Jackie Blankenship's fondest memory at the church is their wedding on Oct. 18, 1970. Not long after in 1975, they became full-time church members. Jackie recalled the church having two morning services on Sundays, one at 9:30 a.m. and another at 11 a.m.

The church's Nov. 13 service had about 80 attendees in person.

"It'd be (Christmas service) overflowed, and the same with Easter," Rich Blankenship said of years long ago. "And now on Easter and Christmas Eve, there are maybe 150 people, approximately. So it's not quite as full. I call those alumni Sundays."

First Presbyterian Church of Lansing relocated to its current location on Aug. 24, 1947, and fewer members has meant some community outreach.

According to records, the church's sanctuary and steeple were built in 1953 and an educational wing in 1955. An 1874 pipe organ is used for services and the church's music program.

Jenks said the church built the Molly Grove Chapel in 1984, named after Molly Grove Wood who grew up in the church's three locations from 1869 to 1952. Her daughter Nancy Wood Holmes left about $4 million in the estate for the chapel, church officials said.

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A small food pantry started in the 1970s, Koon said, and it continues today. Jenks built shelving in the Molly Grove Chapel to allow families to customize their items.

Some people are returning users of the pantry and frequently are signed up to receive Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets. A hundred Thanksgiving baskets are being distributed this month.

The church has opened its doors for the community to make use of the property. Uses include a community garden accessible to Hair United, Resistance Bookstance and other tenants at the 500 Block of Ionia Street, a robust music program and other activities.

Church officials are hoping their community outreach, work in social justice and beliefs in inclusivity and openness will draw more people to the church.

"I wonder 25 years from now, if we'll have a 200th anniversary here to celebrate," Koon said. "But I think it's pretty good that we've lasted 175 years."

Jenks hoped more word of mouth spreads to grow the church's membership. He looks forward to welcoming others into its fold.

"Some of our more current new members and people attending are here because (Koon) might have said something at a meeting or something, or someone was looking for a church and asked one of their neighbors," he said.

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at (517) 267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 175th year for Lansing First Presbyterian Church marked by legacy of philanthropy