Our Story
1927
West Raleigh was chartered in May 1927 to serve over two hundred students and about 40 professors and other employees of NC State. The majority of the first 60 plus members came from First Presbyterian. Two of those visionaries were the much-loved professor of English, Dr. T.P. Harrison, and long-time Dean of Students, E.L. Cloyd. Rev. Joseph R. Walker, the first pastor, and the second, Rev. John Hugh Grey, Jr., served as pastor for both church and campus group. Five subsequent pastors and several interims have had various combinations of associates in ministry and religious educators.
1932-1960's
The congregation met in buildings on NC State’s campus until 1932, when a sanctuary at the church’s current location—land that only a decade earlier had been part of the old state fairgrounds—was built. The current sanctuary was dedicated in 1952, and the education building was built in 1960. The Synod of North Carolina provided financial support for inclusion of the student center in the education building. The stained glass windows in the sanctuary, designed and crafted by Willet Stained Glass Studios of Philadelphia, were installed between 1963 and 1966. The Casavant Frères pipe organ was installed in 1968; digital ranks were added in 2016.
1960's
Perhaps encouraged by its close relationship with students and faculty, West Raleigh has long had a concern for issues of equality and justice. In 1963, the Session voted that race would never be considered in requests for membership. Around the same time, West Raleigh’s pastor and elders visited all restaurants on nearby Hillsborough St. and persuaded them to open their businesses to persons of all races. In 1968, the church expanded its kindergarten into an accredited multi-racial, multicultural child care center—the first in Raleigh, and the first state-qualified day care in Raleigh. West Raleigh was also the first Presbyterian church in Raleigh to elect and ordain a female elder, Sibyl Pierce. The Rev. Harriet Isbell became the first female minister in an installed position in a Presbyterian church in Raleigh when West Raleigh called her as associate pastor.
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PRESENT DAY
In 2014, West Raleigh became an Earth Care Congregation, committing itself to taking specific actions to care for creation. In 2020, West Raleigh became a Matthew 25 Congregation, committing itself to building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism and eradicating systemic poverty. In June 2020, in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, the Session adopted a statement on Dismantling Racism and created a task force to lead the church in exploring faithful responses to the causes and effects of racism. And in 2021, West Raleigh became a More Light Congregation, committing itself to full to full inclusion and welcome of all God’s people. As we approach our centennial, we eagerly anticipate the ways in which God will call West Raleigh to serve and to witness.
Community Involvement has always been at the heart of ministry at West Raleigh.
Campus Ministry
Campus ministry has always been central to West Raleigh’s identity, and since the congregation’s inception it has served as home for what is now Presbyterian Campus Ministry of Raleigh (“PCM Raleigh”), which serves students at NC State, Meredith College, William Peace University and Wake Tech. West Raleigh’s relationship with students has taken many forms over the years. The first and second pastors of West Raleigh, the Rev. Joseph R. Walker and the Rev. John Hugh Grey, Jr., served as pastor for both church and the campus group. Four subsequent pastors, as well as associate pastors, provided pastoral support to campus ministry. In more recent years, PCM Raleigh has been overseen by a board comprising representatives of sponsoring Presbyterian churches in the Raleigh area, PCM Raleigh alumni and Presbyterian clergy, and the campus minister is now called by the PCM Raleigh board.
Community Involvement
West Raleigh maintains the Beeloved Community Garden, offers a Bag Lunch Ministry, sponsors PC(USA) Mission Co-workers in Madagascar, and supports a variety of community ministries, including Habitat for Humanity, Family Promise, Friends of Oberlin Village, and USCRI. The North Carolina Council of Churches and Hearts with Haiti have their offices at West Raleigh, and the church has provided meeting space for organizations such as Cocaine Anonymous, Al Anon, Nursing Mothers of Raleigh, SAFEchild, and the Fellowship Club.
West Raleigh has been an incubator for various ministries, providing space and volunteers for them to get off the ground, including A Place at the Table (a pay-as-you-can restaurant begun by a PCM Raleigh alumna), Wheels4Hope (which provides safe, reliable, and affordable cars to economically challenged individuals), and a ministry to incarcerated women and women in transition to life after imprisonment.