Highlawn Presbyterian Church is over 100 years old and prays to continue Christ’s ministry for many years to come.
Highlawn Presbyterian Church began as a Sunday School mission from First Presbyterian Church of Huntington around 1910. They met on the second floor of the original Highlawn Pharmacy on 3rd Avenue and 26th Street. On October 9th, 1913 this group of 21 people petitioned the Kanawha Presbytery to form the Third Presbyterian Church.
In 1919, the congregation called Rev. W.P. Hooper to be minister where he served until 1951. Under his leadership the church grew rapidly, and the name was changed to Highlawn Presbyterian. It was during this time that plans were undertaken to construct a new sanctuary which remains our location to this day— 2814 Collis Avenue.
During Rev. Albert J. Conley time as pastor our church was able to construct the education building in 1954 to accommodate our growing membership.
Rev. S. Evans Brown served as minister from 1964 to 1970. Then in 1971 Highlawn began a huge remodel of the sanctuary with a new organ and a larger choir loft. During this time Dr. R. Jackson Haga served as pastor from 1971 until 2001.
In 2003, Rev. Mark McCalla was called to HPC. Unfortunately, his call to serve the congregation was interrupted when two army deserters came upon him at Beech Fork State Park rifle range and killed him on June 19, 2008. It was a tremendous loss to the congregation and community. As in past times of grief and heartache, HPC pulled together in support of the McCalla family and each other.
The West Virginia Presbytery asked Dr. Rick Wilson to work with the congregation in their grief and loss. He became temporary Session Moderator for two years as the church searched for a pastor. Eventually it was decided Dr. Rick Wilson would continue this work with HPC and was installed as pastor in September, 2010.
In October 2013 we celebrated our 100th anniversary by performing further renovations to our sanctuary. However about 2 years later, an electrical fire damaged a stairwell in the sanctuary and caused smoke damage throughout the entire church facility. In the midst of this challenge, the congregation pulled together and continued our mission.
We have a rich history in the Highlawn neighborhood as we partner with Highlawn Elementary School and the Highlawn Neighborhood Association.