Celebrating Our Church’s 150th Anniversary!
Not every congregation gets to celebrate 150 years, especially churches in the hearts of their cities like First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. So many years here in Downtown Orlando is truly a testament to our Covenant Partners’ faith, hope, and love—and to the abundant provision of God in our lives.
As the endowment of FPCO, the Heart of the City Foundation has served our congregation in stewarding their wealth for the last 46 years. Through HOCF, so many Covenant Partners like you have left behind legacies to continue pouring into our church, city, and world.
It’s thanks to these Covenant Partners that together we had the chance to make a special contribution to our church’s 150th celebration weekend this month. Featuring spoken word poet Aretha Rodney-McDonald and keynote speaker Andy Crouch, people like you helped provide a gorgeous evening for the congregation to enjoy at the Dr. Phillips Center.
Aretha Rodney-McDonald, 2025 alum of Arts Fellowship Orlando, performed a moving spoken word poem about the history and presence of FPCO in Downtown Orlando, likening the 150 years of our church to 150 blooms. Reaching all the way back to 1876, she chronicled some of the major moments our congregation has witnessed: “From groundbreaking to schools forming, foundations launching, souls saving, the very sight of a sacred bloom flourishing, establishing its roots in the community.”
If you would like to read and remember her words, please go to https://www.fpco.org/blog/150blooms.
Keynote speaker Andy Crouch talked to us about what it means to have existed for 150 years as a church, and he exhorted us about what it takes for a community of believers to continue to exist for generations—even 1,000 years. He explained that to exist for three generations, a congregation must embrace an evolution. To exist for another three generations, we must be ready to embrace another evolution. Regardless how long a church continues to exist, he impressed upon us the importance of uplifting missional living over institutionalism.
We must foster “radical faithfulness for future vitality.” After all, what good is a church building on the block without people living vibrantly faithful lives?
What a legacy our church—our congregation—has left over the last 150 years. We’re grateful for the part HOCF has been able to play in the sustaining of our church and the extending of its mission. Here’s to 150 more!
