Tucked into the tree-shaded streets of Anchorage, Kentucky, Anchorage Presbyterian Church has gathered on Park Road since 1869, with roots that reach back to October 1, 1799 - making it the oldest Presbyterian congregation in Jefferson County. The church's three-line mission statement runs on every page of its site: gathering people of God into community, growing followers of Jesus Christ in faith, hope, and love, and sending servants of the Holy Spirit into the world. Open and Affirming since its adoption of that designation, and a designated Matthew 25 church of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 2021, Anchorage Presbyterian serves a congregation of roughly 300 members on either side of two Sunday worship services, a weekly choir rehearsal, a Sunday school hour, and an active slate of covenant, mission, and music partnerships.
Gathering, Growing, and Sending Since 1799
What is now Anchorage Presbyterian began as Middletown Presbyterian Church, organized by the Presbytery of Transylvania in October 1799. At the time the Presbytery included all of Kentucky, the Cumberland River basin in Tennessee, and the Ohio Territory south of the Scioto River. For seventy years the small congregation worshipped in Middletown, then in 1860 the Rev. W. W. Hill moved to Anchorage, built a home, and founded the Bellewood Female Seminary. By 1869 most of the church's members lived in Anchorage, and the present sanctuary was built at a cost of $12,000 paid in cash. Total membership at the time was under 60.
The sanctuary remained the church's only major building until Edgar Houghton became pastor in 1929, fresh out of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He would serve for thirty-five years, until retiring in 1964, guiding the church through an education building addition, a doubling of membership above 100 in the 1920s, and a deepening of worship and outreach. Since 1799, well over 3,000 people have been members of this congregation. A communion token was struck for the church's 1999 bicentennial, and the 1799 Society now recognizes congregants who have included Anchorage Presbyterian in their will or estate plans.
Two Sunday Services, Two Different Shapes
Worship on Sundays takes two distinct forms.
The 8:45 a.m. service is the small and quiet one, gathering for about 45 minutes in the Sanctuary. Communion is celebrated every week, hymns come from the red hymnal, and the liturgy is printed in a seasonal worship handout you can pick up on the way in. There is no choir and no organ, and the order moves at a conversational pace.
The 11:00 a.m. service brings in the Chancel Choir, the Schantz organ, and full congregational singing, running about an hour. Communion is celebrated the first Sunday of the month, the pastor preaches, and the service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel. After Memorial Day, both services give way to a single 10:00 a.m. gathering until Rally Day kicks off the Sunday school year. Occasionally that summer service moves outdoors.
First-time visitors will find parking on either side of the building and greeters ready to help. There is no dress code - "come comfortably" is the guidance - and the facility is accessible, with greeters happy to assist anyone who needs help arriving.
Faith Formation Hour at 9:45
The hour between services - 9:45 to 10:50 a.m. - is the Faith Formation hour, and most Sundays during the school year almost the whole congregation is in a class somewhere.
Children in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade meet up in the Nursery for a Bible story, crafts, and story time led by Tara Reck with Melody Combs and Glen Bell. Grades 2-5 gather on the second floor with Lea Fischbach and Anne Bell; that class begins with Creation and walks sequentially through the Hebrew scriptures into the gospels, ending each year on Pentecost. Twenty minutes of singing with Children's Choir Director Darla Talbert are folded into the morning. Older youth in grades 6-12 stay after worship, around 12:15 to 1:30 p.m., gathering for Youth Group - always with a meal - under Michael Harper.
Adults have a choice. "Cup of Grace" meets in the Library for coffee and topical discussion. "Exploring the Faith" gathers in the Meeting Room and on Zoom under Rev. Barry Ensign-George, working through the Bible and Presbyterian statements of faith. Childcare is provided from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for most Sundays and most church functions.
Music Built Around a Schantz Pipe Organ
The Chancel Choir sings weekly at worship and at special liturgies through the church year. It is open to any youth or adult who can carry a tune and commit to the weekly Wednesday rehearsal, and there is no formal audition; the choir numbers around thirty members under Minister of Music Dr. Robert L. Bozeman. He directs the choir, plays organ and piano for worship, and preaches regularly at the church.
The instrument he plays was installed in 2003: a Schantz pipe organ of 1,434 pipes, 25 chimes, a Zimbelstern of five bells, two manuals of 122 keys, and 32 pedals. It is the third pipe organ in the Sanctuary, following one installed in 1906 and another in the early 1950s. The Great, Swell, and Pedal divisions are detailed on an interactive organ-celebration page that lets you hover over the organ and watch videos of each section. An annual service of Advent Lessons and Carols and several services of Evensong each year round out the musical calendar, often paired with the choir and clergy of covenant-partner St. Luke's Episcopal Church.
Children in Pre-K through sixth grade are invited to sing with the Children's Choir on Sunday mornings during the Faith Formation hour, directed by Darla Talbert, with a Christmas-season musical some years.
Matthew 25: Eradicating Poverty and Dismantling Racism
Anchorage Presbyterian pledged itself as a Matthew 25 congregation in 2021, and the focus narrows to two goals: eradicating systemic poverty and dismantling structural racism. About 15 percent of the church's annual budget is dedicated to outside mission, supporting both hands-on volunteering and financial grants to a long list of Louisville-area and Presbyterian-wide partners.
Those partners include Eastern Area Community Ministries, Hope Health Clinic, Cedar Ridge Camp, Habitat for Humanity, West End School, Cabbage Patch, The Prisoner's Hope, Hildegard House, Briargate Presbyterian's Welcome Table, Supplies Over Seas, Kentucky Refugee Ministries, Living Waters for the World, and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. An anti-racism book study group meets to keep education in motion, and a steering committee called "A Place at the Table" (APATT) was formed to direct the effort. A 2022 APATT series brought in local experts who taught on poverty, redlining, fair housing, the disparities in education and healthcare that follow from systemic racism, and homelessness.
A Three-Church Covenant in Anchorage
Three congregations share the same quiet corner of eastern Jefferson County, and Anchorage Presbyterian has been intentional about that fact for years. A unique covenant relationship links Anchorage Presbyterian Church, St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and Epiphany Catholic Church. The covenant includes shared worship services and prayer for one another's people and ministries. Each summer all three churches pool their efforts for Bibletimes Marketplace - an ecumenical Vacation Bible School where the Bible comes to life through crafts, storytelling, music, and games across five mornings. The curriculum rotates on a seven-summer cycle. On Good Friday, Anchorage Presbyterian joins St. Luke's Episcopal for a joint liturgy that reads the passion of John.
Children in Worship and the Prayground
Children are always welcome in worship at Anchorage Presbyterian, and the church has spent years making good on that promise. Activity bags with coloring materials sit at the entrance to every service, and children may stay with their families in the pews. The 11:00 a.m. service also features "Sharing the Faith with Our Children" early in the liturgy, when children come forward for a brief time of age-appropriate teaching.
For restless younger ones, a Prayground at the back of the sanctuary holds quiet toys and books. During the school year, school-aged children are invited to "Agape Kidz," leaving the sanctuary during the sermon to sing and craft with Darla Talbert before returning during the offertory. Nursery care is available on the second floor for the youngest. On Christmas Eve at 4:00 p.m., the children and youth take the lead, telling the Christmas story through a spontaneous pageant with costumes provided.
Youth Group, Confirmation, and Montreat
Youth in grades 6 through 12 gather for Youth Group most Sundays during the school year after worship, with a meal around the table each time. The group plans lock-ins, parties, and additional gatherings through the year, and a strong youth leadership team has emerged in recent seasons. Confirmation is open to eighth graders and older who have not already joined the church by profession of faith. Rather than a long weekly class, confirmation is delivered in three core sessions plus supporting tasks, completed when youth profess their faith before the Session and are presented before the congregation in late spring - on Youth Sunday or Easter Sunday. It is meant to be a time of intentional discernment; youth sometimes go through the process and choose not to join, and that is welcome too.
Every two years the youth travel in partnership with Second Presbyterian Church in Louisville to the Montreat Youth Conference in North Carolina, where 800 to 1,000 high schoolers gather for keynotes, small group, recreation, and reflection. APC youth also take part in worship services regularly, including Christmas Eve and Youth Sunday leadership.
Holy Week, Christmas Eve, and the Liturgical Year
The church year shapes a full calendar of special services. On Palm Sunday the 11:00 a.m. service opens with a joyful processional and turns toward the Passion narrative read by the youth. Maundy Thursday is observed from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. with dinner, handwashing, and the Lord's Supper in Fellowship Hall, followed by a Tenebrae service in the Sanctuary in which candles are gradually extinguished. Good Friday's solemn liturgy is shared with St. Luke's Episcopal. Easter Sunday brings two identical services at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary, both featuring special musicians; an Easter egg hunt for the wider community follows the later service. Baptism requests are received through the Session year-round.
Christmas Eve brings two services. The 4:00 p.m. family service unfolds as a spontaneous pageant led by the children and youth, with costumes provided. The 9:00 p.m. candlelight service includes communion, special musicians, and the singing of familiar Christmas carols by candlelight at the close.
Weddings, Facility Rentals, and the Solar Sanctuary
The 150-year-old Sanctuary seats 200 guests and sits in the middle of a campus of trees, walking trails, and historic Anchorage estates, all of which serve as a backdrop for wedding photography. Weddings may include the Sanctuary only ($1,200), the Sanctuary plus amenities ($1,800), Sanctuary plus full reception in Fellowship Hall ($3,200), or a reception only ($1,800). The minister's fee is $350, the organist's fee is $350, and a $300 security deposit ($600 if alcohol will be served) is returned after inspection. All weddings are conducted under an Egalitarian Theology policy.
The same spaces are available for rentals to outside groups. Fellowship Hall seats 150, the Sanctuary 200, the kitchen and community room 50, the Library 25, and a first-floor Meeting Room with A/V 15. Members of the church and approved community and nonprofit organizations pay half the standard rate. In July 2023, eighty-five solar panels were installed on the roofs of the Fellowship Hall and the church offices - approved by the Anchorage Historic Preservation Commission and minimally visible from the street - cutting the building's energy costs by about thirty percent and giving the campus a renewable-energy platform that members and visitors can monitor in real time.
Governance, Pastor, and Staff
Anchorage Presbyterian is governed by the Session of Ruling Elders and Ministers of Word and Sacrament, the form of leadership found in every PC(USA) congregation. Elders are elected to three-year terms in rotating classes and serve on teams for Worship and Faith Formation, Fellowship, Mission, Personnel, Finance and Stewardship, and Building and Grounds. A board of Deacons provides pastoral care alongside the pastors and leads a Service of Hope and Healing each December. Pat Welsh serves as Faith Community Nurse.
Rev. Tara N. Reck became Pastor and Head of Staff in July 2019 after serving as Co-Pastor with Rev. Dee H. Wade. An alumna of Transylvania University and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and an ordained Presbyterian minister since 2005, Tara spent a decade as a Palliative Care Chaplain at the University of Louisville Hospital before joining the staff part time in 2015. She serves on the board of Hildegard House and in the President's Roundtable at the seminary. She shares her life with her husband Hanns-Georg Reck and their two dogs and four cats; their twin daughters are in college.
Dr. Robert L. Bozeman has served as Minister of Music since February 2019, directing the Chancel Choir, playing the Schantz organ, and preaching. Darla Talbert leads the Children's Choir. Michael Harper is Youth Ministry Coordinator. Stacey Torgerson serves as Church Manager, and Rock Paul as Custodian. Membership in Anchorage Presbyterian comes by Reaffirmation of Faith, Profession of Faith, or Transfer of Letter, after conversations with Pastor Tara and an answering of the traditional vows before the Session.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Phone (502-245-5818) and email (anchoragepc@gmail.com) reach the staff. Donations may be made online through the church's giving portal, with pledged giving forming the foundation of the annual budget and IRA charitable rollovers available for donors 70½ and older. Memorial gifts flow through the Dee H. Wade Fund and the Dee Hoge Kitchen Fund. To plan a first visit, the Plan Your Visit page describes both services, what to wear, what to expect from the children's programs, and where to park.