Fincastle Presbyterian Church stands at 108 E. Back Street in the Town of Fincastle, Virginia, on an acre reserved for a church in 1770 and occupied by its first building in 1771. The sanctuary retains parts of those early walls and stands within the historic burial ground called "God's Acre," where marked graves date back to 1795. The congregation is known for Reformed Presbyterian worship shaped by confession and teaching, and for a church life that brings together Christian education, music, fellowship, missions and care for both congregation and community.
A Church Reserved Within Fincastle's Courthouse Land
In 1770, when ten acres were set aside for the Botetourt County courthouse and prison bounds, one acre in the northeastern corner was reserved for an established church. A building was raised in 1771, and examination of old walls and the building's fabric indicates that portions of the present structure come from that first church. It was originally square, with its entrance in the east wall.
The Act of Religious Freedom in 1785 brought a major change. With state tithe collection ended and Anglican members no longer occupying the building, dissenters used the church. Fincastle's population included many Presbyterians, some from the Sinking Springs congregation formed in 1754 after Robert Montgomery and Patrick Shirkey granted land about two miles east of town for Presbyterian worship. The Sinking Springs meeting served people throughout the region and became the congregation that carried Presbyterian ministry into the Fincastle building.
In December 1813, Presbyterians of Botetourt asked the General Assembly to erect a church on the former established church grounds. Instead of constructing a wholly new sanctuary, they repaired and probably enlarged the existing building. A major 1840 renovation moved the entrance from the east to the south side and added the large Greek-style columns and tall steeple that shape the church's appearance today.
From a Square Building to Greek Columns
The building also preserves traces of worship across generations. Its first roof was pyramidal and centered on a cupola that held the bell. The original bell is said to have been a sister to the Liberty Bell; the present bell was cast by J. Welbank of Philadelphia in 1829. While the Church of England occupied the building, quarterly pew rents were two dollars. The floor was probably flagstone, the interior was simple, and some pews still in use are original. Before 1958, the church was heated by wood-burning stoves, possibly made by the Treadegar Iron Works in Richmond; those stoves have been preserved for their historical significance. A silver communion service, given by the Elders in 1853, remains in use. An original town lamp stands at the beginning of the front brick walk and was converted to electricity.
Restoration, the Education Building and God's Acre
Churchyard restoration began in 1943 when the Garden Club of Virginia contributed $1,200, with additional gifts from descendants of families buried there. Sunken and broken stones were repaired, a stone wall was built along one side, and a brick terrace added at the front. Holly, crape myrtle, boxwood and spring flowering bulbs were planted. That work inspired a wider restoration of the sanctuary. The reredos, pulpit and railing were installed from an early design; the present pulpit is an enlarged copy of one removed in 1840 and kept beneath the Academy building. The work included building a new ceiling, repairing and painting walls, refinishing pews, uncovering and sanding floors, and salvaging strips from the old carpet for the aisles. Original lamps gave way to wired wrought-iron fixtures.
A new educational building was completed in 1958. Its bricks came from the old Brick Union Church, built around 1842 on Trinity Road between Route 220 and Troutville. The Lutheran Synod of Virginia donated the bricks after the Lutherans' last use of that building. The Garden Club also completed planting on the side and rear churchyard with boxwoods and white pines. Dark red carpeting in the aisles and at the front, together with a renovated kitchen, are later improvements made by the Women of the Church.
The grounds have served as a burial place since the church was erected. Some of the earliest graves have no stones, and tradition places the remains of early community members beneath the church floor. Other markers bear the names of prominent Virginia frontier figures and leaders. In 1968, a committee headed by Mrs. Page Muse began raising money for a perpetual care fund, completing the effort in 1977. The southwest churchyard also holds graves associated with Botetourt Revolutionary War soldiers and patriots, including an area without visible gravestones. A 1973 memorial grave-marking service accompanied the unveiling of a monument naming 26 of those soldiers and patriots.
Sunday Worship, Music and Coffee in the Fellowship Hall
Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m. at the church on East Back Street. Gathering music precedes the service, and a Facebook Live broadcast begins at 10:25. The church welcomes people regardless of the journey that has brought them there and seeks to make everyone entering the sanctuary feel the friendliness and warmth of the congregation. A weekly bulletin distributed at morning worship gives the order of worship, announcements and notice of upcoming events.
Christian education includes Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. when classes are announced. After worship, fellowship begins at 11:30 in the Fellowship Hall with coffee and light refreshments. Visitors can enter the hall through the doors on either side of the pulpit and continue downstairs. This hour gives worshipers an informal chance to meet one another. The church office is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the pastor meets by appointment. The main church number is 540-473-2042.
Reformed Faith in Confession and Practice
Fincastle Presbyterian Church describes itself as a member of the Reformed Family of Churches, a family tracing to the Protestant Reformation that includes portions of the Church of England known as "Low Church," European Reformed churches, the Church of Scotland and the Congregational Church. Following John Calvin, it recognizes God's revelation through nature and through Scripture, and it values the role of reason in interpreting Scripture as a guide for life.
The church acknowledges that its tradition does not have complete doctrinal unanimity. It finds a broad consensus in the confessions that run from the Apostles' Creed through the Westminster Confession and the Confession of 67, all included in the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The congregation uses those confessions to express its understanding of God's will publicly through worship and teaching, describing that expression as "reformed and always reforming."
Its statement of the Apostles' Creed centers belief in God the Father, Maker of heaven and earth; Jesus Christ as God's only Son, conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, buried and risen; the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; communion of saints; forgiveness of sins; resurrection of the body; and life everlasting. Its mission joins those beliefs to service: to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, grow in God through worship and spiritual experiences, deepen understanding of the Bible and Christian tradition, and serve the community in love.
Education, Youth and a Musical Heritage
Education is coordinated for adults and children through Sunday School and other Christian education activities. The church's wider youth emphasis includes education and opportunities for an open search for faith and fellowship, and a Youth Group is among the funds that can receive gifts. Music is another substantial part of church life. Music Director Lori Turner developed her love of church music while playing for Sunday morning services at age 14 and earned a bachelor's degree in education with a concentration in music from Emory & Henry College. The music program includes the Jenny Levi Tomblin Handbell Choir and a Vocal Choir.
The Rev. Dr. John "Hoover" Haney, D.Min., serves as pastor. A worship committee coordinates worship services and special events, while a fellowship committee organizes social occasions that have included pancake breakfasts and picnics. A communications committee handles church news, the directory and member communication. Other groups care for practical needs: a congregational care committee arranges transportation to services and other church activities, a grants committee keeps property in operating condition, and a property committee maintains the church building and grounds.
Pastoral Care, Fellowship and Local Mission
The church says its future lives in its youth, current membership and growing membership, and it provides education and opportunities that encourage an open search for faith and fellowship. It also commits to pastoral care in both joy and sorrow, addressing physical and spiritual needs within the congregation and the surrounding community. Social times are intentionally part of that mission, and the congregation's doors are open to all who seek to feel God's presence through worship and fellowship.
Community engagement takes several forms. The missions committee coordinates mission activity benefiting local charities. Fincastle Presbyterian also works alongside other denominations and supports a variety of missions while seeking to share the good news. This outreach connects the congregation with other denominations, local charities and the wider community.
Within the church, committees give people concrete ways to serve. The finance committee oversees financial operations, the personnel committee handles hiring and personnel matters, and the property and grants committees care for buildings and operating needs. A membership development group welcomes visitors and new members. Christian education and fellowship gatherings provide recurring points of connection.
Finding the Church and Its Parking
The church is at 108 E. Back Street in the Town of Fincastle. Its main parking lot is directly across the street from the front of the church, and Back Street is one-way. Drivers coming from the Fincastle Courthouse proceed down East Main Street, turn left on Water Street and then left on Back Street; the lot is on the left at the top of the hill.
Accessible parking is at the back left side of the church. Drivers reaching the top of the hill look for the first gravel road on the church's right side, continue to the back gravel lot and park there, then follow the brick sidewalk to the front entrance.
Giving, Communication and the Church's Continuing Story
Gifts, pledges, tithes and offerings may be made during Sunday worship, mailed to P.O. Box 144, Fincastle, VA 24090, or given through the Vanco Mobile App and online collection using invite code FYBDT6. Designated funds include the endowment, youth, mission projects, the "God's Acre" grounds fund, protection for Revolutionary and Civil War soldier graves, historic building maintenance, a memorial fund, the music program and an undesignated fund.
The congregation communicates through a weekly bulletin, a monthly email newsletter, a sermon collection with recorded messages and Facebook. A Facebook group welcomes people who attend, belong to or are interested in Fincastle Presbyterian Church, while a monthly calendar keeps regular activities and special events visible to the community.
At Fincastle, the church's present continues to meet its past in tangible form: a sanctuary whose walls date to 1771, a bell cast in 1829, a communion set used since 1853, and God's Acre surrounding a house of worship that has served generations of Botetourt County families.