First Presbyterian Church of Austin has gathered for worship at the corner of faith and welcome in Austin's Northwest Hills neighborhood since 1850, making it one of the city's oldest continuous congregations. Sitting on a tree-filled campus at 8001 Mesa Drive, the church carries its history in stained-glass windows designed between 1890 and 1910 for the original sanctuary at Seventh and Lavaca, in a labyrinth built as a replica of the one at Chartres Cathedral in France, and in a memorial fountain honoring a beloved pastor. It is also a congregation that has set its sights firmly on the present and future, identifying itself with a single phrase: Free to Wonder.
A History of Welcome Since 1850
The story of FPCA runs straight through some of the most turbulent chapters of American history. During the Civil War, the church aligned with the Northern Presbyterian Church while every other Texas Presbyterian congregation chose the Southern branch. After the war, Pastor E. B. Wright turned that stand into a ministry of reconciliation, inviting former enemies to ask for God's blessing and one another's forgiveness. North and South, former slaves and former slaveholders, people of faith and people of doubt came to the same altar, seeking out a better way of life and service together. The congregation calls that story its "history of welcome and inclusion," and it remains a defining mark. Today FPCA is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country, and its life is shaped by joint governance of clergy and laity, men and women alike.
Free to Wonder
The Free to Wonder identity took shape when ministry teams and the staff spent long hours in prayer and discernment trying to name who they had always been. The phrase captures a community that asks questions freely: Why are things the way they are? How could they better match God's vision? How do they bring God's good news to this city? Everything on the campus, from a mural and the labyrinth to welcoming gathering spaces, programs like adult study groups and the day school, and the church logo, reflects that identity. As one congregant put it about the logo, gazing through the window, FPCA looks directly into possibilities beyond the present, seeing different paths unfolding before its feet.
The mission statement that flows from that identity describes a multigenerational faith community full of life that embraces the inclusive love of God, invites children and youth to question, learn, and lead in worship alongside adults, and explores the gospel to connect it to everyday life. The church affirms the worth of all and supports each person on their individual spiritual journey, walking toward its future with hope and an openness to change.
Sundays at 10:00 am
A single Sunday morning worship service fills the sanctuary at 10:00 am, with communion offered every week. The service is also livestreamed on YouTube and archived for those who want to watch later. Adult classes follow at 11:15 am, September through May. Visitors do not have to stand up or be put on the spot: greeters welcome everyone at the coffee station, during the Passing of the Peace, and in the narthex before and after worship. Guests are invited to sign the Friendship Register so the church can stay in touch.
The sanctuary is set up with chairs rather than pews, which makes it easy to make room for wheelchairs and walkers. The circular driveway at the entrance allows for drop-offs, and an accessible restroom is available. Ushers are happy to help anyone who needs assistance.
Children are welcome to stay in the service and to take part actively: setting the communion table, lighting candles, pouring the baptismal water, taking communion themselves, and welcoming new members through baptism. The congregation takes seriously the truth that "God put the wiggle in children." For those who would like quiet activities, worship bags with crayons, coloring sheets, and Bible puzzles are available in the narthex, and a Calm Room down the hallway from the sanctuary offers a quiet space for anyone who needs it.
Children's Time is a regular part of the service. After that, on most Sundays children have options. From September through May, children ages three through kindergarten may go to Godly Play, where they discover the stories of God and Jesus through storytelling, art, and creative play. They return to their families for communion on first Sundays. On the second, third, and fourth Sundays, children in grades one through five may go to Children's Sunday School. The nursery, staffed with trained caregivers, is open from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm for children from infancy through age three.
Music as a Way to Minister
Music is treated as a way to minister to those listening rather than as performance. The 10:00 am service blends classic choral pieces, traditional hymns, chamber music, and contemporary gospel, supported by both volunteer singers and instrumentalists and some of Austin's finest guest musicians. The Sanctuary Choir sings at the 10:00 am service September through May, with rehearsals on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. No audition is required, though music-reading skills are recommended.
The Handbell Choir rehearses on Sundays from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm during the program year and welcomes both experienced ringers and those willing to learn. Children's choirs introduce younger singers to the joy of leading worship with song, including the annual Christmas pageant. Anchoring everything is a Möller, op. 263 tracker organ that has filled Austin airwaves with live music since its debut concert in 1900, well before Sixth Street became a music destination. The church also has a pianist who supports the music ministry alongside the organist, who is on the faculty at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and writes and teaches on the relationships between social justice, liturgy, and the arts.
Forming Faith at Every Age
Children, youth, and families form a large part of the church's life. Children, Youth & Families Director Brita Hansen, a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity, oversees ministries from infancy through high school.
Godly Play, the Sunday School program for first through fifth graders, children's choir, and the nursery all happen during the 10:00 am hour. Families can also look forward to Vacation Bible School each summer, a Trunk-or-Treat celebration on the Sunday before Halloween, an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday, pancake breakfasts, popsicles on the playground, and water games. An all-church retreat at Mo Ranch in the Texas Hill Country gives families, singles, and retirees a chance to pray and play together along the banks of the Guadalupe River.
The youth group, for grades six through 12, meets on Sunday nights from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the Youth Suite. Evenings range from dinner, games like Ding Dong Hockey and the Watermelon Olympics, and Bible study to mission projects and a Christmas party that always ends in prayer. Youth also attend retreats at John Knox Ranch, the Junior High Jubilee and Senior High Celebration at Mo Ranch, a Mid-Winter Retreat, and a Confirmation Retreat for eighth and ninth graders. A summer mission trip is a yearly highlight.
For adults, Sunday morning classes at 11:15 am run the program year, with offerings such as Wonder Through the Bible, where each week's scripture stands alone for drop-in discussion; Lively Discussions, a rotating guest-speaker series on faith, science, scripture, history, and biography; and unstructured spaces for quiet conversation, walking the labyrinth, journaling, or simply sitting with a coffee.
Weekday study groups add another layer. On the Table meets on the third Thursday at 8 pm at Brewtorium for open conversation about theology, the Bible, and any other church-y questions. Living the Questions gathers online on Sundays at 7 pm. A men's Bible study shares lunch on Wednesdays at noon, a Tuesday morning men's group called Breakfast Brothers meets at 7 am at Kerbey Lane, and Grape Gatherers, a women's book study, meets on the first and third Wednesdays at 10:30 am.
Fellowship options for adults cover almost every interest. Pizza, Beer & Jesus is a first-Sunday evening gathering at Conan's Pizza on Anderson Lane for parents of older teens and recent empty-nesters. Dutch Dolls meets Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:30 pm for handwork and conversation. Flix with Friends watches a movie together on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 1 pm. FPC Cyclists meet in the parking lot twice a week for a nine-mile loop through Northwest Hills before heading to work. A Young Adults group meets for brunch, bowling, hockey games, mission projects, and the occasional brewery outing. Fellowship on the First, a monthly meal together after worship on the first Sunday, is a standing invitation.
Sacred Spaces on the Mesa Drive Campus
The campus itself tells the congregation's story. Stained-glass windows from the original 1890-1910 sanctuary at Seventh and Lavaca now fill the contemporary sanctuary and many of the rooms across the grounds, casting colored light that the church describes as preaching powerful sermons about bright light illuminating God's love. The Sacred Spaces Art Gallery supports artists in the extended community with rotating exhibitions. Past and present exhibitors have included photographers David Meriwether and Jess Beal and artists Daniel Arredondo and the late Nancy Cardozier.
The outdoor labyrinth, a replica of the one in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France, was built by Boy Scout Troop #1 and FPCA volunteers and adjusted to sit in the shade of Texas trees. Members may purchase engraved stones in honor of deceased loved ones and add them to a fountain that commemorates church saints. The memorial fountain honors Rev. Jane Van Auken, who served the church from 1989 to 1999, with a Fort Davis rock recalling the rock Moses struck and twelve engraved stones representing the twelve taken from the bed of the Jordan River. The Rejoice statue, sculpted in 2003 by the late Nancy Cardozier, dances in welcome in the memorial garden.
Other touches that show up for younger visitors include a Little Free Library, a turquoise table for snow cones, a playground, and a parking lot that doubles as a giant canvas for sidewalk chalk. The church rents its sanctuary and rooms to outside groups for concerts, events, receptions, meetings, and summer camps, and uses the same facilities for an all-church Vacation Bible School week each summer.
Serving Austin and Beyond
Service to the wider community is woven into the congregation's identity. A portion of the church's Mission & Outreach budget underwrites partnerships with Casa Marianella and its family shelter Posada Esperanza, the Central Texas Food Bank, Interfaith Action of Central Texas (including Hands on Housing and refugee services), Austin Diaper Bank, Keep Austin Beautiful, and Safe In Austin. FPCA's reaching-across-borders ministry brings volunteers to McAllen to support respite centers at the border and supports refugee and asylum-seeker hospitality in Austin, including monthly Convivio meals at Casa Marianella.
The disaster relief ministry responds through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the emergency and refugee program of the PC(USA). After Hurricane Harvey, members packed hundreds of hygiene kits in a matter of hours. After local floods, the church, together with its Scout troop, has packed flood cleanup buckets and traveled to help families rebuild homes. Food on the First, on the first Sunday of each month, gathers sack groceries to fill the pantry shelves at Manos de Cristo, and the loose offering on that same Sunday funds a mission partner. Mission trips have carried FPCA youth and adults to South Dakota, Bastrop, Rockport, and Cuba.
Day School on the Same Campus
First Presbyterian Day School, an early childhood program on the same Mesa Drive campus, welcomes young children and their families into the wider life of the church. The school's director describes the campus itself as daily inspiration, with its trees, labyrinth, stained glass, playground, wildlife, and peaceful courtyard waterfall, and the people who make up the staff community share a vision for serving children and families in Austin.
How to Connect
Rev. Douglas Fritzsche serves as Interim Pastor alongside Parish Associates Rev. Tina Broadway, Rev. Sarah de la Fuente, and Rev. Mike Murray. Cecile Shopen, the Engagement Coordinator, greets visitors in the narthex on Sunday mornings and helps connect newcomers to ministries, mission, and membership.
FPCA members and visitors use Realm as the church's communication and giving platform. The Realm Connect app, available for iOS and Android, gives users access to giving, event registration, group communication, messaging, and an online directory. Worship is livestreamed on YouTube at 10:00 am, and recordings are archived on the church's YouTube channel. Prayer requests, photo uploads for events, social media submissions, and maintenance requests can all be submitted through the church's online forms.
Office hours run Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at 8001 Mesa Drive, and the staff welcomes visitors to stop by and say hello. For those who wish to become members, the New Member Class is a chance to meet with a pastor and a small group of church leaders, ask questions, and learn what it means to be Presbyterian in this particular congregation. Baptisms happen during worship as part of the introduction to the congregation.