First Presbyterian Church sits at 505 Franklin Street in the heart of downtown Waterloo, Iowa, a stone-and-brick presence in the historic Walnut Neighborhood whose 80-foot tower and 14-bell carillon have marked Sundays in the Cedar Valley for a century. The congregation was founded in 1854, grew alongside the young city, and dedicated its current Gothic Revival home in 1923. Today the church is known for thoughtful liturgical worship, a treasured Skinner organ, a weekly free community supper, and a steady pattern of partnerships that reach from neighborhood classrooms to war-affected families in Ukraine.
Four Buildings, One Long Story
The story of First Presbyterian is one of steady growth in a changing town. It began in 1854 with six Presbyterians meeting in a log cabin. By 1857 the small group had dedicated its first building at Park Avenue and Jefferson, possibly the first church structure in Waterloo. As the city grew, so did the church, and a second building followed. The third sanctuary became something of a curiosity: a structure so unusual that Ripley’s Believe It or Not featured it for being built from a single massive stone, earning it the nickname “the Boulder Church.”
When the present sanctuary opened in 1923, the congregation had grown to 800 members. In 2004 the church celebrated 150 years of ministry, and in 2023 it marked a century of worship and service inside its landmark building at Franklin and Walnut. Through every move, the church has kept the same purpose, what the staff describes as serving Christ in the world through new and existing communities of faith, hope, love, and witness.
A Gothic Sanctuary with Carillon, Organ, and Stained Glass
The 1923 building is a textbook of Gothic Revival style: buff brick trimmed in white stone, an 80-foot tower, oak-beamed vaulted ceilings, and stained glass that fills the sanctuary with color. The worship space seats nearly 500.
High in the tower hangs a 14-bell carillon. One bell rings the hours, and the full set plays hymns each Sunday before worship and at noon every day, a sound long associated with downtown Waterloo.
At the front of the sanctuary stands a Skinner organ, Opus 401, a gift from the James Black Dry Goods Company when the building opened. With 1,715 pipes and 27 stops, it is the oldest surviving Skinner organ in Iowa. After a century of faithful use, the instrument is in need of a major rebuild, including a new computer relay system by the Syndyne Corporation and repairs to damaged pipes. A fundraising campaign with a $70,000 goal is underway to restore the organ by Christmas 2025.
Beyond the sanctuary, the building holds the Dierenfield Chapel, Fellowship Hall, Calvin Hall (a popular gathering space for small groups and Tuesday Bible study), a gymnasium, classrooms, and church offices. The ground floor includes a downstairs office suite that the church now shares with community partners.
Sunday Morning at 10 a.m.
Worship takes place in the sanctuary every Sunday at 10 a.m. The service follows the liturgical tradition and is shaped to be thoughtful, authentic, and creative, with the sanctuary’s beauty and the music ministry carrying their share of the work. Communion is celebrated on the second Sunday of each month.
Visitors are greeted as family. The dress code is simple: come as you are. An informal gathering with conversation happens each Sunday before worship, so newcomers have a natural entry point. The church livestreams services on its YouTube channel for those who cannot be present in person.
First-time logistics are spelled out plainly. Guests enter the building under the overhang, take the stairs or the elevator to the first floor, and head down the hallway to the Sanctuary. The building is fully accessible, with an elevator and handicap-accessible restrooms. A nursery room is available, though it is not staffed; parents are welcome to use it during worship as needed.
Music as a Ministry of Its Own
Music sits at the center of worship here. Three groups carry most of that work.
The Sanctuary Choir rehearses on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and sings each Sunday morning. It is a group of singers who love to share their gifts and welcomes new voices at any time. Gabe Wagner, a choral music education student at the University of Northern Iowa and the choir’s bass section leader before stepping into the director role, leads the ensemble.
The Celebration Ringers, the church’s handbell choir, rehearses on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. and plays in worship once a month. Linda Wiles, who also serves as organist and pianist, directs the ringers. Wiles holds degrees in piano performance and pedagogy and brings decades of accompanying and teaching experience from churches and studios across Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Nebraska, and Rhode Island.
Behind all of it, the Skinner organ anchors the liturgy. The current organ campaign aims to keep that instrument, one of the building’s defining gifts, sounding its best for the next century.
The Walnut Neighborhood and Sunday Suppers
First Presbyterian is rooted in the historic Walnut Neighborhood, and the church treats that location as a ministry in its own right. Members serve on the Walnut Neighborhood Association, helped design a neighborhood playground, and host community events including “Neighborhood Night Out” in August and a chili supper at the Walnut Court Housing Unit in late November or early December, paired with a “Christmas in Walnut” toy and gift drive at the Boys & Girls Club.
The most visible community program is Sunday Suppers. Five churches in the Cedar Valley partner to offer a free community meal at 505 Franklin. Doors open at 4 p.m. and supper is served at 5 p.m., with about 100 meals typically going out each week. Volunteers from across the community are welcome and can sign up through the Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley.
On Walnut Street, the church hosts a Little Free Library stocked with children’s books. The take-a-book, leave-a-book exchange is part of a global literacy movement and is open to everyone in the neighborhood.
Schools, Scholarships, and Hands-On Help
The church’s local partnerships reach into classrooms and households across the city.
As a Partner in Education with Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence, members provide Cafe Awards, fill celebratory bags for the 100th day of school, recognize students during Star Week, adopt a family at Christmas, help run the May Spring Fun Fair, and collect school supplies each fall.
The Florence Warnock Scholarship honors Florence T. Warnock, a longtime Waterloo teacher and sixty-year member of First Presbyterian who died in 1990. Two Black Hawk County graduates each year receive a $2,000 scholarship, renewable for up to four years, toward a four-year degree at the college of their choice. The Warnock committee invites finalists to a personal interview and recognizes the scholar at the church each spring.
Helping Hands is a fund sustained by free-will offerings and Presbyterian Women that helps neighbors with utility bills (gas, water, electric). Local community agencies screen requests, and in a typical year the fund helps about 150 families with $50 grants.
The church is also one of five founding congregations of Elders, Inc., a nonprofit built from the sale of a shared elder housing property. Each year since the COVID-19 pandemic the church has received about $10,000 from the fund, distributed by the Mission and Outreach Team to local nonprofits and to the church’s own Rental Assistance Program.
Christian Nurture Across the Week
Christian nurture is a separate strand of church life with its own rhythm of Bible study, fellowship, and special events.
A weekly Bible Study meets on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. in Calvin Hall, with hot coffee and conversation built into the morning. Topics shift with the liturgical season.
The Book Club meets once a month off-site to discuss a chosen novel and catch up on life.
The First Wednesday Club gathers at noon in Calvin Hall on most Wednesdays during the church year. Members bring their own lunch and hear guest speakers, learn about new topics, or watch thought-provoking videos. Drop-ins are welcome.
Presbyterian Women meets on the third Wednesday of the month for fellowship and a Bible study drawn from Horizons magazine. The group supports local and global mission through financial gifts, the Birthday Offering, the Thank Offering, and a Christmas Tea.
The Piecemakers, a quilting circle open to all skill levels, meets on the third Saturday of every other month (January, March, May, September, and November) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Members bring their own machines and fabric, learn a new pattern each session, and stitch for community projects.
Deacons form a ministry of compassion and witness. The six deacons meet monthly, are each assigned homebound members for calls, cards, visits, and home Communion, and keep an emergency fund for members and friends in sudden need. They have also visited the dementia simulation house on the UNI campus to better understand the experiences of those with dementia.
A Long Reach, Locally and Globally
Beyond Waterloo, First Presbyterian supports a small set of long-standing partnerships. The church has a long relationship with the Rev. Jan Dus from the Czech Republic, who in 2022 founded Camino Humanitar, a nonprofit supporting victims of war in Ukraine through food security, injured civilians, shelters, and children in need.
The church also participates in the four Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Special Offerings: Christmas Joy (supporting retired clergy and students of diverse ethnicity in ministry), One Great Hour of Sharing (Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Self-Development of Peoples, the Presbyterian Hunger Program), the Pentecost Offering (with 40% retained locally for young people), and the Peacemaking Offering (received on World Communion Sunday).
Sharing the Building with the Community
The building itself is part of the mission. First Presbyterian welcomes nonprofits and community groups into its spaces as partners.
Love INC of the Cedar Valley runs its Begin Now program out of the church, offering free classes, dinner, transportation, and childcare to participants working toward stability.
The North End Cultural Center offices in the building and brings about 25 students to the church each summer for the Summer Hip Hop Literacy Program.
One City United, which connects individuals to resources for ending crisis, poverty, and addiction, is also housed at 505 Franklin.
Gift of Life Church maintains two offices in the building and worships in the church’s gym every Sunday at 11:30 a.m., a ministry that overlaps with First Presbyterian’s own work and is woven into the building’s weekly rhythm.
A Building with Room for More
The same commitment opens other spaces to the wider community. The church rents a large upstairs office overlooking East Fourth Street and a downstairs suite that includes an office, classroom, and lounge. Rates are negotiable, and a building use agreement is signed with approved tenants. Cleaning is provided by a contracted janitorial service.
Inside its own walls, the church hosts weddings and funerals alongside Sunday worship. The Sanctuary, Dierenfield Chapel, Fellowship Hall, Calvin Hall, the gymnasium, and classrooms are all available to members for life’s milestone moments.
Stewardship and a Long-Term Foundation
Stewardship at First Presbyterian runs through an annual pledge, online giving through Vanco, and a Foundation Board of six members that meets quarterly. The Foundation is a separate entity managed in partnership with Stifel, Nicolaus and Company and is sustained by donations, gifts, bequests, and investment income. It disburses funds at the direction of the Session.
Members track the church’s annual story through a published Annual Report that gathers the year’s membership and giving statistics in one place.
Pastor, Staff, and Leadership
The Rev. Tim Dyck serves as Pastor and Head of Staff. A second-career pastor, Dyck spent years as a human services and social work professional, then served as an elder and choir director in several congregations before being ordained in 2011. Born in Ethiopia, he grew up in England, Lebanon, Wales, Oregon, and Alberta. He and his wife, Sarah, have two grown sons, Geoffrey and Ian, and two rescue dogs.
Amber Gilles is the Office Manager and Streaming Service Operator. An East Side Waterloo native, Gilles holds experience in accounting, payroll, human resources, and office management and runs the church’s livestream each Sunday.
Linda Wiles serves as Organist, Pianist, and Handbell Choir Director.
Gabe Wagner, a junior choral music education major at UNI, directs the Sanctuary Choir.
Governance is shared among the Session (elders), Deacons, and Foundation Board, each organized by class year. Elders and Deacons are listed by Class of 2025, 2026, and 2027, with rotating Nominating Committee members guiding new leaders into service.
Planning a First Visit
First Presbyterian keeps its doors easy to find and its welcome easy to accept. The address is 505 Franklin Street, Waterloo, Iowa 50703, with parking available near the building. Guests enter under the overhang, take the stairs or elevator up one floor, and walk down the hall to the Sanctuary. Worship begins at 10 a.m. on Sundays, with a casual gathering beforehand for conversation. Dress is “come as you are.” A nursery room is available for parents. The building is fully accessible, with an elevator and accessible restrooms. Services are livestreamed on YouTube for those joining from home, and weekly updates from the pastor are available by email through the Pastor Connection newsletter.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and can be reached at (319) 233-6145 or info@firstpresby.org. The Pastor can be reached at pastor@firstpreswaterloo.org.