A Century on Collis Avenue
Highlawn Presbyterian Church stands at 2814 Collis Avenue in the Highlawn neighborhood of Huntington, West Virginia, where it has been rooted for over a hundred years. Its beginnings trace to about 1910, when a small group started meeting for Sunday School on the second floor of the original Highlawn Pharmacy at 3rd Avenue and 26th Street. On October 9, 1913, twenty-one members petitioned the Kanawha Presbytery to organize as the Third Presbyterian Church.
Rev. W. P. Hooper became the church's first pastor in 1919 and served until 1951. During those decades the congregation grew, took the name Highlawn Presbyterian, and built the present sanctuary at Collis Avenue. Rev. Albert J. Conley followed and oversaw construction of the education building in 1954. Rev. S. Evans Brown served from 1964 to 1970, and the 1971 sanctuary remodel added a new organ and a larger choir loft. Dr. R. Jackson Haga pastored through that renovation and on into 2001.
Rev. Mark McCalla was called to Highlawn in 2003. His ministry ended on June 19, 2008, when he was killed by two army deserters at the Beech Fork State Park rifle range. The West Virginia Presbytery appointed Dr. Rick Wilson as temporary Session Moderator, and the church installed him as pastor in September 2010. In October 2013, the congregation marked its hundredth anniversary along with further sanctuary renovations. An electrical fire later caused smoke damage to the building, but the community rallied and continued its work. In 2021, Rev. Sharon Bell became the church's first woman and first openly LGBTQ+ pastor.
Sunday Worship in the Sanctuary
The church gathers for worship every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. The service is traditional, with hymns and liturgy, set in a relaxed environment. Visitors are welcome to dress however they prefer, whether that means a suit or jeans.
Each service includes a Time for Children before the sermon. Children in second grade and younger are invited to attend Children's Church, while older children may stay in the Sanctuary and use "busy binders" with worship aids to help them follow along. Sunday morning worship is available through Facebook Live, so those unable to attend in person can follow from home.
The Staff and the Music
Pastor Sharon Bell earned a Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University and a Master of Arts in Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. Originally from Texas, she has lived in West Virginia since 2003 and is married to her wife Missy, a high school French teacher. She cheers loudly for her son Grayson from the sidelines of his games.
Sarah Specht is the Director of Christian Education. A member of Highlawn since 2012, she involves the youth in mission work and biblical study.
Music has anchored the congregation for decades. David Chenoweth has served as Music Director for more than thirty-five years. A graduate of Marshall University, he retired from a long career teaching choral music and piano at Huntington High School. Alanna Cushing joined as organist and pianist in 2014. She is a graduate of Marshall and Bowling Green State University, has won solo and concerto competitions, and premiered a work by British composer Graham Lynch at the Contemporary Music Festival in Cortona, Italy.
Mission Across Huntington and Beyond
Highlawn's mission work reaches across the city, organized around a long list of ministries, each led by a member volunteer.
- The Cabell-Lincoln Work Camp offers home repair for youth and adults in a multicultural Christian setting.
- Feeding Others hosts a monthly meal that rotates between lunch at Harmony House, a Sunday meal for the City Mission, and Lunch for a Buck at Marshall University's Christian Center.
- The Blessings Room gathers new and gently used furniture, baby items, kitchenware, household items, and hygiene products for partner organizations.
- Salvation Army Stockings collects handmade stockings, small toys, school supplies, socks, and gloves for children aged 2 to 12, plus senior stockings with gloves, puzzle books, flashlights, and lotion.
- Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes gathers donations of small toys, socks, underwear, school supplies, and hygiene items for Samaritan's Purse to deliver to children ages 2 to 14.
- The Children's Home Society of West Virginia Foster Children program collects duffel bags, pillows, blankets, suitcases, backpacks, clothing, shoes, linens, and toys for foster children.
- The Emergency Shelter, serving children aged 10 to 18, receives hoodies, art supplies, books, DVDs, and Christmas gift cards.
- The Clothes Closet distributes new and gently used clothing and shoes through the Children's Home, along with household items and home medical supplies.
- Grandfamilies supports grandparents raising their grandchildren, collecting cleaning supplies and paper products each April.
- The Harmony House Rapid Re-Housing Program provides furniture, household essentials, and cold-weather gear for individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness.
- Sewing Parties produce pillowcases, Christmas stockings, baby blankets, burp cloths, and curtain panels for Harmony House.
- Patty's Pillows delivers about thirty pillows to the Veterans Home each Veterans Day.
- Betty's Bargain acquires gently used furniture to furnish homes for families being rehoused by Harmony House.
- The Little Library, started by an Eagle Scout in Troop 21, offers free books to the Highlawn neighborhood, visitors at St. Mary's Hospital, and the AA and NA groups that meet at the church.
- Highlawn Elementary School receives blankets for its Valentine's "Snuggle Up and Read" program and a homemade lunch during Teacher Appreciation Week.
- The New Baptist Food Pantry receives regular food collections supporting a neighboring church's food pantry.
The Highterian and Office Hours
The Highterian, the church's monthly newsletter, is available in paper form at the church and as a PDF sent to email subscribers. The office is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Sunday services are posted on Facebook Live for those who cannot attend in person.