A Church and Neighborhood Built on Integration
Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church sits at 6312 Kennedy Avenue in Cincinnati's Kennedy Heights neighborhood, a community that has shaped the congregation's identity for more than a century. Organized in 1909 and integrated since the early 1960s, the church describes its mission as "To share the good news of Jesus Christ with all people as a racially diverse congregation through worship, service, education and fellowship." A banner at the front door reads, "ALL ARE WELCOME! Celebrating Diversity and Inclusivity. Sunrise saves a place for you here."
The story of the church and the story of the neighborhood are intertwined. In 1891, the Presbytery of Cincinnati refused permission to build a church, so Henry Appleton held Sunday school classes in his home on Kennedy Avenue. Interest grew beyond Mr. Appleton's capacity, the classes moved to a local school, and interdenominational services followed for Protestants who did not want to walk to Silverton or Pleasant Ridge. A petition was circulated, and in 1909 the Presbytery granted permission to organize Kennedy Heights Presbyterian Church. A small white church was built in 1912, with a large extension added in 1930.
After World War II, when African Americans moved north for industrial jobs and white flight reshaped many Cincinnati neighborhoods, Kennedy Heights faced the same pressures. Dr. Wilbur Hassebrock, then the church's minister, brought residents together to discuss how to stabilize the community. African Americans were among the first eight people at those meetings, and the group formed the Kennedy Heights Community Council with one driving goal: improving quality of life through intentional integration. To set the example, the church welcomed Ruby and Jim Metts as its first African American members. The council held listening tours in living rooms, ran collaborative training programs designed to build empathy and discover common goals, and invited the head of the Cincinnati Real Estate Board to address fears that property values dropped in integrated neighborhoods. Panic-selling stopped, and the church has remained integrated ever since.
Sunday Worship with Open Doors
Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays and is described by the congregation as firmly grounded in Reform theology and liturgical practice, with the active participation of as many members as possible. The sanctuary's colorful chancel tapestries serve as a visual metaphor for the church's core beliefs about God's work in many lives. Worship is participatory throughout: lectors of all ages read Scripture from the pulpit, lay ushers and greeters welcome visitors, and the Sharing of the Peace and community prayer for self and others bring the room together.
Children and youth are integral to Sunday worship. Elementary-age children in KHPC Kids sing, serve as beadles, light the Christ candle, and pour the water in the baptismal font. A children's message often precedes the sermon. On Youth Sunday, the Family Christmas Eve Service, and other special Sundays, young people lead worship entirely.
The rhythm of the liturgical year shapes the calendar. Dixieland jazz fills the sanctuary every Pentecost Sunday. The congregation gathers for an outdoor service and picnic each summer at Drake Park, and Christmas Eve brings two services: an early-evening, youth-led service followed by a candlelit, late-night Scripture and hymn service. Earth Day, Veterans Sunday, and Immigration Sunday are also marked as special Sundays. World Communion Sunday often features music and worship customs shared by the church's Cameroonian members.
A Sanctuary Built by Many Hands
The sanctuary's chancel tapestries tell another story of the congregation's collaborative spirit. The designs, by liturgical artist Catherine Kapikian, represent God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit through the shapes of a star, a cross, and a dove - shapes deliberately left incomplete to signal that God's work continues and is never finished. The square-of-nine curved triangles form the patterned images, and 89 colors reflect the diversity of the congregation. More than 300 people contributed needlepoint stitches in a basket-weave stitch designed for maximum participation, from a two-year-old to stitchers in their nineties. Three mother-and-daughter teams worked together, and about a third of the primary stitchers were not members but believed enough in the symbolism to join in. The cross panel measures six feet by nine feet and the roundels are six feet in diameter. The cross has hung in the sanctuary since 1963, and the dossal and roundels were dedicated in October 2004.
Music from Crib to Choir Loft
Music is a major thread in the life of KHPC, with members ranging in age from 5 to the 80s. The church hosts the Chancel Choir, Adult Bells, Grace Gospel Choir, KHPC Kids for grades K through 5, and a Brass Choir that plays occasionally. Past music leaders have included Robert McSpadden, the late music supervisor for Cincinnati Public Schools; Thomas Sherwood, retired voice professor from Xavier University; and Dr. Robert Muckenfuss, former keyboard player and coach for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival.
The music draws from many sources. The choir has sung Handel's Messiah and DuBois's Seven Last Words of Christ, and for the church's centennial celebration local composer Rick Sowash was commissioned to write a new choral work. One Reformation Sunday, Bach and a banjo shared the same service. The Dixieland Jazz Band is a fixture of Pentecost Sunday. Contemporary Christian praise songs, spirituals, world music from many cultures, Broadway numbers, and 20th-century ragtime pieces have all found their way into worship.
The Daughters of Miriam, the church's Liturgical Dance Ensemble, is led by Mary Kamp, who serves on the board of the National Liturgical Dance Guild. The dancers lead processions, help the congregation respond physically to prayers and responses, and have performed outreach concerts at other churches. The choirs and dancers have taken their Christmas cantata on the road to small congregations including Third Presbyterian, Georgetown, Reading-Lockland, and Norwood Presbyterian churches, and have offered musical leadership for Presbytery worship services, a tri-racial choir at the 1995 General Assembly in Cincinnati, and a Cincinnati-based national meeting of the Children's Defense Fund.
The Caring Place and Outreach
The Caring Place, founded in 1982, is the church's flagship community ministry. A coalition of churches serving Golf Manor, Kennedy Heights, Pleasant Ridge, and Silverton, it provides food, clothing, furniture, rent and utility assistance, family development, and support groups to neighbors in need. Volunteers come primarily from participating churches and from local schools including Nativity School, Seven Hills Academy, and Schroder Paideia High School.
KHPC's Mission Committee supports the Caring Place through monthly financial contributions and regular drives for most-needed items. Each year, committee members and other volunteers gather at a local grocery store to load more than 2,000 canned and dry goods into their cars, transport them to the church, and pack over 200 holiday meal baskets for distribution at Christmas. The committee has also collected "Pennies for Patients" contributions for Children's Hospital and has partnered with Woodford Paideia Academy, the neighborhood elementary school, to provide tutoring, mentorship, and structured activities for children who need extra support. The KHPC Youth Group works with the Interfaith Hospitality Network to assist homeless families.
The church building itself serves as a meeting place for the Kennedy Heights Community Council, Alcoholics Anonymous, Cincinnati Public Schools tutoring, and other community groups. Distinguished guest speakers over the years have included Marian Spencer, former vice mayor of Cincinnati; Al Gerhardstein, attorney and Kennedy Heights resident; Judge John Burlew; attorney Nathaniel Lampley Jr.; Mona Bronson-Fuqua, the lead plaintiff in the desegregation lawsuit against Cincinnati Public Schools; Duane Holm, former executive director of MARCC; Georgine Getty, executive director of the Interfaith Hospitality Network; David Lowry, retired executive presbyter of the Presbytery of Cincinnati; Patricia Brown, former national moderator of the PC(USA); and Mark Koenig, formerly the peace advocate for the PC(USA) and now working at the United Nations.
Radical Hospitality and the Community Table
Hospitality is a stated value at KHPC. The church hosts monthly community dinners on the first Tuesday and first Thursday of each month in collaboration with the Church of the Nativity, and a third-Tuesday community dinner with the Kennedy Heights Community Council. Other recurring events include a Thanksgiving Dinner, a Welcome Home Luncheon, an Easter egg hunt, fish fries, and a private prayer ministry in the sanctuary after Sunday worship. Luncheons are open to the public, and AA meetings are hosted on site.
Wise Women and Contemplative Conversations
Two regular programs nurture fellowship beyond Sunday morning. The Wise Women Book Club meets several times a year to discuss novels and nonfiction, with past selections including Maame by Jessica George, Sing for Your Life by Daniel Bergner, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, and The Maid by Nita Prose. After Sunday worship, Pastor Ebenezer hosts Contemplative Conversations, an open-ended small-group format where members are invited to suggest topics for discussion.
Leadership and Presbyterian Connections
Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Narh Yebuah serves as pastor. Born in Ghana and ordained as a minister there, Ebenezer earned his master's degree in Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in religion and psychological studies from the University of Denver and the Iliff School of Theology. Before answering the call to KHPC, he served as director of Christian education at Peoples Presbyterian Church in Denver and led several mission trips to Ghana. He describes his core values as drawn from the Great Commandment, the Great Commission, and the principle of servant leadership, and emphasizes Bible study, prayer, meditation, pastoral presence, and visitation in his work. Ebenezer and his wife Rejoice have been married since 1989 and have three children.
KHPC is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbytery of Cincinnati. Members have provided leadership across the denomination: Kennedy Heights has provided three moderators to Presbytery, most recently Bill Brown, and Patricia Brown served as moderator of the national General Assembly. Members have also led in Presbytery and Presbyterian women's activities.
Planning a First Visit
Worship is held at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays at 6312 Kennedy Avenue in Cincinnati. Onsite parking is available, including handicapped spaces. The building is fully accessible, with entrances on both levels, accessible restrooms, sanctuary seating, large-print bulletins, and hearing devices. Giving is welcomed during the weekly offering, by mail, or online through Givelify. Sermon recordings are posted on the church's YouTube channel, and a sermon archive reaches back across multiple years.
For more information, the church office can be reached at 513-631-1114 or by email at pastorkhpc@gmail.com.