About Us

The First Presbyterian Church of Newtown, part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), is a spiritual, historic, and multicultural church in Elmhurst (Queens County), a New York City neighborhood four miles east of Manhattan. We are located at 54-05 Seabury St., at the corner of Queens Blvd. and 54th Ave. (conveniently located above the Grand Ave. subway station).

At the end of each service, we hold hands and sing "Blest Be the Tide that Binds" to celebrate our diversity and our unity in Christ.

We take pride in our heritage. We are the oldest Presbyterian church in New York City and the fourth oldest Presbyterian church in the United States, dating back to 1652. We are one of the earliest advocates of religious freedom in America. For over 360 years we have been blessed to praise God and serve this community. We continually strive to proclaim the Good News faithfully, vitally, and relevantly.

We hold worship services every Sunday at 10:45 AM except during July and August when the service starts at 10:00 AM. We hold prayer services every Wednesday at noon and Bible studies on the last Tuesday evening and last Wednesday morning of the month - see the News section of this site or our church calendar of events for details. Our Chancel Choir rehearses before and after the Sunday morning worship service. Our Children's and Youth Choirs practice after the Sunday morning worship service. We also have a puppet ministry for children that performs during the morning worship service regularly throughout the year.

In the lower level of the Social Hall, we have a Gift Shop (run by Dolores Joseph) that sells many new and used items. It is open on Sundays from 12:00 to 1:30 PM.

Our church is home to many different people from many different backgrounds. Our diversity dates back hundreds of years. In the eighteenth century, our church accepted African Americans as full communicant members, and we supported a small African Presbyterian Church on Corona Avenue in the nineteenth century.

We are active in our community as well. Our church currently runs a garden, located on church property, where we grow produce that is available for purchase below cost. Some garden vegetables are also donated to local food banks.

Our building has earned recognition for its historic value, thanks to the efforts of Elder Marjorie Melikian (chair of our Historical Committee) and local historian Michael Perlman. We are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources. In addition, we have received a grant from the New York Landmarks Conservancy's Sacred Sites Program.

FPCN is a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian church in the country. The Presbyterian church is a representative theocracy governed by elders, who are people elected from and by the congregation. Our church officers continue a system of government that dates back to 1724, when FPCN elected its first elders.