First Presbyterian Church
Taos NM
87571-5903
Who we are
Mission
To be a church that loves and serves all people
Vision
We are the church; we are the body of Christ, so… We worship him In joy-filled proclamation of his word In music that both comforts and inspires In varieties of worship gatherings Always around a table where all are welcome
We learn more about him In studying scripture to inform and mature our faith In spiritual education for young though not so young In equipping all to do the work of Christ In providing lifelong teaching/learning/fellowship opportunities
We follow him In demonstrating the liberating power of the Gospel in our life each day In feeding, clothing, comforting and healing any in need; locally and globally In welcoming with love the stranger, the lonely and the bereaved In providing a meeting place of caring and acceptance for our greater Taos community
We best serve Christ by loving all!
To be a church that loves and serves all people
Vision
We are the church; we are the body of Christ, so… We worship him In joy-filled proclamation of his word In music that both comforts and inspires In varieties of worship gatherings Always around a table where all are welcome
We learn more about him In studying scripture to inform and mature our faith In spiritual education for young though not so young In equipping all to do the work of Christ In providing lifelong teaching/learning/fellowship opportunities
We follow him In demonstrating the liberating power of the Gospel in our life each day In feeding, clothing, comforting and healing any in need; locally and globally In welcoming with love the stranger, the lonely and the bereaved In providing a meeting place of caring and acceptance for our greater Taos community
We best serve Christ by loving all!
Location of worship
215 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte
Taos,
NM
87571-5903
United States
Phone: 575-758-3124
Fax: 575-758-1124
Click here to contact the church
Church Pastor
Rev. Virginia Bairby
Pastor
215 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte
Taos,
NM
87571-5903
United States
Phone: 575-758-3124
Fax: 575-758-1124
Click here to contact Rev. Virginia Bairby
Church Website
First Presbyterian Church on Social Media
Leadership
Leader Name:
Rev. Virginia Bairby
Leader Position:
Pastor
Phone:
Fax:
575-758-1124
Leader Email:
Click here to contact Rev. Virginia Bairby
Leader Bio:
Pastor Virginia (Ginna) Bairby is excited to serve as the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Taos. Describing her call to Taos, Ginna writes, “I was looking for a congregation ready to do the difficult work of discerning what it means to be the church in a post-Christendom world. I look forward to shepherding First Presbyterian Church of Taos as it discovers its place in twenty-first century Christianity, holding the substance of our faith tightly, but its forms and particularities lightly.”
“I am thrilled to have been called to a congregation eager to participate in God’s work of love, justice, and reconciliation and embody the community of God’s Kingdom, knowing we can only ever do so imperfectly.”
Pastor Ginna graduated Summa Cum Laude from the College of William and Mary in 2009, and she received her Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary in 2013, where she received the prestigious Faculty Fellowship for Graduate Study.
Following Graduation from Union Presbyterian Seminary, Ginna was called to the PC(USA) national offices in Louisville as Managing Editor of “Unbound” and Associate for Young Adult Social Witness. “Unbound” is an award-winning online social justice journal with an average yearly readership of 30,000 to 40,000 readers. During her tenure as editor, “Unbound” won 21 awards from the Associated Church Press, twice winning the Second Place Best in Class Award for the independent website.
As Associate for Young Adult Social Witness, Ginna’s work included leading and facilitating workshops, conversations, and training events related to the social justice ministries of the PC(USA), with a focus on young adults. Between her time at William and Mary and Union Presbyterian Seminary, Ginna served for one year as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer in Lima, Peru, where her responsibilities included working with children ages 4 to 18 at a Compassion International after-school program and translating for a Peru-based fair-trade program called Bridge of Hope. She is a fluent Spanish speaker.
Ginna has been a featured speaker and organizer at events across the country and presented workshops on Peacemaking, Faith-Based Advocacy, the Church in the 21st Century, and Childhood Education. She has served internships as a hospital Chaplain at the University of Virginia Health System and as Student Pastor at Rennie Memorial Presbyterian Church in Amelia, Virginia. In 2011, Ginna served as a Fellow for International Issues with the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, Washington, DC where she served the national office of the PC(USA) in a set of integral collaboration with ecumenical and interfaith partners and other non-profits, both faith-based and secular.
Ginna is grateful for the friendliness of both First Presbyterian Church and the Taos community as she makes her home here. She enjoys the life and culture of Taos, particularly the local music scene. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and taking in the beauty of Northern New Mexico. Ginna and her husband Andy have no children, but Ginna says that their cat “is more than willing to fill that role for the time being”.
Reflecting on what the future may hold for First Presbyterian Church, Ginna says, “I believe this is a time when the Church in all places is being called to risk failure for faithfulness. Trying new ways of being the church always comes with the possibility of loss – emotional, financial, and otherwise. But we are Resurrection people, which means that we at First Presbyterian, fully aware of these possibilities of loss and failure, are willing and ready to step forward in faith.”
“I am thrilled to have been called to a congregation eager to participate in God’s work of love, justice, and reconciliation and embody the community of God’s Kingdom, knowing we can only ever do so imperfectly.”
Pastor Ginna graduated Summa Cum Laude from the College of William and Mary in 2009, and she received her Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary in 2013, where she received the prestigious Faculty Fellowship for Graduate Study.
Following Graduation from Union Presbyterian Seminary, Ginna was called to the PC(USA) national offices in Louisville as Managing Editor of “Unbound” and Associate for Young Adult Social Witness. “Unbound” is an award-winning online social justice journal with an average yearly readership of 30,000 to 40,000 readers. During her tenure as editor, “Unbound” won 21 awards from the Associated Church Press, twice winning the Second Place Best in Class Award for the independent website.
As Associate for Young Adult Social Witness, Ginna’s work included leading and facilitating workshops, conversations, and training events related to the social justice ministries of the PC(USA), with a focus on young adults. Between her time at William and Mary and Union Presbyterian Seminary, Ginna served for one year as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer in Lima, Peru, where her responsibilities included working with children ages 4 to 18 at a Compassion International after-school program and translating for a Peru-based fair-trade program called Bridge of Hope. She is a fluent Spanish speaker.
Ginna has been a featured speaker and organizer at events across the country and presented workshops on Peacemaking, Faith-Based Advocacy, the Church in the 21st Century, and Childhood Education. She has served internships as a hospital Chaplain at the University of Virginia Health System and as Student Pastor at Rennie Memorial Presbyterian Church in Amelia, Virginia. In 2011, Ginna served as a Fellow for International Issues with the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, Washington, DC where she served the national office of the PC(USA) in a set of integral collaboration with ecumenical and interfaith partners and other non-profits, both faith-based and secular.
Ginna is grateful for the friendliness of both First Presbyterian Church and the Taos community as she makes her home here. She enjoys the life and culture of Taos, particularly the local music scene. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and taking in the beauty of Northern New Mexico. Ginna and her husband Andy have no children, but Ginna says that their cat “is more than willing to fill that role for the time being”.
Reflecting on what the future may hold for First Presbyterian Church, Ginna says, “I believe this is a time when the Church in all places is being called to risk failure for faithfulness. Trying new ways of being the church always comes with the possibility of loss – emotional, financial, and otherwise. But we are Resurrection people, which means that we at First Presbyterian, fully aware of these possibilities of loss and failure, are willing and ready to step forward in faith.”
Administration
Admin Name:
Mayra Burris
Admin Position:
Church Administrator
Phone:
Fax:
575-758-1124
Admin Email:
Click here to contact Mayra Burris
First Presbyterian Church Service Times
Sunday Worship
11:00 AM Worship in Sanctuary
11:00 AM Children's Sunday School
11:00 AM Youth Sunday School
9:30 AM Adult Sunday School
Communion Sunday (First Sunday of each month)
It's been more than 5 years since the last service times update. Please make sure to contact the church to confirm service times.
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11:00 AM Worship in Sanctuary
11:00 AM Children's Sunday School
11:00 AM Youth Sunday School
9:30 AM Adult Sunday School
Communion Sunday (First Sunday of each month)
It's been more than 5 years since the last service times update. Please make sure to contact the church to confirm service times.
Please contact the church to confirm Service Times or SUBSCRIBE to updates below
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First Presbyterian Church History
The first Presbyterian Church of Taos was first organized in 1872
The history of the First Presbyterian Church in Taos begins in 1868. In that year representatives of the Ladies’ Missionary Society of New York traveled to the Theological Seminary in Alleghany, Pennsylvania to recruit a missionary to serve the Navaho Indians of Arizona and New Mexico. James Madison Roberts was called to this mission and late in 1868 he and his new bride Martha took their wedding trip across the plains. They traveled by train guarded by cavalry soldiers to the western border of Kansas where the railroad tracks ended. A stagecoach, also guarded by soldiers, brought them safely to Santa Fe. After a short stay in Santa Fe, they went on to Fort Defiance, Arizona to begin their ministry among the Navahos.
The young couple was quartered in a small adobe house with dirt floors and a fireplace for a stove. Mr. Roberts had no knowledge of the Navaho language, and it was slow work earning the confidence of the natives. The presence of American soldiers at the fort did not help the missionary very much as they did not appreciate the influence that the Roberts were slowly exerting over the Indians.
Trouble eventually arose, and a U.S. Indian Agent reported to Roberts that there was a plot to kill him, his wife, and their two children. He was advised to leave the fort. He did so immediately and returned to Santa Fe.
The Roberts was preparing to return to Ohio when he was approached by a group of Taosenos who requested that he come to Taos to preach the Gospel. The Taosenos who invited the Roberts to come to Taos were the remnant of the apostatic church formed by Padre Antonio Martinez after Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy excommunicated him from the Catholic Church in 1858. Following Padre Martinez’ death in 1867 the church had been earnestly looking for a new pastor and Roberts answered this call. The First Presbyterian Church was officially established on November 15, 1874. Its charter members were: Vincente Romero, Jose Mondragon, Maria Mondragon, Martha Roberts, and Joaquin Sandoval. At this time and for many years thereafter the services were conducted in Spanish.
Pastor Roberts and his wife started a school in their home teaching English to interested natives, and Hispanos. The greater Presbyterian Church at this time had become interested in this sort of educational activity through the efforts of Mary Pyle of Cincinnati, Ohio. The Presbyterial Society, of which she was president, undertook the support of Pastor Roberts missionary activities in Taos.
It does not know exactly when the construction of the First Presbyterian Church of Taos was completed, but the cornerstone was laid in Lomas Plaza in 1882. Shortly after the completion of the church, a mission school was built nearby in which primary and elementary grades were taught.
The early Presbyterian Mission School filled a real need in the community. At that time the public school system was rather inadequate and the early public school teachers lacked training. Also, the county was unable to compensate them satisfactorily. The Mission School teachers who came mainly from New England states were well-trained, young, dedicated individuals who were willing to devote their energies and affections to this mission. The school was closed in 1916.
174 names appear on the Roll of Membership from 1874-1900, with the exception of 17 all are Spanish. In the early days, session meetings were held at the homes of one of the members or at the Taos Mission House. Often the setting for big dinners, box suppers, meetings, and various community entertainments, the church served as a hospital during the World War I influenza epidemic. The interior of the Taos edifice gained distinction when in 1924 Blanche C. Grant, Taos artist and writer, painted life-sized murals of scenes from the Holy Land on the walls. Considerable publicity was given to this work, and tourists were encouraged not to leave Taos without viewing the murals. Mabel Dodge Luhan’s marriage to Antonio Lujan from the Taos Pueblo on April 17, 1923, is recorded in the church’s register of marriages. Andrew Dasburg, noted Taos modernist painter, is reported as an official witness to the ceremony.
In 1941 the congregation for the first time actively discussed the prospects of constructing a new church building. In July of that year Famed Santa Fe architect and the progenitor of the Pueblo Revival School of Architecture, John Gaw Meems, was contacted. Church member and famed Taos Society of Artists founder Bert Phillips agreed to donate one of his original paintings as payment for the building plans prepared by Mr. Meems. Due to the declarations of war, plans for constructing the new church were shelved for the duration of the war. In 1946 the church purchased property in the Taos Canyon, at which its church camp Loma Verde was built.
On March 5, 1950, the congregation voted to apply for a grant of $2000 and a loan of $7000 from the Board of National Missions for the construction of a new church. Soon afterward a meeting of the congregation was called to discuss the possible sale of the old church properties. In due course, the properties were sold to the Taos Municipal Board of Education for the sum of $20,000. A building committee was then established and under the direction of architect Meems, construction of the new church began in 1951. When completed and dedicated on June 22, 1952, the total cost of construction was approximate $50,000.
Located on Paseo del Norte, approximately a half mile north of the Taos Plaza, the church was built on property formerly owned by the enigmatic Arthur Manby. The church sanctuary, as well as the education building, completed in 1964, are constructed in authentic Pueblo Revival style architecture, for which John Gaw Meems was so famous. This style of architecture is the only indigenous style on the North American continent, incorporating three elements: pre-Columbian, Spanish and modern utility. Its sanctuary is a splendid example of early mission-style architecture with its high ceilings, vigas, corbels, candles, and choir loft with the carved stairway.
When the educational building was completed in 1964 at a cost of $60,000 it was specifically dedicated to be of utility to the community at large. From that date to the present the facility was made available to scores of community organizations in need of a meeting space. During the 1960’s the church became very involved in special ministries throughout the region, including unique efforts to promote better relations between members of the various communes existing at that time and the Taos community at large.
Due to a vacancy in the pulpit at Ranchos de Taos Presbyterian Church and a significant cut in funding from the National Missions Board, the Ranchos and First Presbyterian churches in 1971 made the decision to pool resources and procure a minister who would serve both congregations. In December of that year, the first minister was called and began serving both congregations. This arrangement continues to today.
In the current era, the church and its members continue in the rich tradition of service to God and to the community. Its members earnestly endeavor to reflect God’s love for his people individually, and corporately as the First Presbyterian Church of Taos.
The history of the First Presbyterian Church in Taos begins in 1868. In that year representatives of the Ladies’ Missionary Society of New York traveled to the Theological Seminary in Alleghany, Pennsylvania to recruit a missionary to serve the Navaho Indians of Arizona and New Mexico. James Madison Roberts was called to this mission and late in 1868 he and his new bride Martha took their wedding trip across the plains. They traveled by train guarded by cavalry soldiers to the western border of Kansas where the railroad tracks ended. A stagecoach, also guarded by soldiers, brought them safely to Santa Fe. After a short stay in Santa Fe, they went on to Fort Defiance, Arizona to begin their ministry among the Navahos.
The Roberts was preparing to return to Ohio when he was approached by a group of Taosenos who requested that he come to Taos to preach the Gospel. The Taosenos who invited the Roberts to come to Taos were the remnant of the apostatic church formed by Padre Antonio Martinez after Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy excommunicated him from the Catholic Church in 1858. Following Padre Martinez’ death in 1867 the church had been earnestly looking for a new pastor and Roberts answered this call. The First Presbyterian Church was officially established on November 15, 1874. Its charter members were: Vincente Romero, Jose Mondragon, Maria Mondragon, Martha Roberts, and Joaquin Sandoval. At this time and for many years thereafter the services were conducted in Spanish.
It does not know exactly when the construction of the First Presbyterian Church of Taos was completed, but the cornerstone was laid in Lomas Plaza in 1882. Shortly after the completion of the church, a mission school was built nearby in which primary and elementary grades were taught.
The early Presbyterian Mission School filled a real need in the community. At that time the public school system was rather inadequate and the early public school teachers lacked training. Also, the county was unable to compensate them satisfactorily. The Mission School teachers who came mainly from New England states were well-trained, young, dedicated individuals who were willing to devote their energies and affections to this mission. The school was closed in 1916.
In 1941 the congregation for the first time actively discussed the prospects of constructing a new church building. In July of that year Famed Santa Fe architect and the progenitor of the Pueblo Revival School of Architecture, John Gaw Meems, was contacted. Church member and famed Taos Society of Artists founder Bert Phillips agreed to donate one of his original paintings as payment for the building plans prepared by Mr. Meems. Due to the declarations of war, plans for constructing the new church were shelved for the duration of the war. In 1946 the church purchased property in the Taos Canyon, at which its church camp Loma Verde was built.
Located on Paseo del Norte, approximately a half mile north of the Taos Plaza, the church was built on property formerly owned by the enigmatic Arthur Manby. The church sanctuary, as well as the education building, completed in 1964, are constructed in authentic Pueblo Revival style architecture, for which John Gaw Meems was so famous. This style of architecture is the only indigenous style on the North American continent, incorporating three elements: pre-Columbian, Spanish and modern utility. Its sanctuary is a splendid example of early mission-style architecture with its high ceilings, vigas, corbels, candles, and choir loft with the carved stairway.
Due to a vacancy in the pulpit at Ranchos de Taos Presbyterian Church and a significant cut in funding from the National Missions Board, the Ranchos and First Presbyterian churches in 1971 made the decision to pool resources and procure a minister who would serve both congregations. In December of that year, the first minister was called and began serving both congregations. This arrangement continues to today.
In the current era, the church and its members continue in the rich tradition of service to God and to the community. Its members earnestly endeavor to reflect God’s love for his people individually, and corporately as the First Presbyterian Church of Taos.
Teach us to serve Thee
Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest: To give and not to count the cost; To fight and not to heed the wounds; To toil and not to seek for rest; To labour and not ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do Thy will.
First Presbyterian Church listing was last updated on the 10th of October, 2018
