OUR HISTORY
Creation of the Church
In May 1871, a small group of potential Presbyterians met for worship on the third floor of Avery’s hardware store down in Old Katonah. They continued to meet through the heat of summer. By 1872, they were seven members strong, and the new congregation was authorized by the Presbytery of Westchester on November 17th.
The original church building was constructed on Church Street in Old Katonah, about a half mile north of our present church. It was dedicated on December 21, 1874. In 1875, Rev. John Eastman was called to be the first pastor.
History of the Church Building
The church grew, and in 1880 they built a Manse on River Road, a quarter mile to the north of the church. A Sunday School room was added in 1892, and the church prospered.
In 1891 plans began for the Muscoot Dam which would flood Katonah. More than 50 buildings were moved from Old Katonah to New Katonah, including the manse, but not the original church. These buildings were slowly skidded on logs pulled by horses.
Our present church in "new" Katonah was erected where it stands today and was dedicated in July 1900.
Over the years as the congregation grew, so did the church building with construction in 1958 (classrooms and a fellowship room in the basement), in the mid-1980s (expanding the Sanctuary), and in 2018 building an above-ground Fellowship Hall. KPC always responds to the growing needs of the church to provide a welcoming space to our members and our community.
Community Outreach
Our church has had a lasting impact on the community with many local organizations beginning as a church program or by a member of the Church.
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The first local daycare in the area, a food pantry that seeded the creation of the Community Center of Northern Westchester, early support of Midnight Run, an outreach to New York City homeless, founding role in A-Home affordable housing in the northern county, the formation of the Prison Ministry which attends to needs of incarcerated women in nearby Bedford Hills, the Emergency Shelter Partnership providing winter over-night accommodation to homeless workers in our region, the list continues.
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Our church focuses on addressing growing needs in our community reaching beyond our church building to Make God's Love Visible.
The Angel Window
On the western wall of the Sanctuary behind the choir is a stained glass window of an angel. It is in memory of Rev. Eastman’s wife, Lucy King Eastman. The windows in “the Transept” came from the old church. The church is a gift which comes to us from those that went before, and it is also a gift from us to those who will come after us. It is the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
We are proud of our roots and committed as Christians to serve the Lord in even greater capacity today and in the future here in Katonah and throughout the world.
