History

Our History

University Presbyterian Church has been part of Chapel Hill since 1829, nearly as long as the University itself. We have met in borrowed rooms and rebuilt after fire. We have grown, divided, and sent new congregations into the world. Through all of it, we have remained a community shaped by the questions our neighbors bring and the needs they carry. This is the story of how we became who we are.

A Timeline of Faithful Presence

1829 | A congregation takes root The Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill is organized, meeting in homes and university buildings. From the start, the church and the University are neighbors shaping each other. Faculty serve as ministers. Students are part of the life of the congregation.

1849 | A place of our own The Rev. Dr. James Phillips raises nearly $4,000 from across North Carolina to build the first sanctuary on the current Franklin Street site. At its dedication on September 23, both the Methodist congregation and the University suspend their own services so the whole community can attend.

1859 | Called to full-time ministry The congregation calls its first full-time minister, the Rev. John B. Shearer, who will later become president of Davidson College. The Civil War years bring decline and displacement, but the church maintains Sunday Schools for both Black and white children throughout.

1920 | Rebuilt in generosity After decades without a settled pastor, the Rev. William Moss leads a congregation that has found its footing again. A $50,000 gift from James Sprunt of Wilmington funds a rebuilt sanctuary, completed and dedicated in 1920.

1941–1953 | Growth and growing pains The Rev. Charles M. Jones leads the congregation through significant growth, but also real tension. His ministry raises honest questions about the church’s calling in the world and its identity as a community of word and sacrament. The conflict is painful. Some members leave to found what becomes Community Church of Chapel Hill, a congregation that continues to this day.

1958 | Fire and resilience On the night of Ash Wednesday, February 20, the sanctuary burns nearly to the ground. The congregation returns to the Chapel Hill tradition of gathering in university facilities. Four years and nine months later, a new sanctuary is completed and dedicated in November 1962.

1966 | Sending out With the support of the Presbytery, UPC sponsors the founding of a new congregation, Church of Reconciliation, sending some 60 members to begin something new. Around the same time, the Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church takes the name it still carries: University Presbyterian Church.

1999 | Building toward the future Under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Bob Dunham, a capital campaign funds a major expansion. Ten percent goes directly to outreach, locally and globally. The new wing extending toward Franklin Street is named Vance Barron Hall, honoring the pastor who guided the congregation through the civil rights era and the long rebuild after the fire.

2000+ | Expanding the table UPC grows its campus with the addition of Dunham Hall, deepens its commitments to welcome and affirmation, forms a Racial Equity Team, and more. Through a pandemic, an interim season, and the call of new pastoral leadership, the congregation keeps showing up.

Today: Still here. Still growing.

Nearly two centuries in, UPC is still asking the questions that have always mattered: Who belongs here? What are we called to do? How do we love our neighbors well? We are still finding the answers together.

We would love for you to be part of what comes next. Plan your visit.