CPC Historical Highlights
The San Jose Presbytery chartered the Calvary Presbyterian Church sometime in November 1870 with 15 charter members.
When the San Jose Presbytery was divided, the Los Angeles Presbytery held their first session meeting at the Calvary Presbyterian Church of Wilmington on March 20, 1873 and was considered the "Mother Church of the Los Angeles Presbytery".
The first building of the church is the present small-frame building we now know as the "Memory Chapel". On May 5, 1976 this building was declared the "Oldest Protestant Church in the Harbor Area" by the Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department.
By the 1880's membership had begun to decline. The Presbytery advised for the dissolution of the church for abandoning the mission field. One lone Sunday School teacher continues to teach children in the neighborhood and arranges for pulpit supply for those who wished to worship. Closure of the church was stopped.
Membership increased. A larger building was constructed in 1913. But on October 21, 1928 the building burned down. The present building is the third one to house Calvary Presbyterian Church and was dedicated on November 4, 1929 with Rev. Herbert Tweedie as the pastor. Three months later, a new pipe organ was installed with Ms. Esther Scott music director.
Membership increased. A larger
building was constructed in 1913. But on October 21, 1928 the building burned down. The present building is the third one to house Calvary Presbyterian Church and was dedicated on November 4, 1929 with Rev. Herbert Tweedie as the pastor. Three months later, a new pipe organ was installed with Ms. Esther Scott music director.
Over the years, membership in the church fluctuated from the original charter members of 15 to as high as 700. In 1927, the Rev. Louis Evans, the pastor at the time, formed the "Schooners Club," a fellowship for young married couples. The name of the group later changed to the "Mariners' Club". This became a national movement of Presbyterians.
By the 1960's the demographics of the Wilmington area changed and by natural attrition caused church membership to dwindle. In 1975, when the church's doors were about to be closed, a handful of Filipino members, together with the Rev. Dwight Blackstock, the pastor at the time, initiated home and hospital visitations, prayer meetings and Saturday Tagalog vesper services. The church was revitalized.
In 1983, Calvary Presbyterian Church called Rev. Querubin Casiano as Pastor until he retired in 2000. In 2002 CPC called Rev. Emmanuel G. Orendain as Pastor. With the church expanding in membership and ministry, CPC in 2015 called Rev. Genesis Auste as its Associate Pastor. In 2018, CPC’s Elder Victoria Barner was commissioned by the Presbytery to be a Commissioned Lay Pastor, joining the CPC Pastoral Team in its ministry.
Considered today as the largest Filipino Presbyterian Church in the United States, Calvary Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, CA, continues to grow numerically and spiritually. To God be the glory, Amen!