New York Avenue Presbyterian Church
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The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The church is a part of the history of the United States. The Scottish artisans building the White House worshipped on its grounds; they and their families formed a worshipping community that eventually merged with another to form The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, located just three blocks from that original worship site.
President Abraham Lincoln worshipped regularly at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church during the American Civil War. The Reverend Peter Marshall preached many famous sermons during World War II from its pulpit. (The original church was torn down in the 1950's and replaced with an enlarged structure which slightly resembles the old one.)
The Reverend Dr. George MacPherson Docherty preached a Lincoln Day sermon on February 7, 1954 to a congregation that included President Dwight Eisenhower. The sermon, titled "A New Birth of Freedom," prompted the U.S. Congress to amend the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States, inserting the phrase "under God".
Martin Luther King, Jr. preached at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church during the Civil Rights struggles.
