Community of Historic Churches Logo

Christ Church

Church of the Good Shepherd

Edenton Street United Methodist Church

First Baptist Church, Salisbury St.

First Baptist Church, Wilmington St.

First Presbyterian Church

Sacred Heart Church

St. Paul AME Church

Historic
Church Walk

October 7, 2023
9 a.m. to noon
Downtown Raleigh


Raleigh’s Historic Downtown Churches

THE HISTORIC CHURCH WALK IS BACK!

Please use the links to each church to visit our individual websites to learn about current in-person and virtual worship services.

The City of Raleigh is rich in its people, culture, architecture, and numerous historic homes and buildings located in the downtown area. The historic churches surrounding the State Capitol and spanning 200 years of North Carolina history include one Methodist church, two Baptist churches, two Episcopal churches, one Catholic church (formerly the cathedral), one Presbyterian church and one African Methodist Episcopal church. The congregations of all these houses of worship rejoice in their shared love of God and of their brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as their common bonds of mission and ministry within the community and throughout the world.

Christ reminds us in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Raleigh’s historic downtown churches are the PEOPLE who gather together to worship and to serve the Lord. The buildings in which they gather are fine examples of religious architecture, including English Gothic, late Gothic Revival, Romanesque Revival, and Traditional styles. They serve congregants from all over the Triangle area, including the residential populations of Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Garner, Clayton, Durham and Chapel Hill, as well as office, government and retail workers who populate downtown Raleigh during the weekdays. These historic churches provide a unique spiritual and architectural counterpoint to the commercial and institutional structures that surround but cannot diminish them.


A Shared Past, Present and Future

Since the inception of the Community of Historic Churches in 2011, the organizers have found themselves blessed to discover that their churches’ differences are inconsequential when measured against what they share: their place in the history of Raleigh and North Carolina; their challenge to survive and thrive in a modern, urban environment; and their vision for a strong, vital future as they continue to love and serve the Lord.