Vision

Loving and meeting All on a Christ-centered journey.

Values

Christ-Centered. Relevance. Hospitality. Community.

Discipleship. Diversity. Service. Curiosity.

Our History

The mosaic pictured here is of the women who visited Jesus’s tomb the first Easter morning.

When we gather at Immanuel to worship, we are reminded of the resurrection of Jesus and these women who first heard and told the good news.

Our church begins with the story of these women.

They refused to remain silent.

Because of their witness and testimony, the good spread and flourished. And the Church was born.

We are grateful for their witness, even today, along with so many others, like Mrs. Morrison.

In 1879, Mrs. Morrison heard a sermon at Second Church, Cincinnati. The minister challenged “do something yourself ~ don’t wait for others to do it.” Mrs. Morrison took that challenge to heart.

She gathered two couples, along with her husband, and they decided to organize an afternoon Sunday School. On November 2nd, thirty-five children gathered in the Town Council Chamber in Clifton. And soon after adults began to attend. It did not take long before they outgrew the Council Chamber and moved to a large hall of the school. Sunday evening services started, followed by midweek prayer gatherings . . . and conversations about forming a Presbyterian congregation.

Land was purchased in 1882. And on August 25th Immanuel Presbyterian Church was incorporated. Construction began and the church was dedicated on Easter in 1885. What an amazing witness of the Good News.

The Immanuel Nursery School was founded in 1929 by Margaret Benton. The school continues today as the Child Development Center, where her vision, work, and dedication continue. Ms. Benton often said during her forty years as the school’s administrator, “Never underestimate the mind of a child.”

The church remained committed to education with its active Sunday School program and interactions with the University of Cincinnati—including its ongoing relationship with the College-Conservatory of Music.

Throughout its history, the men and women of Immanuel work together to support the needs of their community through various missions. From the Women’s Foreign and Home Missionary Societies of the 1890s to the churchwide efforts of today, Immanuel has kept a focus on the needs of others.

As the community of Immanuel looks forward in service, we pray for the same boldness, initiative, and courage as those who worked so diligently to share the good news before us.