Westminster Presbyterian Church was officially constituted as a local church with an organizational meeting held on July 30, 1961. At this first meeting, the congregation selected the name Westminster, called a pastor and elected elders and deacons.

FORT WALTON BEACH — Westminster Presbyterian Church will celebrate 50 years of establishment with several events planned for the weekend of May 14-15.

All activities will take place at the church located at 2 Woodham Ave. The community is invited to join in the celebration.

Saturday’s schedule will start at 2 p.m., and the focus will be on celebrating God’s faithfulness to the church in its past. There will be displays and presentations of history, ministries and activities with time to mix, reminisce and sing. A fellowship meal will be provided at 6 p.m.

On Sunday, the focus will shift to looking to God for the future. Activities begin at 9 a.m. with a presentation by one of the church’s former pastors (1982-1988), Robert C. Wilson, of Winston-Salem, N.C.

Worship service will be at 10:15 a.m., led by current pastor (1989-present), William H. Tyson, and will include special music by the children’s choir.

The worship service will be followed by a “pot-predestined” dinner, also known as “potluck.” The dinner and celebration will conclude with a short presentation of the church’s vision for the next 50 years.

WPC was officially constituted as a local church with an organizational meeting held on July 30, 1961. At this first meeting, the congregation selected the name Westminster, called a pastor and elected elders and deacons.

The reason for this formation of a new church was to provide a Bible-oriented church of the reformed faith with special emphasis on evangelism and world missions.

The founding pastor was Carroll R. Stegall, and he served until 1969. Initial worship services were held at Cinco Baptist Church but soon moved to what is now Meigs Middle School cafetorium. At that time, the facility was known as Choctawhatchee High School.

In August 1961, WPC bought its existing property and then made a successful offer of $250 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a surplus chapel at Fort Rucker, Alabama that had been built in World War II.
The chapel was disassembled, moved here and re-erected. The first worship service in the new sanctuary was held on Mother’s Day, May 13, 1962. The sanctuary was air-conditioned a few years later with the purchase of a surplus system from the Eglin Climatic Hangar.

Several major building additions have been made over the years. After 40-plus years, the quaint charm of the interior of the WWII chapel had dulled slightly, and, in 2005, the sanctuary interior received a major renovation including new windows. Interior colonial shutters were installed in the sanctuary in 2010.

When first organized, WPC had no formal denominational ties. The Presbyterian Church In America (PCA) came into existence in 1973 and Westminster transferred to the Gulf Coast Presbytery of the PCA in 1976.

For more information on the 50th Anniversary Celebration and the history of Westminster Church, contact the church office at 862-8825 or visit the Westminster website at: http://www.wpc-pca.com.

Source: Northwest Florida Daily News