Sharing God's love, welcome and justice on our corner, in our city, and in the world

Join us for Worship every Sunday at 11:00 AM

1751 Sacramento St, San Francisco | Free Parking | Kid Friendly |  Get Directions  

       Join us in our weekly worship      

Click here for online streaming worship

Click here for Sunday's bulletin

We Choose Welcome

Old First Presbyterian Church enthuiastically invites all people into  our community!

This church was the first Protestant congregation established on the west coast of the U.S. during the gold rush.  And we are  proud now to continue sharing Christ's love, justice, and welcome to modern seekers who arrive in San Francisco now 175 years later. We have taken a leadership role both locally and nationally welcoming LGBTQIA+ Christians into full participation in the life and leadership of the Presbyterian Church. We strive to bring hope, joy and justice reaching out to people of all ethnicities, incomes, races, and life situations, and like Jesus, we always try to offer a smile and welcome the outcasts.

We hope you will come visit and consider becoming part of our community. We want to know you and share your own particular gifts, experience, and insights with us on our corner, in our city, and in our world.

Old First Presbyterian Church is an Open and Affirming Church

Donate to Old First here 

Volunteer for Old First here

Worship & Music

We worship every Sunday at 11:00 am both in person in our beautiful sanctuary and on line via YouTube livestream. We celebrate communion on the third Sunday of the month. Worship is our joyful praise and thanks to God - our celebration of God's Love.

We have a wonderful choir singing a mixture of classical and modern music and singers are always welcome.  Our organ is one of the most renowned in the city.  We founded and support an amazing variety of new artists each week in our Old First Concerts programs.  

Service

Bringing God's love,  welcome,  justice, in our neighborhood, city and world and working to make the world a better place for all are important to us. We are a founding member of the weekly interfaith food pantry every Saturday and host a free community meal on the 4th Saturday of each month. We work with many local, national, and international groups to promote racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, and other human rights, to end gun violence, and to help immigrants.

We feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, and work for justice. We always need volunteers to help with all of these projects.

Learn More

Education

We believe that learning and growth are important for all ages. We offer regular book studies, Bible studies, theological discussions, and topical classes for adults on issues important in our culture.  Small groups meet on Zoom and in members' homes for study and support. We make time and space for children in worship and offer regular, broadly graded children's church school every 1st and 3nd Sundy. We also have excellent childrens' and adults' libraries.

We love to read and support the Little Free Library on Sacramento Street.  Bring you books to share with the community. 

From Religious News Service: After clergy arrests, religious pushback to ICE expands in Chicago

(RNS) — More than 210 mostly Chicago-area clergy, representing a range of liberal and conservative traditions, have signed a letter criticizing ICE titled ‘Jesus is Being Tear Gassed at Broadview.’

The Rev. Hannah Kardon, left, is pulled from a group of demonstrators by Illinois State Police outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, Oct. 17, 2025. (Video screen grab)

By Jack Jenkins, October 21, 2025

(RNS) — Last Friday (Oct. 17), the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist minister in the Chicago area, stood alongside other protesters demonstrating outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Illinois. As a line of Illinois State Police began marching toward her and other demonstrators, gripping wooden batons, footage shows the pastor with her hands raised in prayer.

Officers then pushed into the protesters, forcing them back. One officer shifted his stance, reared back and began shoving his baton like a battering ram — jamming it repeatedly, Kardon says, into her leg. A few seconds later, the pastor was pulled from the crowd and thrown to the ground.

All the while, Kardon says, she never stopped praying. When officers began to arrest her, they tied her arms behind her back and placed her along the curb.

To read the whole article, click here:  Religious News Service

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The weekly food pantry needs YOU any Saturday morning! 

Volunteer at the Food Pantry and make a real difference! The Interfaith Food Pantry feeds 350 people every Saturday morning! We work from 7:30 to 11:30 am at Old First Presbyterian Church. If you have a compassionate heart, strong arms, and you are able to be on your feet all that time, please come. We need 20 people a week.

Click here to sign up


 

What's Happening at Old First

Glenda Hope

Celebrated

On Sunday, September 28 we celebrated the Reverend Glenda Hope who was ordained at Old First Presbyterian Church 55 years ago. Glenda was among the first women ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church. She preached for us and we celebrated her ministry of love and justice that continues today. Worship was followed by a special coffee hour in her honor.

The president of Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education sent a proclamation to honor their almuna, Glenda.  

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Beginning in October

Securing Our Future

Sharing God's Love, Welcome, and Justice

On October 5, the Old First Capital Campaign Committee announced they had already raised over half of the money to fund restoration and infrastructure improvement for our hundred-year-old building. Now, they are asking everyone to pledge and complete the project, make improvements to our space, and support ministry on our corner, in our city, and in the world. 10% of all donations will go to fund other organizations working for love, justice and welcome in San Francisco 

Projects include stopping water intrusion, repairing and restoring the beautiful exterior doors and windows, refinishing floors downstairs, re-painting, and other things to making Old First a safe, welcoming, and beautiful space for worship and community life for the coming years.

Watch your U.S. mail for a pledge form, or contact a member of the committee, by clicking below:

EMAIL THE CAPITAL FUNDS COMMITTEE

Coming Soon

Old First Mural

for our Neighborhood

This mural at Laguna Honda Hospital shows the style of painting of our artist Deirdre Weinberg.

Renowned mural artist Deirdre Weinberg and our own Kirk Schwartzmann will design the mural for the garage wall behind the church on Sacramento Street. The theme is "Love and Justice in our Neighborhood" as we celebrate the Polk Gulch neighborhood and Old First's contribution to it. It will feature our feeding ministries, music, and inclusiveness. A group of church and community members met with the artists in August to share ideas.  Deirdre and Kurt are in the design process now.  We hope to have church and community members participate with Deirdre and Kurt in the painting process beginning in October.

This is the blank wall on the side of the garage where the mural will go:

Contact Chris Burt by clicking below to volunteer in the project.  

Volunteer to help with mural

November 2

Remembering our Saints

All Saints Day

Each year on All Saints’ Sunday, we remember the members and friends of Old First who’ve died over the past year – since last All Saints’ – and give God thanks for their lives.  We will ring a bell for each of them to remember those "saints" we know who have left us.

This year we will also remember those who have died while living on the streets or on the margins of the city, To do this, we will display banners including their names in our sanctuary so that they, too, will not be forgotten.

Please let the church office know of the saints in your life whom you would like to be remembered this coming All Saints’ Sunday, November 2. Simply E-mail Brad by Wednesday, October 29, with a) their names, b) your relationship to them, and c) their dates of death: Just use the button below.

Click here to send names to be remembered