A Brief History of The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy

The Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy had its beginnings 200 years ago when the Presbytery of Missouri was organized on December 18, 1817. It included Missouri and the western two-thirds of Illinois, which at that time had no Presbyterian churches.

In 1816, the Rev. Salmon Giddings accepted the commission of the Connecticut Home Missionary Society to come to St. Louis and the Missouri Territory. Giddings was one of five founding pastors of the Presbytery of Missouri. (He organized six congregations in Missouri and six in Illinois.)

Presbytery boundaries changed over the years. The Illinois side of the river became part of the Presbytery of Indiana in October 1828, but by January 1829 the Presbytery of Kaskaskia was organized for the Illinois churches.

The Civil War ripped the church apart. As a border state Missouri had divided loyalties which were reflected in the churches. One of the earliest martyrs of the abolitionist cause was Elijah Parish Lovejoy who came to St. Louis as a newspaper writer. In 1832 at age 30 he entered the ministry after completing the Princeton Seminary three-year course in fourteen months. Upon his return to St. Louis he served as pastor of Des Peres Presbyterian Church and editor of the religious paper “The St. Louis Observer.” His controversial editorials about slavery aroused passions on both sides. Vandals wrecked his printing press several times and Lovejoy moved his paper to Alton, IL, but opposition followed him. On November 7, 1837, Lovejoy was killed by a mob while trying to protect his press. He became in death a national symbol for the abolitionist movement.

During various mergers the Presbytery name remained the Presbytery of St. Louis. In 1969, the Presbytery of Iron Mountain and the Presbytery of St. Louis combined to form the Presbytery of Southeast Missouri (USA). At the same time in the Presbyterian Church US, the Presbytery of Potosi joined with the St. Louis Presbytery to form the Presbytery of Southeast Missouri.

In 1972 twenty Illinois churches from the Alton Presbytery joined with the Presbytery of Southeast Missouri to form the Presbytery of Elijah Parish Lovejoy.

In 1985, the Presbytery of Elijah Parish Lovejoy, (USA) and Presbytery of Southeast Missouri (US) became one as the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy after the reunion of the two denominations in 1984.

From Past and Present, Churches of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy, published in 2005 by the History Team of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy.