Welcome to Southminster Presbyterian Church – a congregation in the heart of Brookside known for our commitment to community care, justice, and discipleship. We hope you will visit us and experience the warmth and welcome of our growing community. At our core, Southminster is a gathering of people informed by love of God, love of neighbor, and love of one another. We have a rich history of missional and justice work in the neighborhood, an amazing facility that supports a variety of organizations and partnerships, and we are excited to live our commitment to love and serve in new and expanding ways.
Rev. Olivia Lane, 10th Installed Minister of Southminster Presbyterian Church
Wherever you are on your journey of faith you are welcome among us. In our pews you will find those who are steeped in Presbyterian tradition and those who are new to the Christian faith. Young and old alike find a sanctuary for their lives in our congregation.
To learn more about our church community, I encourage you to visit our facebook page and explore our website. Our services livestream on Facebook at 11 am CST each Sunday, and we have a variety of offerings for formation and life in this community; we would love to get you connected in meaningful ways in daily life. If you would like to know more, please contact us.
Southminster Presbyterian Church seeks to be a place where you can foster a living faith as you seek to know and love God and neighbor. Join us and partner with us on this journey. We look forward to welcoming you.
Every Blessing,
Rev. Olivia Lane — Pastor
WELCOME TO SOUTHMINSTER
Since 1945, Southminster has worshipped in the city of Tulsa.
Whether you are new to the community or a life long member, there is a home for you for worship and service at Southminster. Join us for worship on Sunday, study throughout the week, or simply stop by the building to say “hello”. We are a church that strives to be The Heart of Brookside. We would love to be that with you.
We worship on Sunday mornings at 11a - currently in person and online. When we return to in-person church, we will have Sunday School at 9:45, welcome time at 10:30, and then service at 11a. Youth meet at 9:45 and 2p.
Who We Are
A Loving Community of Faith
Inclusive and Welcoming of All
Family-Centered and Multigenerational
Passionate About Worship
Missionally Active
Focused on Spiritual Formation
HISTORY
Southminster Presbyterian Church was chartered February 25, 1945, as a United Presbyterian of North America (UPNA) congregation of 83 members. Southminster has since been a part of two subsequent reunions with other branches of the Presbyterian family: in 1958, when the UPNA joined with the PCUSA (North) and in 1983, when the PCUSA joined with the PCUS (South). Today the church is a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Our founding Pastor, Dr. James L. Cottrell, evangelized the Brookside neighborhood on bicycle in 1944-45, since gas rationing was still in effect. The original wooden prefab building was about 32′ deep by 64′ long and was located east of the Fellowship Hall. The original sanctuary was completed in 1949. The Fellowship Hall and educational wing were built in 1952. Both areas have since been extensively remodeled. Cottrell Hall was completed in 1958. In 2007, a modern Community Center was added with full kitchen, dining space, gym, workout facilities, running track, and classrooms.
Southminster is The Heart of Brookside and looks forward to a bright future of serving our neighbors and community.
Past pastors: Dr. Herbert B. Anderson, Dr. Lorenz W. Huenemann, Dr. Douglas K. Fletcher, Drs. J. David Fletcher and Judy Fletcher (co-pastors), Dr. Stephen Smith, Dr. Sam Huan, and Rev. Tim Blodgett.
Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery
Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery exists to glorify God by serving congregations as they make and equip disciples for Jesus Christ, and by linking congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) within the diversity of Christ’s larger mission. The presbytery stretches from Kansas to Texas, from Arkansas to the middle of the state.
Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery includes:
94 ministers
38 serve congregations
12 non-parish ministers
39 honorably retired
20 Commissioned Ruling Elders
20 Lay Preachers
5 Inquirers for ministry
9 Candidates for ministry
65 congregations
3 Larger Parishes:
Choctaw Agency (11 congregations)
Indian Parish (3 congregations)
Bryan County Parish (2 congregations)
8,554 members
49% of our congregations have 50 or fewer members.
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church (USA), or PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S., and known for its relatively progressive stance on doctrine. The PC(USA) was established by the 1983 merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, whose churches were located in the Southern and border states, with the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, whose congregations could be found in every state.
The denomination had 1,572,660 active members and 20,077 ordained ministers in 9,642 congregations at the end of 2015. This number does not include the inactive members also affiliated. Its membership has been declining over the past several decades. The PC(USA) remains the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that 1% of the U.S population self-identify as PC(USA). In 2012-14, when all members were included, it was reported to have 2.8 million total. The PC(USA) is a member of the National Council of Churches, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Council of Churches (WCC), and Christian Churches Together. Denominational offices are located in Louisville, Kentucky. The WCC reports that the PC(USA) has a higher possible number of 1.9 million members.
We choose welcome
pcusa.org/wechoosewelcome
With Presbyterians across the globe, we choose welcome….
“To welcome others is a central value of the Christian faith, shared by most of the world’s religions. The call to welcome the stranger is so common in the Bible that one must wonder if it is so oft repeated because of its importance, or because we are so quick to disregard it. In this time of great global and domestic conflict, perhaps both are true.
In the midst of fear of terrorism and radicalism, we choose to welcome those who flee from terror and tyranny.
In the midst of hate speeches and hate crimes, we choose to welcome those who are rejected because of their skin color or their foreign dress.
In the midst of anxiety about our own economic prosperity, we choose to welcome those who come from distant lands to labor in our fields and our warehouses.
In the midst of political debates which seek to divide us between those who are born here and those who are not, we choose welcome, a welcome for all children of God, proclaiming one household.”
Inclusion Statement & Mission Call
ALL are Welcome
Southminster stands with our community in the fight against systemic racism and against LGBTQ+ and gender discrimination.
We seek change for the vulnerable and the marginalized among us and embrace our call to seek justice in the world. At Southminster, we believe God is calling us to love all our neighbors, stand with the vulnerable, speak up for those who are not being heard or cannot speak for themselves.
These are the principles that have shaped our traditions and have driven our church mission efforts to this day. Our members have a history of preparing and serving dinners monthly for the Day Center for the Homeless, supporting South Tulsa Community House with our donations and Emergency Infant Services with volunteers, supplies and donations. Southminster members have voluntarily taught classes of inmates at the Tulsa County jail.
Our Mission committee sponsors a “Feed my Sheep Bag” project every month where members bring bags of needed items benefitting different non-profits. We collect coins to fund building water wells in Malawi and have a “Neighbors in Need” project to assist those who call on the church.
Our Community Center space is often occupied by Senior Center clients exercising in the gymnasium, playing pickle ball, bridge, chess or taking a class and Crossroads Clubhouse group may be busy upstairs or preparing lunch in our kitchen. There may be an AA or Alanon meeting, Swing Dance Club or The Brookside Neighborhood Association might be holding a meeting. A group traveling to a mission trip site might be spending the night at Southminster. We see maintaining our Community Center for such uses as part of our local mission.
