Holy Covenant is located in the fast-growing University area of Charlotte — but our community of faith first formed in 1916 in uptown Charlotte, then a city of about 50,000 people.
Reformed denomination leaders in Newton sent The Rev. Shuford Peeler and his wife from Greensboro to Charlotte to start a mission. They arrived Jan. 1, 1916, and by Jan. 16 had organized the First Reformed Church of Charlotte with 18 charter members.
The fledgling congregation bought land at East Trade and Myers streets, and met at the YWCA for two years while it constructed a church building. First Reformed Church welcomed 15 new members May 1, 1918, the day it held its first service in its new building. The congregation dedicated the church July 14, 1918, and later built built a parsonage and an education building, for a total construction cost of $38,000.
In the 1930s, the Reformed Church merged with the German Evangelical Church to form the Evangelical & Reformed Church. The congregation, now First Evangelical and Reformed, met at Trade and Myers until 1953, when it sold its buildings to Ebenezer Baptist Church and moved to the Plaza area of Charlotte, then considered the suburbs. Members worshiped at Plaza Road School until their new building was finished at Anderson and Byrnes streets — the inaugural service was held in the new education building on June 27, 1954.
In 1957, the United Church of Christ was formed by the union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches — and the local church renamed itself First United Church of Christ.
On May 17, 1992, in an effort to reach Charlotte’s expanding population, the congregation made yet another move. Buying 16.6 wooded acres on Harris Boulevard, we built a place of worship in a natural setting with gardens and walking paths that serves as a respite in the heart of one of the fasted-growing parts of Mecklenburg County. Once again we chose to rename ourselves, this time identifying our character and spirit by choosing Holy Covenant United Church of Christ.
Through the years, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans and people of a range of other cultures have joined with the four original denominations, giving the UCC a rich history of traditions. Today, over 1.5 million people are members of our denomination.