About Our Church

Our History:

In July 1882 Don José Gurulé, a descendant of early Placitas settlers, took his ox team to Bernalillo to haul freight. There he met José Ynés Perea—the first Presbyterian Spanish minister ordained by the Santa Fe Presbytery in New Mexico.

Rev. Perea accepted Gurulé's invitation to hold services in Placitas, then left the work to be continued by John Menaul. He organized an 80 member church which eventually dissolved.

The church was officially established February 24, 1894. After compelling sermons by J.Y. Perea and James Menaul, 95 people voted to found Las Placitas Presbyterian Church with 39 charter members. Menaul immediately ordained newly elected elders Francisco Trujillo and Juan Baros, and Perea administered the Lord's Supper.

The new congregation met in the Mission School until 1930, when a new building was finished, which we now know as the Upper Room. In 1984 the current Sanctuary and most of the Fellowship Hall were added. The newest addition, including the Educational Wing was dedicated on May 15, 2005.

Placitas is located 20 miles northeast of Albuquerque (Map to Church) at an altitude of 6,000 feet.  The village sits at the base of the Sandia mountains and has many vineyards, gardens and small orchards which are watered from mountain springs through acequias madres (mother ditches) built long ago.   It is suspected that the village is built on Anasazi ruins. 

Mission Statement:

Las Placitas Presbyterian Church is an inclusive community of all ages gathering for worship, prayer, learning, fellowship, and spiritual growth.  As members of the body of Christ, we celebrate God's grace in our lives and seek to extend God's love and promise through service, outreach, education, music, arts, and witness. We are committed to peace and justice in the world, and to care for the earth as God's gift to humankind.

We cherish our origin as an early Spanish village mission church and honor this heritage in all of our activities. 

We are Presbyterian in theology and governance, but welcome and support all people as they explore their personal life paths, emphasizing Christ's word, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." 

- Matthew 18:20

Our Spanish Heritage: 

In honor of our congregation's Spanish heritage, we include Spanish elements in the liturgy in every service.  The Spanish hymn is usually from the red hymn book. An English translation of the lesson read in Spanish is printed in the bulletin.

Our Commitments:

Las Placitas Presbyterian Church (LPPC) is a part of The Covenant Network of Presbyterians which is a broad-based, national group of clergy and lay leaders working for a church that is simultaneously faithful, just, and whole. We seek to support the mission and unity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in a time of potentially divisive controversy. We intend to articulate and act on the church's historic, progressive vision and to work for a fully inclusive church. We are committed to finding a way both to live out the graciously hospitable gospel we have received and to live together with all our fellow members in the PC(USA).

In 1998 the Session of LPPC adopted a Commitment to Peacemaking, incorporating peacemaking into the life and mission of the congregation.  We believe Christians do peacemaking because we are a people who know God's peace.