Covenant's History

In 1954 sheep grazed in the vicinity of our current church building, and Albuquerque was a growing city - spreading out in all directions. That same year the Rev. John M. Orr was called to organize a church in the northeast heights, and on the first Sunday of January, 1955, twenty-seven people gathered as the nucleus of Covenant Presbyterian Church. The original building was actually composed of barracks which had formerly been used as a maternity ward. John Orr served the congregation until his untimely death in 1966, and the Rev. Bill Knobloch became the pastor in December of that year, serving until his retirement in June of 1982. During Rev. Knobloch's tenure a major building and renovation project was begun which included a new space for worship.

Dr. John Cushman became Covenant's third pastor in 1983, and the same year the Covenant Corner Preschool was established and continues to serve the community today. In 1995 the Rev. Jan Butin joined the staff as the first associate pastor and worked with the congregation until 2002. That year Dr. Cushman left Covenant for Utah. Covenant called the Rev. Catherine Robinson to assume the leadership of this church. She was installed on September 26, 2004, and immediately became involved in the 50th anniversary celebration. Rev Seth Finch became our associate pastor in August of 2008. Upon the departure of Catherine Robinson, Rev. Finch was called to assume the role of Pastor/Head of Staff. This congregation has a history of widespread support for many mission projects, an exciting music program, children, youth, and adult activities, and community involvement, We look forward to another 50 years of serving the people of northeast Albuquerque.