Our Denomination

Central is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a mainline Protestant denomination of 1.5 million members and almost 10,000 congregations. The PC(USA) is known for being the most open and inclusive of the Presbyterian bodies in the United States; for decades, women have served in ordained leadership, and more recently the doors have opened for our gay and lesbian members to be married and to serve openly in ministry as well.

Central is one of the leading churches in the Presbytery of Des Moines. Together, we are able to do a lot more in mission than we could ever do on our own:

 

  • Establish a faith-based, non-profit continuing care retirement center—Calvin Community—here in Des Moines.
  • Create a mission partnership with Our Sister Parish in Berlín, El Salvador, and support their mission co-worker there.

The Rev. Ekram Kachu preaches during the closing worship service at the 223rd General Assembly of the PC(USA) meeting in St. Louis. (Photo by Danny Bolin, June 23, 2018) She currently serves the First Arabic Presbyterian Church in Des Moines.