Presbytery Meetings
Spring Stated Meeting
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Join In-Person or Through Zoom
White Bluff Presbyterian Church
10710 White Bluff Rd. Savannah, GA 31406
11:00AM Lunch | 12:00PM Meeting
If you are unable to attend the Meeting and wish to share your reflections on the conversation on ministry you may complete this survey: Stated Meeting Conversation Survey
Important Notes:
- Reservation is REQUIRED
- As the meeting will be held before Pentecost Sunday, participants are encouraged to wear red to celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit.
- Book Table – With gratitude for the life and ministry of Dr. Jimmy Griffin, Jimmy’s widow Kymberly is making many selections from his library available to those in attendance.
Future Meeting Dates:
- Fall Stated Meeting – Tuesday, October 20th, Location TBD
Presbytery friends,
On behalf of the session and the members of our church, we welcome you to the oldest continuously Calvinist church in the state of Georgia. What is now White Bluff Presbyterian Church was first the White Bluff Meeting House until we joined the presbytery in 1945. Officially founded in 1745, the earliest members of the church were German Dutch farmers who worked out their indenture in Southside Savannah while chattel slavery was still against the law in Georgia.
The trustees of Savannah attempted on many occasions to send Anglican priests to the developing local area, but the fellowship refused to accept them, asserting that they were Reformed. They finally prevailed upon the trustees of the city to send them Reformed clergy. In 1745, a 19-year-old trained Reformed clergyman named John Zubly came from Switzerland to serve the local residents. Zubly went on to serve multiple churches in the area, but is most famous for being the Georgia delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
Another pastor of note, Thomas Goulding, was ordained here on this campus and went on to be the founder of Columbia Theological Seminary. White Bluff has seen many seasons in 281 years, and we have learned many historical lessons. We invite you, if you have time and curiosity, to walk our timeline of history, located in the Education Building, a project we constructed in celebration of our 280th anniversary.
Today, White Bluff Presbyterian Church has returned to the Meeting House model of ministry, well established by those who have come before us. Our buildings play host to an intentional network of social service agencies that operate on campus. We have Inspiritus, Neighbors Feeding Neighbors food pantry, AA, The Grow Initiative, Catholic Charities, Scouting USA, and Coastal Georgia Memories all holding offices and serving their clients here. The church, we believe, is meant to serve our neighbors and to build community for human thriving. Although our membership numbers have shifted over time, we are still doing ministry in partnership with these agencies. And we believe this allows us to be a church reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God.
Thank you for traveling to meet with us here. We welcome you as sisters and brothers in the grace of Christ, and we offer our blessings to you, your families, your communities, and your ministries. May God lead and guide us all as we navigate the world as it is, holding on to our faith and giving our best in worship and in service with one another.
Grace and peace attend us,
Pastor John G. Ruehl, IV
Savannah Presbytery is made up of all congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) located within the geographical bounds of Savannah Presbytery except any congregations which are members of non-geographic presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The presbytery meets in person at least three times per year, usually in October, February, and May. The location of presbytery meetings ordinarily rotates among the different churches. A Zoom option is available when the Wi-Fi and technological system of the host church allow for it. A quorum for a meeting of the presbytery consists of one-quarter of the minister members of the presbytery plus ruling elder commissioners from one quarter of the member congregations of the presbytery.