United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Presbytery of Lansing (Mich.)

The first Michigan presbytery of the Presbyterian Church was established in 1827. As the territory grew in population so too did the number of churches and thus the need for additional presbyteries to oversee and provide guidance to the individual congregations. In 1833, the Synod of Western Reserve meeting in Detroit worked to resolve the problems and opportunities that the rapidly growing territory of Michigan presented. The Synod determined that the Presbytery of Detroit would now consist of all churches in Wayne County. A new Presbytery of St. Joseph would have responsibility for churches west of the Grand Meridian as well as certain churches in Indiana; and a second new presbytery - the Presbytery of Monroe - would consist of all churches east of the Grand Meridian except for the county of Wayne.

Still further presbyteries were needed for Michigan's western region and mid-section, first with the establishment of the Presbytery of St. Joseph (ca. 1833-34) and later, the Presbytery of Marshall (1838). In 1866, the Synod of Michigan constituted the Presbytery of Lansing to include the counties of Eaton, Ingham and Clinton and the western portions of Shiawassee and Livingston. In the next year or so, the Synod decided to merge the presbytery of Marshall and the newly formed presbytery of Lansing into the Presybtery of Lansing. This new body would consist of churches within the counties of Calhoun, Barry, Eaton, Jackson, Ingham, and Clinton. The Presbytery of Lansing held its first meeting in September 1870.

At the 173rd meeting of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church meeting in May 1961 a resolution was discussed and approved merging and realigning the churches within the Lansing Presbytery effective January 1, 1962. The Presbytery of Lansing was dissolved. In its place, the General Assembly created two new presbyteries: the Presbytery of Grand River and the Presbytery of Southern Michigan.

From the guide to the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Presbytery of Lansing, Records, 1870-1962, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)