Pulaski Heights Christian Church
Pulaski Heights Christian Church is located at 4724 Hillcrest Avenue in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas. The Disciples of Christ church was established in 1927 by thirty-three local residents who called missionary Joseph Hunter as their first pastor. During the Great Depression the church began using a "Treasury Chest" instead of offering plates to reduce the unease of impoverished members. The church offers the chest as an option in giving to this day.
During World War II church pastors offered their services at the Japanese American internment camps at Rohwer and Jasper, Arkansas. The church also assisted organized labor in the decade by helping establish the Religion and Labor Fellowship. In 1957 church pastor Colbert Cartwright joined the Little Rock Nine on their walk to Central High School. The church suffered in membership as members of the community took sides in the Little Rock Crisis. In 1959 the congregation moved into a new sanctuary. The stained glass windows were donated anonymously by Winthrop Rockefeller. The church served as the site of a city-wide 1969 "Service of Reconciliation" following the civil rights struggle between blacks and whites in the community.
Pulaski Heights Christian Church is one of eight founding members of the local Interfaith Hospitality Network for homeless families. In the 1990s the church, a mainline Protestant denomination, became "Open and Affirming" to members of the gay and lesbian community.
