Christ United Presbyterian Church
1700 Sutter Street

Christ United Presbyterian Church (CUPC), the oldest Japanese Christian Church in the United States, was established in 1885 as the First Japanese Presbyterian Church of San Francisco. In 1916, the Church, later renamed Japanese Federation Church of Christ, moved to 1500 Post Street in San Francisco’s Japantown.

Executive Order 9066 sent church members to concentration camps with the majority going to Topaz, Utah. Upon their return in 1945, church facilities were used as temporary hostels for the homeless Japanese Americans who were returning to San Francisco Bay Area. In 1966, the church again changed its name to Christ United Presbyterian Church and after being forced to move by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency in 1975, moved to its current location at 1700 Sutter Street.

The congregation is made up of multiracial and bilingual members, and holds bilingual Sunday worship service and fellowship hour. It also hosts church-wide gatherings and events, youth activities, bible studies, adult study forums, the CUPC Summer Camp for children (since 1976), and the Nihonmachi Little Friends’ after-school program.

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