Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque isnt the only house of worship located on the old cross-country highway.

Not by a long shot. Route 66, after all, passed through some keys states in the  Bible Belt, including Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Churches were as plentiful as Whiting Bros service stations in the heyday of Route 66.  

But Immanuel Presbyterian can confidently claim to be the primus inter pares among the many roadside houses of worship thanks to its website at Rt66church.com

Even without the spiffy URL, Immanuel Presbyterians claim to the title is probably as good as any other churchs. Maybe better.  

For starters, it was organized in 1948, just as Route 66 was entering its prime.  

The sanctuary itself, built shortly thereafter, was designed by noted architect John Gaw Meem in his signature Spanish Pueblo revival style, a style that is almost as emblematic of the old highway in places like New Mexico, Arizona and California as the Route 66 sign itself. A view from the bell tower is on the left.

Rev. Joyce Lieberman (pictured), who with her husband Chris, runs Immanuel Presbyterian, admits that only a handful of Route 66 travelers stop into the church each week and that probably half of them come to look around, not to worship.

But Liebermans OK with that. Shes also OK with the fact that most of the members of her congregation, which numbers 400, don’t have what she calls “Presbyterian roots.” Instead, they are spirtual wanderers — as much travelers as the folks who drive past on Route 66. And like those drivers, they sometimes grow tired of the journey they’ve been on, and they look for a place to pull off and rest.

“People are seeking spiritual meaningfulness that is not based on Denominationalism,” she says. “Denominationalism is a thing of the past,” Lieberman says. 

Photos: James Kelleher, Albuquerque, New Mexico May 17, 2007