Author: Webmaster

Dear Friends,

As I am writing this, Thanksgiving is just two days away and the Christmas season is ready to burst onto the scene in all it green and red splendor. “To do” lists and “should do” lists are growing. Tension and anxiety are rising as we begin the countdown to Christmas morning.

It is time for us to step back for a moment and take a breath and remember that often repeated phrase, “Remember the reason for the season.”

As Christians, that reason is the remembrance of the birth of Jesus the Christ, an event which changed the world. We believe that God so loved the world that he sent his Son to be born into our world as one of us to teach us of God and of the ways we must live to insure heaven on earth and life everlasting.

That is the thread we must hold on to as the craziness of the season swirls around us. And then we can celebrate this awesome gift that has been given by sharing the joy with family and friends.

Here at First Presbyterian Church we can join in the spirit of anticipation as each Sunday we light a candle on our Advent wreath and sing those beloved hymns of which we never grow tired.

We can contribute gifts to the shower for Mary and Joseph which go to the Salvation Army Safe House and the Samaritan Center. They are truly gifts of compassion and caring.

We can attend the pot luck luncheon, silent auction, and quilt drawing, and spend time sharing and celebrating our memories and the rich history of this community of faith and of service.

We can support our special free pancake breakfast, our hearty and delicious Christmas gift to the greater community.

If for reasons, perhaps known only to you, celebrating in the usual way is difficult or painful, the Blue Christmas Service, contemplative and subdued, is offered.

And always there is the Christmas Eve Service of carols and candles when the anticipation of the birth of the beloved Savior is finally and forever realized. On Christmas morning, at a warm and casual 10:30 am service, you can continue the celebration.

It is just a short week later that we welcome in a brand new year with more opportunity to learn and to grow and to serve in the name of the One we welcome again and yet again.

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to one and all!

Pastor Beth

Dear Friends,

Fall has most certainly arrived and settled in. The vibrant colors have faded to a lovely more muted hue. To me, it always seems a good time to sit back and reflect on our lives, to recall where we have been, who has walked with us, what we have learned, how over the years we have grown, and yes, continue to grow.  I trust that as the years pass we grow in wisdom, in love, in compassion and yes, in patience and in appreciation. It can be sad or melancholy time, but most I find that I am filled with gratitude.

I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to get to know many of you as I settle into your church home. It has truly been a blessing. I am grateful for my week studying The Art of Transitional Ministry at Princeton Seminary and pray that it will prove to have been of value to the church and its future.

This is not just a season for reflection, it is a season to look ahead to celebration, to Thanksgiving and to Christmas, to times with family and friends.  I am hopeful that together we can focus on the celebration and help one another to alleviate the frenzy and the stress that can so easily detract from the joy.

We are people of joy and of light and of endless possibilities.

This season may the peace of Christ be with us and the love of God sustain us we look back with appreciation and look ahead with boundless hope.

Peace,
Pastor Beth