Jim and Minnie McKnight were Presbyterian missionaries who served for 15 years prior to World War II in the Sudan region of Africa. Their family and friends established an endowed fund at First Presbyterian to honor the McKnights and to encourage individuals to participate in the life-changing experience of visiting...
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR J.C. AUSTIN: “What’s the Deal with… the Offering (and Pledging)?” (part of an occasional series on aspects of being Presbyterian) When you talk to people who have little experience with Christian worship, one of the things that often strikes them as the most odd when they...
Remembering All Saints November 1 is designated as All Saints’ Day on the Christian calendar every year. This year, we’ll be observing it in worship this Sunday, November 4. But what is All Saints’ Day? In the early years of the Christian church, during the time of Roman persecution of...
Lifting Up Our Hearts: Spiritual Practices Across Faith Traditions Wednesdays: November 7, 14, and 28, and December 5 (no meeting on November 21) 7:00 -8:30 p.m. in the Parlor Often when we hear the words “interfaith dialogue,” we think of discussions about what our various traditions believe, and about areas...
One of the themes of our church over the past year has been that we would become an “experimental church.” That means we would identify potentially fruitful new ideas for our ministry together and then try them out, evaluating what happened so we can learn what we should do next...
The Log College Project needs your help! But let’s take a step back before we get to that. As you hopefully know, the Log College Project is the partnership that we have entered with the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Seminary, which is working with us and 11 other...
One of the most powerful and passionate voices in Christian history about the topic of Christian freedom is John Calvin, the founder of the Reformed Tradition, from which Presbyterianism comes. Calvin has a bad reputation in some circles because of perceptions that he was very rigid and prescriptive in his...
We had a great turnout of pets and their people at our “Blessing of the Animals” on Sunday, Oct. 21. About 25 dogs, one cat, and one guinea pig received the blessing. Many thanks to the volunteers and musicians who made it such a special occasion! See more photos on our Facebook...
The first Sunday in October is celebrated by many different Christian denominations as World Communion Sunday. We observe it as a way of lifting up Christian unity and the commonality of our faith in Christ that transcends the differences of nation, culture, and language without erasing them, so we experience...
On the Road! This past week I was on the road, teaching in two locations in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Last Sunday, I flew to St. Louis after worship to teach a workshop at the annual Stewardship Kaleidoscope conference. I have taught at it every year since it began a...
HEARTS AND MINDS will start this year in room 400 with an examination of Quaker author Philip Gulley’s provocative and engaging classic, “If the Church were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus.” As Gulley notes, “It is apparent, after several millennia of experimentation, that the Ten Commandments we Christians all know and...
By Leslie Pohl FPCB Elder Imagine for a moment that you have to walk two hours just to get to a doctor’s appointment. Imagine for a moment that your children can’t go to school because you can’t afford their uniforms, books, or lunch. Imagine for a moment that your cataracts are so...