Dear Friends, As the Thanksgiving season approaches, we have so much for which to be thankful at First Presbyterian Church: three hundred people came to our third annual Spring for Kids, fifty-five children participated for the five days of our Vacation Bible School, we have started an exciting new Sunday School program for children, our Thursday Morning Bible Study consistently gathers 15-20 participants every week, the Good News Café is in its tenth year of service to our s

Dear Friends, The temperature for this weekend is predicted to be 94 degrees. I guess summer is finally here! We are fortunate to live in an area of the country where we have some beautiful summers. I am reminded of the words to a hymn: “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies.” I do hope you and your loved ones will be able to enjoy this time of year, especially after the winter we had. Here at First Presbyterian Church, things don’t slow down during the summ

Dear Friends, As I write this, I’m still basking in the glow of another successful Spring for Kidz Carnival a few days ago. About three hundred people showed up and, judging from the feedback, they all had a great time! Financially it was a success as well. While I am of course very pleased about this success, what impressed me the most was the hard work of so many of you who came together to make this event happen in the first place! A special “Thank You!” to Oressa Campbell

Dear Friends, In an article entitled “Eleven Characteristics of Effective Smaller Churches,” David R. Ray states that there are faithful and exceptional qualities that effective smaller churches have that make them successful. Among these are: worship, taking advantage of your size, a family spirit, have fun, commit to mission, find your distinctive niche, pastoral leadership, effectiveness of laity, using resources wisely, “Thrive! Don’t just survive,” and nurturing a passio

Dear Friends, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” We hear and celebrate those words on Easter Day with trumpet, and hymns, and beautiful flowers and this year Easter Sunday, April 1st, will be no exception. I hope you will be with us as we celebrate the Resurrection! Easter is more than a day; it should be a way of life for all of us who claim to follow Jesus. We are called “Easter People” because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we live with the assurance that life is

Dear Friends, On Sunday, October 22nd, a new chapter in the life of our congregation began: we broke ground for our new addition! It was a beautiful day. Construction should begin in early November and should be completed by Easter, April 1st, next year. As I look back on the last twenty-seven years, I feel blessed to be the pastor of a congregation that takes risks. In 1991, this church took a major risk when we doubled the size of our church building by the construction of

Dear friends, If you had told me when I first arrived as your pastor in 1990, that we would be involved in two major building expansion projects, buy two houses, increase our budget 400% to include adding staff and greatly expanding our outreach to the community, I would have found it hard to believe. But, with God’s gracious providence, that is exactly what we have done here in Hawley over the last 27 years! Now we are embarking on yet another major building expansion. When

Dear Friends, The Fall season is now upon us. The days are getting shorter and the night air is definitely cooler. School children are going back to school and college students are already back in class. We in the Presbyterian/Reformed tradition have always valued education. The “Father” of Presbyterianism, John Calvin, started Europe’s first public school in 1559 in Geneva, Switzerland. Calvin believed that educating young people was a necessity for society at large, not ju

Dear Friends, Although the song says, “June is bustin’ out all over,” around First Presbyterian Church it is “May is bustin’ out all over!” With three major events, the Presbyterian Women’s Luncheon, the Relay for Life, and “Spring for Kidz,” plus all the regular activities, May is really busting out! We have just celebrated Easter and are still in the Easter season. Do we live and act like a Pre-Easter Church or a Post-Easter Church? In other words, do we live as Ea