A Letter from the Interim Pastor

As we come to the end of a month of special services celebrating God’s faithfulness to First Presbyterian over the decades of its life during the 1920s, ’40s, ’50s, and this coming Sunday, the ’60s, we have gotten a glimpse of the changing patterns of worship, the style and song of past days, and we’ve seen some great hats! More strikingly, we’ve also heard of the great challenges faced by our forebears in faith, the economic strife at the end of the ’20s and through the ’30s, the sacrifices of war time in the ’40s, the baby boom of the ’50s, and the social changes and challenges of the ’60s.

We have seen how God was faithful to our congregation through all these passages in our life together, and, how by God’s Spirit, each generation was enabled to be faithful in the challenges of its own day. I hope you can come to the congregational luncheon this coming Sunday, and to share in remembering and celebrating all that God has done in leading us through the past years.

In looking through church newsletters from the 1960s, I found an entry, “from the Pastor’s Study,” from Rev. John R. Stewart, that sounds an echo down the years to those of us who today are part of the church.  He writes:

“In Berkshire, England, there is a small village church which has stood for many centuries.  Over the years, an interesting tradition has developed within this parish as part of its evensong service.

At the end of each pew, there is a tall candlestick.  Each pew is assigned to a family of the parish.  When the family is ushered in for evensong, their candle is lit.  If they are away, the candle on their pew remains dark.  The amount of light in the chapel is determined by the number of families in attendance at the service. 

In a sense, this custom holds true for every house of worship.  In our faithfulness, others are finding their way into the household of faith.  Through our light in the wider world, others are experiencing the light of God.  In our participation and support, we are spreading the light of faith.  Is your candle lighted?”

So this week may we lift our light in celebration of God’s great faithfulness to us, to those who have come before, and to those who will arise in our place when our time is done.  For (as we read in John 14:12) "God has yet greater works than these for us to do for his glory”.

In faith & friendship,

Audrey Schindler