Annual reports have been mailed, and instructions to log in online are provided in this mailing. If you would like to attend in person, please make a reservation with Sam Clem (for
worship attendance, and you will be able to stay straight through. Thank you!
The month of October begins our Campaign To Support Our Church. 2020 will go down as one of the most unique and challenging years of our church’s history. Instead of despair, we found focus, resiliency, innovation, and a sense of togetherness despite the challenge of social distance.
We have added a “Donate” tab to our menu bar on the top of the page. This now allows the church to benefit from your financial support by accepting credit cards for payment. You will be asked to register just once by filling in your information and then you will see a page that will allow you to provide your credit card information (encrypted) to allow the church to benefit from your generous support. Thank you.
First Presbyterian Church Is Open - With Conditions
We resumed Worship Services in the sanctuary in September, while continuing to stream the live service on Facebook and YouTube - all at 10:00 AM Sunday mornings.
Those of you who have compromised immune systems or are in a vulnerable population group are encouraged to stay at home and watch from there, especially during this very concerning time during the pandemic. If you can log into Worship services from home, we ask that you do so.
If you would like to attend in person, this is how you do your part to love your neighbor at church:
1. You must reserve a spot by contacting Sam Clem or the church office.
2. You must wear a mask for the entire service.
3. You must be screened at the sanctuary doors with a temperature check and a questionnaire. Please leave plenty of time for this to happen before worship starts. Elder Dr. Bill Engle will be conducting the screenings. If it's raining, bring an umbrella in case you need to stand in line. If you have a temp, cough, or have been exposed to Covid, please just stay home.
4. You must be conscious of leaving six feet between you and the next person in line or in the aisles.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Pastor Karen or any elder.
Office Hours: Heidi is in the office on Monday through Thursday mornings.
Our Food Pantry will remain open Monday and Thursday of each week. To stay in the loop, everyone is encouraged to sign up to receive emails at stauntonfirst@gmail.com.
Current Activities:
Or https://www.youtube.com/channel UCKHIfTGhCeY9LqfE7xftS1A
 Weddings Interested in having your wedding at First Presbyterian Church? Please see our updated guidelines here. Most of the following activities are not happening in person for now due to the pandemic (except for Worship, on a limited basis per the above). Many church activities are now provided online - please see the top of our web page for details on our online activities and continued Food Pantry hours. Thank you! Sunday Worship Book Study Class: 9:45 am (snacks at 9:30 am) - Library Adult Sunday School 10:00-10:45 am (now meeting in church parlor) Youth Sunday School 10:00-10:45 am Elementary Sunday School 10:00-10:45 Church Nursery: 10:30 am-12:30 pm Chancel Choir Rehearsal: 10:30 am Morning Worship: 11:00 am
Youth Group 12-2 pm (alternates with Youth Sunday School, please call to check times)
Wednesdays Bible Study: Wednesdays at 10:00 am in the Library Chancel Choir Rehearsal: 7:30 pm Visit the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic Website - > http://www.synatlantic.org/ | April 2021 Letter from the Pastor Acknowledging Those Who Served in the Theatre of Covid Read in Worship on March 14, 2021 Exactly one year ago tomorrow, the church had to figure out a new way to be church. Exactly one year ago tomorrow, the church had to move our Sunday services online. This for a church whose attempt at recording sermons had been on CD – and even that hadn’t been done for 7 years. We thought the sanctuary might be closed for a week, a couple of weeks at most. There were some folks who thought we were erring in that closure, and not just erring on the side of caution. Of course, this past year developed into something none of us imagined, nothing any of us had been through before, and we had to invent new ways of answering our calling during this war against Covid. In the military, when you are on active duty in a theatre during wartime, that’s where you earn your stripes – both literally and figuratively. In the military, you are awarded a medal for your service in difficult times. Well, we too are marching. Marching in the light of God. I want to announce today the men and women who served without faltering while the church was deployed. They each earned this small acknowledgement of their service during an enormously difficult time. These awards are given with love and gratitude for their dedication to the things of God. They earn their stripes for having served in the theatre of Covid for the First Presbyterian Church of Staunton: First, to the behind the scenes people who weren’t officers, but didn’t miss a date in the pantry or an opportunity to minister to our congregation and community during these difficult times: Alice Herbst and Susie Baker. We also lift Denise Lowman, who served as Driver Wrangler for all our worship-at-home deliveries. To the volunteers in our Porch Quire, so called because of having to record voices individually with vast room for air flow: People like Dick Cox, Amy Roper, Scott Wilson, Gary Wilson, Catty Clem, and Eddie Homes. Catty also took on serving as co-treasurer together with Deb Norville, our financial caretakers changing riders in the middle of the stream. We thank our Trustees who served during active Covid when the church was deployed: Jim Cooke, Harry Boney, Jennifer Dixon, Bret Ritchie, and David Lowman, Sr. I thank those Elders who rotated off in the middle of Covid, having served two tours of duty: Stephany Morgan and Louise Whipple; those who stayed on and saw the church not only through the crisis of the Pandemic, but also through the pastor’s medical leave: JoAnn Tigert, George Laase, Mary Meade, Bill Engle, Scott Wilson, Geoff Coleman, and Sam Clem. I thank those who, when called, came on, doing officer training on Zoom: Amanda Avery and Ron Lowman. A special thank you to our Clerk, Fay Knicley, who had to learn 127 new things during Covid. We have never, ever, ever done it this way before. Finally, I want to thank the staff: Heidi Marsh, Otto Pebworth, and Renee Huff. These people did all sorts of new things, learning technology that was not in their job description, continuing to equip the saints for the work of ministry. To have a team with such a “yes I can” attitude is the testimony of a group who demonstrates that God equips those God calls. A special thank you to all of you on this anniversary of our deployment. I am deeply grateful and very proud of all of you who stepped up and served with grit and good humor in the midst of it all You deserve a medal. At least. Many Blessings, Pastor Karen |