The Presbytery office sent this update from Heritage Presbyterian Church along with an invitation to anyone in the presbytery who would like to worship with them. As you may know, a majority of Heritage members plus their former pastors and staff have left our presbytery to form another church. At a recent meeting our presbytery voted to support the minority at Heritage who wish to remain with our presbytery, to grant them continued use of the Heritage facilities, and provide physical, emotional and financial support to this congregation as they seek to reorganize themselves and move forward in mission and ministry. See the letter below for an update.
Peace,
Jon B.
+===================+
May 5, 2008
In the past few weeks, some very wonderful things have been happening at Heritage Presbyterian Church. For example:
- Attendance last Sunday was 110. That's 30-40 additional people who worshipped with us.
- We have already received five new members.
- Sunday School classes are operating for ages K and older.
- Two Adult Sunday School classes are operating.
- We have reinstituted the position of Lay Liturgist during the worship service.
- We continue to be blessed with powerful, practical, Bible-based preaching.
- Our first new "Session meeting" was held last Saturday. In the spirit of transparency, it was open to the congregation and approximately 25 people attended to see how Presbyterians conduct the business of the church.
- We now have a functioning 10+ person choir.
- We have instituted an after-church social time, where members can chat over refreshments.
- A number of other churches in the presbytery have stepped forward to pledge financial support and programming support during our time of transition. In fact, there is talk about Heritage serving as an informal "laboratory" for sharing best programming practices around the presbytery.
- Various church committees have been reinstituted. The Worship Committee and the Christian Education Committees each have 5-10 lay members overseeing those areas. Other committees are in the formation stage.
- The congregation is embarking on a 30-day "Visioning" exercise to help us discern what God wants Heritage to be doing and when.
Obviously, there is much more going on than can quickly be reported here. The bottom line, though, is that great things are happening at Heritage. And YOU are an important part of the Heritage family. We look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
