The Messenger - February 9, 2009

Pastor's Ponderings
by Rev. Neal Neuenchwander

February 4, 2009

"Five Reasons I Believe in the First Presbyterian Church"

This Sunday, we will be celebrating God's work within our church during the Annual Meeting of the Congregation. This meeting will be held in McDonald Hall right after the 11 a.m. "Sweetheart Breakfast" sponsored by our church's youth. In order to help you prepare for this meeting, Shirley Snow has compiled written reports from every well-established ministry team within our church. These reports are available in the narthex. During the meeting, the chairs of several teams will deliver very brief oral reports and answer any questions you might have. You will also have the opportunity to approve your pastor's "terms of call."

Many members find this process to be helpful and informative. But there is so much more to this church than just meetings or reports--the whole is truly greater than the parts. And it's sometimes easy to forget that. That's why I am devoting my next five "Messenger" articles to this theme: Five Reasons I Believe in the First Presbyterian Church. This week, I'll start with reason #1: a legacy of innovation.

When people ask me about my experience in this congregation, I usually start with these words: "I never thought I'd serve an 'old First' church." That's because I was raised in the suburbs, and I'd never attended (much less served) a church that was more than 30 years old. "But," I quickly add, "I love it--I absolutely love it!" Much of that is because of the people with whom I work, and I'll talk about that next week. But much is also due to the great history of this church.

Back in 1883, Six women and one man decided that they would tackle the seedy port of San Pedro with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Soon, they found a small clapboard building and created a Sunday School program that reached 190 children in 10 years. Sunday School was a brand new concept in those days, and it demanded a big commitment on their part: Adult membership was less than 50, so the only way they could draw 190 children was to pound the streets of our city, bringing in kids from every nook and hovel. Soon, a whole generation of San Pedrans was shaped by the bold vision of this church.

Back in 1917, this vision was expanded to young people when Stuart MacLennon took the gospel outside the sanctuary to youth rallies that were held throughout the town. Several young people responded to this message with enthusiasm, bringing parents and siblings with them to our church. This effort was so successful that church membership actually tripled in 4 years.

Back in 1927, Rev. Martin Luther Thomas sought to expand his predecessor's outreach beyond the immediate confines of our city by broadcasting the gospel on the brand new medium of radio. Ultimately, these efforts were not successful. But they certainly demonstrated a strong commitment on this church's part: the church spent almost 1/3 of its budget on radio ministry during this period.

In the late 1940s, Andrew MacCormick introduced our church to the Mariner's Ministry--a wonderful outreach to families. This outreach included parties, dinners, plays, camp outs, and a whole range of service projects. Countless families from San Pedro were strengthened by this ministry, and several generations of children were blessed. I still meet people throughout San Pedro who talk about the fabulous times they had children of the "Mariners."

During the 1970s, the focus of our energy moved beyond the congregation to a whole series of social problems in our town. Thus, members of First Pres played crucial roles in the development of San Pedro's Meals on Wheels program and it's FISH pantry for he poor. The also founded a Bible study for prisoners on Terminal Island and two halfway houses for women inmates who had been released. Finally, we decided to host a co-op preschool (originally for low income families) which started at the Toberman house and moved here "up the hill."

During the late 1980s, younger generations throughout our country began to move away from traditional protestant worship. Our church responded to this challenge with the creation of a contemporary worship team in the early 1990s and a bold visitation program called "Evangelism Explosion." I can only imagine how hard it was for traditionally tongue-tied Presbyterians to express their faith in this bold, new way, but you did it! Or, at least, you welcomed those who did.

I'll talk about recent initiatives near the end of this series, but I think it is appropriate for each of us to pause for a moment and thank God for the witness of this church. This congregation has been a source of innovation in ministry and mission from the very start. And I believe this congregational "DNA" can still propel our church to meet the challenges of today. That's the first reason I believe in the First Presbyterian Church.

Calendar
Week of February 8, 2009

• Sunday

  8:30 - 9:30 am
  Adult Sunday School
• 9:30 am
  Worship (Pastor Neal/Paul Purdy); Children and Youth Sunday School (Sue Headley)
• Service
  Children and Youth Sunday School (Sue Headley)

• Monday

  6:30 pm
  Youth Praise Band (Tim Gray)
• 7:00 pm
  Women's Bible Study (Kim Neuenschwander)

• Wednesday

  7:00 am
  Breakfast Club Bible Study at Carrow's (Bob Erbacker)
• 1:00 pm
  Women's Bible Study (Kim Neuenschwander)
• 4:30 pm
  Cherub Choir (Emily Anderson)
• 4:30 pm
  Gospel Gang (Lesley Sirianni)
• 5:30 pm
  Kings Chorus (Lesley Sirianni)
• 6:30 pm
  SonLight Singers (Lesley Sirianni)
• 6:30 pm
  Jr. High Fellowship (Todd Bender)
• 7:00 pm
  Chapel Bells (Nan Roberts)

• Thursday

  7:30 pm
  Chancel Choir

Looking Ahead

• February 19
  Forever Young Luncheon

Editor's Corner

New Editor/Publisher

Hello!

My name is Tim Gray, and I have taken over publishing duties for Eric Beck for the "Messenger." As you have noticed, I have already implemented a design change to the "Messenger" to allow for simple reading and perusing. I've actually built on the wonderfully kept emails that Eric had constructed, but I've also added or changed a few parts of his original email.

The largest addition that I would like you to take notice of is the "Table of Contents" box at the top of the email. In this box is a list of each section of the email. If you were to click on an item in that list, you will be taken directly to that section of the email.

As time goes on I will be adding other features and polishing the design to make the "Messenger" a more useful tool for the you, the reader.