Welcome
WELCOME!!
We love that word, don’t you?
We recognize the value of welcome in a world that all too often offers indifference instead of extending the hand of friendship. We also love the word “community” and all that it represents.
In fact, we love it so much that we changed our name to Community Presbyterian Church, believing that everyone needs a community. We are stronger, better, more supported, more challenged to be our authentic selves in community.
Together we serve and worship and care for each other and for our neighbors. In the beloved community we seek to not just overcome our differences, but to celebrate the ways that our differences make us stronger.
As an open and affirming congregation, we recognize the value and dignity of all. We are on this journey of faith together; I invite you to join us and see!
Rev. Denise Lay
A Few Things to Know About Us
We are a congregation of about 100 members who somehow manage to serve more than 35,000 meals a year. We took out pews to make room for kids. Our choir director wears jeans. We have a coffee cart, and yes, you can bring your cup into worship. There is no offering plate. The pastor preaches from notes, not memory, because the conversation matters more than the performance. We close down the street once a year to give away school supplies to anyone who needs them. We have been doing this a long time and we are still figuring things out, which we think is exactly as it should be.
Good to Know
- 100 members in the congregation
- 75 volunteers supporting Community Cupboard each week
- 35,000+ meals served through Community Cupboard last year
- 250 to 280 households served through our weekly food pantry, representing roughly 900 of our neighbors
- 1 coffee cart, available every Sunday before worship. Bring it inside
- 0 suits required. Ever.
First-Timer FAQs
What time does worship start?
Where do I park?
What should I wear?
What is passing the peace, and why do you do it?
At some point during the service you will hear the words “the peace of Christ be with you,” and the congregation will respond “and also with you.” Then people get up, move around, and greet each other. It can feel a little surprising the first time.
The practice goes back to the earliest Christian communities, rooted in Jesus’s own words to his disciples after the resurrection: “Peace be with you.” Passing the peace is a liturgical act of reconciliation, a moment where the congregation turns toward one another before turning toward the table or the Word. In practice it is also just a warm and genuine few minutes where people are genuinely glad to see each other. Both things are true at once.