Posted on 15 Sep 2010 . 94 comments
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” Exodus 14:21 22
This story is a part of our faith heritage as Christians. It inspires us to remember that God is able to do miraculous things when we have the faith to follow God’s call.
In recent years, FPCG has found itself in the midst of its own challenges: We are in the midst of an economic climate that has deepened the needs of our community and threatened many of the ministries we believe we’ve been called by God to develop.
However, just like in Moses’ time, we believe the God of the Exodus has “made a way out of no way” for us to travel beyond these current challenges. The establishment of Creative Germantown Initiative (CGI) is an important step on that journey.
CGI is a new non profit organization which provides an opportunity to join with neighbors who share our belief that bringing quality education, recreation, music and the arts to Germantown improves the quality of life in our community. To that end, CGI has a board of directors which includes people from the neighborhood as well as FPCG members.
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Posted on 07 Sep 2010 . 78 comments
Reflections by Rev. Kevin Porter
When I was a child, I used to hate to go to sleep. I was always afraid I was missing something fun or important that my older brothers or parents were doing. Besides, I was never tired when my bedtime came around.
Last week, I was at an event where I watched a first-grader so filled with energy that even when she tried to stand still long enough to tell an adult something, she found herself jumping up and down in place in spite of herself. What I wouldn’t give to have that kind of energy today!
When I was a child, I didn’t appreciate the value of rest and renewal for my growing body, mind and spirit. And now, I have to watch that I don’t allow rest and renewal to become ends unto themselves.
Just as inhaling and exhaling are equally important in the enterprise of breathing, I believe the disengaging we experience as we spend time in sleep, recreation, and vacation should be preparing us for reengaging the vocations to which God has called us in our work, school, families, community, and yes, church.
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Posted on 23 Aug 2010 . 118 comments
What an amazing summer it was for our Freedom School Scholars, Servant Leaders, and volunteers!
Click here to see more photos.
Freedom School Closing Program at First Pres
Volunteers Ben White and Donna Payne lead the Scholars in a groovy song
“Drop Everything And Read” outside in Vernon Park with Level 1a students and Servant Leader Val Solomon
Freedom School Scholars enjoy a Puppetry workshop
Posted on 16 Aug 2010 . 32 comments
FPCG Fun int the Sun!
Over 20 “young” adults and families took a trip to Ocean City, NJ a few weeks ago.
The day was full of sun, swimming, and of, course, dinner on the famous Ocean City Boardwalk. A good time was had by all!
Click here to see more photos!
For more info about “young” adult and family outings, email Sheila and Christian Heyer-Rivera at
Posted on 09 Aug 2010 . 27 comments
Wayne A. Swift united with the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown in 1959 and is full of memories and opinions about the church.
He believes that Dr. Reginald Thomas (1955 1967) was “probably the most outstanding pulpit preacher in my tenure. His Welsh accented preaching style was to preach his sermons from memory, and he could make you laugh or cry throughout. He had great humor. His 1961 book Love So Amazing is still a good read to sense his style. Chapter 9, `Come Out Come In’ is still timely reading for First Church members.” Dr. Thomas was known throughout the country for his preaching on “The Bible Study Hour.” You can hear Dr. Thomas’ Easter message of April 18, 1965 here.
Wayne notes that his four children all attended Sunday schools that were set up by grades and totaled more than 100 children. Youth met Sunday evenings and probably had about 15 at the Junior High level. The Swift children and grandchildren were all baptized at First Church, and the family has had at least three wedding services in the sanctuary.
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