Students from James Madison University are returning to Harrisonburg, and we're ready to welcome them. First Pres has two upcoming opportunities to do just that. JMU Freshman Move-in On Saturday, Aug. 21, we will partner with campus ministries CRU and RUF to help...
Starting Sunday, August 29, you'll be seeing some of your favorite faith-building opportunities return to First Pres as we get back together to study the Bible, grow in our walk with Jesus and build community. On that day, children's Sunday school, youth discipleship...
I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I love the way it connects me with people and lets me stay in touch with friends and family all over the world. I also love the way it connects me to information at the touch of a finger (or a "Hey Siri!"). I hate,...
“WE will sing unto the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with US.” Wow. This last year has been quite a marathon of experiences. In June, we celebrated a full year of being back in worship together physically every Sunday. Over the last few weeks, we have slowly...
Earlier this summer, I learned that my high-school journalism teacher, one of the most important mentors in my life, had died late last year. In the days that followed, I reconnected with friends from those days I hadn’t talked to since we graduated, and in our online...
Sometimes when it’s my turn to clean the dishes, I pop in my headphones and turn on a worship station on Pandora. That’s what I was doing a few weeks ago when a Getty song came on, one with lyrics that are all about how my worth is not found in anything but Jesus. I...
The Courtyard Committee knows that everyone is getting anxious for the completion of the Courtyard. No one is more eager to see it completed than the members of the Courtyard Committee. As you are aware, construction of any project during the pandemic has been fraught...
This sabbatical has been a huge blessing on so many levels one of which is the opportunity it has afforded me to think deeply. One of the things I’ve been thinking more deeply about is the proper place for virtual or digital technology in the Church and life of faith...
If there is anything that we have needed this last year or so, it is hope. Hope that things will get better. Hope that we will get back to doing some of the things we enjoyed before with those we loved being around. Hope that we will be able to catch up on hugs and...
Several dozen of our youth and their mentors gathered for D-Now, our annual in-town retreat last weekend. They spent the weekend in worship, discipleship, fellowship and service . The theme for the weekend was the first chapter of 1 Peter, where Peter describes how...