A Pottstown Congregation Since 1848
First Presbyterian Church has stood at 750 North Evans Street in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, since the current building was dedicated on June 2, 1963. The congregation itself goes back to May 9, 1848, when ten charter members gathered with Jacob and Mary Ann Yost after he promised his new Presbyterian wife a Presbyterian church in her new town. The Presbyterians first met in a Methodist meetinghouse, then dedicated their own sanctuary at High and Evans streets in 1853, with a contribution from President James Buchanan. By 1887 the church had grown to 160 members; a new building went up in 1889. In 1955, facing cramped space and a small parking lot downtown, the congregation voted to relocate to the north end of town. Nearly four acres, partly the gift of a member, made the move possible. More than a century and three quarters later, First Presbyterian describes itself as four generations of Christians seeking together to grow deeper in Christ to reach farther in love.
Sunday Morning Worship in the Sanctuary and Online
Worship on Sunday is the center of life at FPC. The Service for the Lord's Day begins at 10:30 AM in the sanctuary from September to mid-June and at 9:30 AM from mid-June through Labor Day, and is livestreamed on YouTube for those who cannot be there in person. The congregation worships in a Reformed style rooted in scripture, shaped by the Presbyterian tradition and enriched by influences as varied as the Iona Community, the Taizé community and the practices of the early church. The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the first Sunday of the month, and baptism may be celebrated on any other Sunday.
Music is a defining feature of the morning. The adult choirs and instrumentalists use organ, piano, bells, trumpet, flute, clarinet and drums. The two hymnbooks in the pews are Glory to God and the supplemental Sing the Faith, supplemented by music drawn through the church's OneLicense. After the service, the congregation gathers in Fellowship Hall for refreshments. The dress ranges from Sunday best to casual, in keeping with the congregation's social and economic diversity.
Children are part of worship from the start. After a brief Time with Children near the front of the service, children ages four through second grade are escorted by ushers downstairs to Young Children and Worship, a storytelling worship space led by trained volunteer storytellers and equipped with multi-sensory materials. Childcare is offered throughout the service for infants and toddlers. Each September, third graders and their parents meet with the pastors to prepare to join the Lord's Table, and on the first Sunday in October the children are welcomed by the congregation.
Music Ministry for Every Age
Cindy Foust directs the chancel choir, handbell choir and instrumentalists, and senior high youth who enjoy music often join the adult choirs on a weekly or special-occasion basis. Deb Voytko serves as organist. Sarah Pinard directs the children's choirs: the Cherub Choir for ages four through first grade, which rehearses during the Sunday School hour, and the Celtic Choir for grades two through five, which rehearses during the Wednesday Music and Rec program. Both children's choirs sing in worship once a month, take part in the Christmas pageant and sing at Easter. The Music and Rec program itself meets Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:45 PM during the program year, combining games, joys and concerns, a snack and Celtic Choir rehearsal.
Growing in Faith at Every Stage
Faith formation at FPC runs from age two through adulthood and beyond. Sunday School, called Faith and Friendship, meets each Sunday from 9:15 to 10:10 AM from the Sunday after Labor Day through the second Sunday in June, with classes grouped by age and a Bible-based curriculum. The Forum class, meeting in the Community Room, sometimes looks inward at scripture and Christian heritage and sometimes outward, hearing from community leaders and mission partners about ethical and local issues. The Men's Sunday Morning Class works its way through a book of the Bible in the Pastors' Conference room. Other short classes and book discussions are offered from time to time, and there is always time for coffee and fellowship in Fellowship Hall.
On Thursdays from September to June, Sisters of the Way gathers from 9:15 to 10:45 AM for women of all ages to study the scriptures that will be preached the following Sunday; childcare is available. On the first and third Tuesdays of the month from October through June, a meditation circle called Lectio Divina, Praying the Scriptures meets at 7:30 PM, either on Zoom or in the Mary Ann Yost Room, to reflect on the upcoming texts. Behind the church, a prayer labyrinth given in memory of longtime Clerk of Session Ron Gower welcomes individuals, church groups, Pottstown school students and guests from the Community Meals program to walk an ancient form of contemplative prayer.
Children, Youth and the Seekers
Children and youth at FPC are cherished and nurtured by the whole congregation. The vows made at every baptism - to guide and nurture by word and deed - are taken seriously and celebrated with joy.
The Seekers, FPC's middle and high school fellowship and service group, gathers Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 PM during the school year. Open to grades six through twelve, the group combines snacks, games, volunteering, prayer and conversation about faith and everyday life, plus off-site events like hayrides, corn mazes, ice skating, rock climbing and an annual fall lock-in. Mission Mornings, a week of service for students entering grades six through eight, takes place in the summer and ends with a pool party. Work Camp is the high school summer mission trip, a week in July on the East Coast for youth entering eighth grade through graduated seniors; past work has included building porch railings, tearing out staircases, scraping paint and jackhammering, with worship and small group time each evening.
Confirmation classes are offered every other year, ordinarily for seventh and eighth graders. Led by the pastor and Amy Shutt, the program runs from September to May, with Sunday classes, time with an adult shepherd and an opportunity to profess faith in worship in May or June.
Community Meals, Tutoring and Hands-On Mission
FPC's service to its neighbors runs through the week. The church hosts and serves free Community Meals every Thursday for neighbors in need. Members tutor and lead a Book Busters group at Barth Elementary School and partner with the school through the Foundation for Pottstown Education. Volunteers build and repair homes with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter, which FPC helped to start, and serve as meal preparers and drivers for nearby families. Each summer, adult mission teams travel to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance locations to repair and rebuild homes damaged by natural disasters, and Living Waters for the World teams install clean water systems in villages in Honduras.
The Mission Committee oversees giving to a long list of partners. Locally the church supports Al's Warming Center, the Olivet Boys and Girls Club, Operation Backpack, the Pottstown Cluster Outreach Center, the Pottstown Public Library, Salvation Army of Pottstown, Steel River Playhouse, Valley Youth House, the Women's Center of Montgomery County, the YWCA Literacy Center and many others. Regionally and nationally the list includes Chester Eastside, Hand2Paw, The Village, Urban Promise, Union Presbyterian Seminary and the denomination's own Presbyterian Shared Mission Support. Internationally FPC supports Days for Girls, the Dorbonne Maternal and Child Health Clinic, Lutheran World Relief's Syria work, SNEHA, the Clive Irvine School of Community Nursing, Living Waters for the World and Zambia Co-Laborers International.
Care for One Another
Congregational care is coordinated by twenty-four adult Deacons and two youth Deacons, elected by the congregation. They visit the hospital, keep in touch with college students, visit shut-ins, send care notes and organize fellowship events such as the September church picnic, the Deacons' Christmas Breakfast, the Easter Egg hunt and the Strawberry Fest in June.
The Meal Ministry invites members to prepare frozen meals that pastors, the parish nurse or deacons deliver to church members during a difficult time - a new baby, a hospitalization, a bereavement - so they are nourished in body as well as spirit. The Health Ministry Team, together with Parish Nurse Dawn Skelly, the deacons and the pastors, continues Christ's ministry of healing through hospital visits, education, meals for homebound members, referrals and help navigating the health care system. Members also gather periodically for Christian Yoga, the Prayer Shawl Ministry, Faith and Nature outings, a monthly Men's Breakfast and Still Hungry After Communion, a young adults gathering on the first Sunday of the month.
Advent, Lent and Services for Wholeness
The church year shapes additional services. On the four Sundays of Advent, members lead the lighting of the Advent wreath and prepare for the celebration of Jesus' birth through scripture, song and prayer. Christmas Eve brings a candlelit service with communion. Lent opens with Ash Wednesday and includes six Sundays of penitence and reflection, Palm Sunday, a Maundy Thursday Service of Shadows with communion and a continuous overnight prayer vigil, and a Good Friday Cross Walk organized by the Pottstown Ministerium that begins on the green between Zion's UCC and Emmanuel Lutheran Churches on Hanover Street. Easter morning the congregation joins all of creation in singing Alleluia. Twice a year, usually in Advent and Lent, an evening Service for Wholeness gathers prayers for healing in the world, the community, relationships and the whole person.
Weddings, Funerals and the Peace Garden
Because FPC is a community of faith that wants to support couples in their marriage, the pastors ordinarily officiate at weddings for members where there will be an ongoing relationship with the couple. The first step is an appointment with a pastor. When death comes, the pastors meet with families to plan personal services that give simple and dignified witness to resurrection hope and gratitude for the life lived. A Peace Garden on the church grounds holds the ashes of those interred, with their names recorded on a plaque on the adjoining wall.
HENS Preschool
HENS Preschool, the church's weekday nursery school, has been part of FPC's ministry since September 19, 1966, when seventeen three and four year olds walked through the doors of the new program. Still going strong, HENS is overseen by the HENS Board and operates as a ministry of the church.
Joining the Church
Anyone curious about membership is welcome to attend an Inquirers' Class led by the pastor. The classes answer questions about who FPC is, what it believes and why it does what it does, and they build friendship among the prospective members. At the end of the last session, those ready to make a commitment meet with the Session and are received by letter of transfer, by reaffirmation of faith or by profession of faith. The pastors are also willing to meet with anyone at the church or at their home to talk further.
Coming to Worship
On Sundays visitors enter through the double red doors off the largest parking lot, with the sanctuary straight ahead. During the week the office entrance is on the Evans Street side of the building, across from Manor Care. The buildings are fully accessible: the main entrance is step-free, all levels are served by elevators and a unisex accessible bathroom is on the main floor. Assisted listening devices are available for worship. Children are warmly welcomed. Pledges and gifts may be made through the annual Stewardship campaign or online, and planned gifts are welcomed through the Acorns of Faith endowment program.