A Church on Two Church Lane
Forest Presbyterian Church sits on Two Church Lane in the town of Forest, Virginia, in the rolling Bedford County landscape just outside Lynchburg. The congregation identifies itself as a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA) within the Peaks Presbytery, and it describes its purpose in a single phrase: serving as God's Heart, Hands, and Voice. Around that purpose the people of Forest Presbyterian have built a steady rhythm of worship, Christian education, music, and outreach that reaches into the wider community.
Sunday Worship at 10:30
Worship is the center of life at Forest Presbyterian. The single Sunday service begins at 10:30 a.m., and visitors are encouraged to arrive fifteen minutes early to park, meet the greeters, and grab a cup of coffee in the Commons area before the service begins. The Commons stays open before each Sunday for fellowship and conversation.
The worship service itself gathers around God's Word and lifts praise through music and song. The congregation intentionally sings a mix of contemporary worship songs and older hymns, a blended approach that Pastor Beth (Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Broschart) developed from years of serving as a church musician and choral director before entering pastoral ministry. Sermon series often combine standalone sermons with threads that connect week to week, calling the congregation to live with Christ's heart, hands, and voice in everyday life.
The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the first Sunday of every month and at special services such as Easter and Christmas Eve. Communion is open, with all who are seeking to know Jesus as Lord and Savior welcome at the table. Baptism, the other sacrament observed at Forest Presbyterian, is administered by pouring or sprinkling water and is open to believers and their children, reflecting the PCUSA understanding of God's grace received in covenant.
For those who cannot attend in person, the service is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and is also available afterward for later viewing.
What to Wear, Where to Park, and How to Visit
Forest Presbyterian has no dress code. Members and visitors come wearing anything from T-shirts and jeans to dresses and suits. The sanctuary is on the ground level, with handicapped parking available and an elevator serving activities on the lower level. Restrooms are handicapped accessible, and there is space in the aisles and sanctuary for those who use wheelchairs or need extra room. Families with young children are welcome to keep their little ones in the sanctuary; activity packets are available, and rockers are placed strategically so that babies can be rocked or small children can sit on the floor and play.
Guests who would like to connect with the church before their first visit can fill out a Plan Your Visit form on the church's site, and a member of the Guest Services team will follow up. Questions before a visit can be directed to the church office at 434-525-5500 or by email to pastor@forestchurch.org.
Children's Chapel and Christian Education
Children are an active part of Forest Presbyterian's life. During the Passing of the Peace in the 10:30 a.m. service, children in kindergarten through fifth grade are dismissed for Children's Chapel. The chapel time uses the Godly Play curriculum, a Montessori-based approach that uses sacred story, wondering, and creative response to help children build a relationship with Jesus and create sacred space in their daily lives.
Beyond Children's Chapel, the Christian Education Team oversees ministry to children, youth, and adults. Adult Bible Study is offered as part of an active adult ministry, and Crafts with a Purpose meets one Sunday each quarter. Past crafts have included Warm Fuzzies, Kindness Rocks, and Comfort Crosses - handmade items that benefit a charity, a community, or an individual in need.
FYRE: Forest Youth Reaching Everyone
Youth ministry at Forest Presbyterian centers on FYRE, short for Forest Youth Reaching Everyone. The group is open to students in sixth through twelfth grade and meets each Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. throughout the school year.
FYRE is known for serving others as much as for fellowship. Past activities have included sending care packages to college students, baking cookies for shut-ins, leading worship, traveling to Tennessee for mission work, and attending regional youth conferences. Each year the group participates in the Souper Bowl of Caring, collecting food for Bedford Christian Ministries as part of a nationwide effort to tackle hunger. The youth also lead worship themselves on Youth Sundays.
A Blended Music Program
Music is a defining feature of worship at Forest Presbyterian, and the program is open to anyone who wants to sing or ring. The Adult Choir, open to high school age and above, rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:15 and sings psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in worship. Laurie Brownson serves as Interim Director.
The Ding-A-Lings Handbell Choir is a three-octave handbell ensemble that plays for worship at least once a month and sometimes more often. Prior musical experience is preferred, but no previous ringing experience is necessary. The Ding-A-Lings rehearse on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:00 under director Jeni Willoughby.
Behind the scenes, the Tech Support team handles cameras, sound, and screen presentations for services and special events. The team is open to ages thirteen and up, and no previous experience is required. Each Sunday a different member of the congregation serves as Liturgist, leading parts of the service from a printed script; volunteers aged thirteen and older are welcome.
Mission Partners and Community Outreach
Forest Presbyterian supports a wide network of mission partners in Bedford County and beyond. Locally, the church walks alongside Bedford Christian Ministries, an all-volunteer nonprofit that assists neighbors in need, and participates annually in Operation Pack-A-Bag, the Bedford County Public Schools supply drive that equips local students for the school year. The congregation also supports Shepherd's Table, a feeding ministry in Bedford that serves free hot meals every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Hunger relief is a particular focus. The FYRE Youth Group joins the Souper Bowl of Caring each year, the congregation supports Rise Against Hunger's volunteer meal-packaging programs, and Forest Presbyterian participates in Peaks Presbytery's Two Cents a Meal program, inviting members to set aside a few cents at each meal to help alleviate hunger and poverty.
Internationally, the church partners with the Abukloi Foundation, an organization that supports vulnerable communities through education, healthcare, and essential services.
Beliefs and Sacraments
Forest Presbyterian describes its theology as Reformed, relating the Kingdom of God to today's world. The congregation confesses belief in God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and holds that Jesus Christ is encountered in the scripts of the Old and New Testaments, that God is reconciled to humanity in Christ, and that through Christ the church is gathered to worship, fellowship, learn, and serve.
The congregation affirms that all people are created in the image of God and are inherently desired to be known and welcomed as beloved children. Both men and women are called to service in every area of ministry. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is present in the two sacraments observed by the church: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is understood as a sacrament of grace that symbolizes the washing away of sin and rebirth of the soul, administered by pouring or sprinkling and open to believers and their children. Communion is celebrated as a sacred meal in which Christ is spiritually present in the bread and wine, fostering unity in the body of believers. Forest Presbyterian practices open communion, inviting all baptized Christians to participate.
Leadership at Forest Presbyterian
The church is served by Transitional Pastor Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Broschart, known to the congregation as Pastor Beth. A native of Ohio who grew up in a farming community where the church shaped her early life, Pastor Beth holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Science from Lee University, a Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, where her dissertation explored the joyful expressions of faith exhibited by the people of Malawi through the lens of Philippians and the Pittsburgh-Malawi Partnership. Before entering parish ministry, she spent her early career as a church musician and choral director in several denominational settings, and she brings both theological depth and musical sensibility to her preaching.
The Session, the church's governing board, is made up of elders elected by the congregation. It includes Deborah Ashworth as Clerk of Session, along with John Bates, Shari Bennett, Laurie Brownson, Ginny Fiddler, John (Biz) Klingenfus, Todd McCray, JoAnn Scott, and Denise Kennedy. The Board of Deacons - Sarah Hostetter, Edie Tanner, Carol White, Rob Dowdle, and Judy Friel - ministers to those in need, the sick, and anyone in distress under the supervision of the Session.
Sheryl Kesselring serves as Administrative and Financial Assistant, and ministry teams staffed by volunteers guide Christian Education, Congregational Care, Finance, Missions, Personnel, Outreach, Property, Stewardship, and Worship.
Joining in the Life of the Congregation
Forest Presbyterian invites anyone interested in serving to contact the church office - no membership is required. Congregants serve on ministry teams, as liturgists, on the tech team, or in the choirs. The congregation believes that the Christian life is lived out as much through service as through worship, and the rhythm of the year at Forest Presbyterian reflects that conviction: Word and sacrament on Sunday morning, choirs rehearsing on Wednesday evenings, children learning sacred story in Children's Chapel, youth serving their neighbors through FYRE, and the wider congregation giving time and resources to local and global mission partners.