Hedgesville Presbyterian is a place for worship and service to the

community. We sponsor Boy Scout Troop 137 and Cub Scout Pack 137.

Rev. Carl Howard, Pastor

202 East Main Street                                                                                     P.O.BOX 18                                                                                            Hedgesville, WV 25427                                                                                     304-754-3039          

We're the folks who worship and serve at the quaint, American Gothic-style white church just a block from the center of Hedgesville village. We care. We care about each other, our community and our world--and our active ministries and missions prove it. How, as we seek to serve in the way Christ served and to love in the way Christ loved, may we serve you?

Carl Howard has served as pastor of Hedgesville Presbyterian Church since January 2004.

     A Master of Divinity graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., he also has served as a chaplain at the University of Maryland Hospital Center in Baltimore and at the Ingleside at Rock Creek Presbyterian Retirement Center in Washington, D.C.

     Before entering the ministry, Pastor Carl was a foreign service officer handling public affairs for the Department of State. He and his wife Beverly served at embassies and consulates overseas for 20 years, 12 of them in Brazil. Earlier, he was a journalist. A native of Texas, he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Pastor Carl also studied national security issues at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., and Latin American affairs at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru.

      The Howards enjoy music, gardening, and being with their two granddaughters, children of daughter Lita and her husband Orlando Gois.          

We are a family of Christians trusting and striving to obey Jesus Christ. As part of the body of Christ, we propose to:

 Provide care—Nurturing and caring for people in the church and beyond, out in the community where we are located.

 Worship and Celebrate—Worshipping God through Scripture, the Word preached, and music to celebrate Christ’s call to serve in ways that are enriching and uplifting to all ages and groups.

 Educate—Providing an appropriate educational program as a foundation for spiritual growth.

 Reach Out—Showing Christ’s love by reaching out to our community, participating in community-sponsored activities and responding to those in need.

 Tell the Story—Making friends and inviting them to hear and practice with us the Good News.

 Take Care—Maintaining and using church facilities and grounds as a good neighbor in God’s house.

 Use What God Gives Us—Identifying, utilizing and encouraging human and financial resources to carry out God’s will in this place.

 Participate—Identifying and developing the gifts of those in our church community to the glory of God.

 We are challenged:

●To speak often of God and of God’s goodness.

● To prayerfully accept the love and grace of God, to overcome fears, insecurities, material attachments, and a condemning or judgmental spirit.

● To use our time and treasure as sacred trust to do God’s will.

● To talk or act in ways that always show appreciation and care for others.

● To greet warmly and find out how we may serve and help others.

● To look, always, for fresh ways to express our love for God and others.

 To allow this statement to guide us in our personal, family, vocational and social relationships.

Jesus said, “Give them something to eat.”

 

Christ is our model – in loving and caring for those around us. Some of our ministries and missions:

 

Global Missions: We pray for, stay in touch with, and financially assist a Presbyterian mission co-worker in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan.

 

Loaves and Fishes: We take up a collection of foodstuffs once a month for the food pantry located nearby at the Hedgesville Methodist Church. Serving area families in need, this facility is open on the fourth Friday of each month. Our 2008 Souper Bowl of Caring collection totaled 80-plus cans of soup for the pantry.

 

Community Networks, Inc.: Since 2006 our church has been a member of the “300 Club” of this tri-county nonprofit organization. Community Networks manages Bethany House, a 32-bed shelter for women and children, the Hope Living/Learning Center, which provides transitional housing for women, and operates programs for people who have or are affected by HIV/AIDS, including a drop-in center and housing.

 

Cents-A-Meal: Once a month we bring to worship the money we have saved by setting aside four cents a meal for each family member, each day. Our project is part of an effort by Shenandoah presbytery that distributed donations to local, national and international hunger-program recipients. This is our response to our Presbyterian (U.S.A.) denomination’s small “first step in the battle against hunger and poverty.”

 

Samaritan’s Purse: Each November congregation members fills holiday-wrapped shoeboxes with Christmas gifts for children. These are distributed to needy children in many nations of the world through Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse organization.

 

Christmas International House: Joining the 15 Eastern Panhandle Presbyterian Churches, we developed a two-week home-stay program for the 2004 and 2006 Christmas and New Year’s holiday break for international university students. From China,  Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan and England, these students were studying in a variety of states in the U.S., as we exhibited the kind of hospitality Christ calls for.

 

Baskets: Presbyterian Women made up baskets of goodies and delivered them to families at Christmas-time.

 

Care Pregnancy Center: We collect funds for use by this organization that helps young women.

This website is proudly maintained by Orlando Gois

Website last updated on 02/14/2008