Welcome!

I see most folks at First Presbyterian Church only on Sunday mornings, though I do see many of you at other church meetings and events. In addition to this, there are some drop-in visitors that I see on weekdays, who are not part of our immediate church family. Most of these visitors are strangers who ask to “speak with a pastor”, and ask for assistance of one kind or another. I generally end up telling such visitors about our Food Pantry, and/or refer them to other social service agencies. I feel bad that there is not much more that I can do for them, especially with cold weather just around the corner. My wife, Genevieve, is a Family Physician in a clinic that is in an inner-city, Latino area of Rochester. She sees many of the same sorts of folks that I do in her work, and we often talk about them at the end of the day.

We both started out in our professions as “softies”, who were trying to save the world. However, our compassion has been tempered over time by people who were less than honest with us when they asked for help. Whether they are pushing her to get narcotics they do not medically need, or asking me for money with vague stories, the dynamics are extremely similar. We often end up saying no to them, as we have to use our different professional gifts wisely for the many others we can truly serve. There is no shortage of people that we can help in more productive ways that knock on our doors as well

I believe God’s grace is amazing, but its bounty has a practical side to it as well. God certainly does not give me all that I want, like a cosmic Santa Claus, but I believe that I get what I truly need over time. I have been impressed with First Prebyterian’s mission and outreach projects that do so much good for our community. As we think about the stewardship of our personal and church resources this November, I pray that all of us can continue to demonstrate God’s amazing grace as best we are able. After all, we are only trustees of the great bounty that God has given us both individually and corporately.

-Pastor Walter

P.S. The book I highly recommended for parents and grand parents in a sermon last month was “A Homemade Year” by Jerusalem Jackson Greer. It is a great resource for Christian craft projects that families can do together.