"We in the church are the body of Christ, the physical expression of Christ's presence in the world today. We can therefore be no less welcoming or hospitable than he was."
- Reverend Dr. John Walton
Jon Walton is the Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in New York City. First Presbyterian, like our church, is embedded in the heart of a vibrant, dynamic, and diverse urban neighborhood. It is centered in a neighborhood where you never know who may show up on any given day, searching for something, looking for someone to welcome them as they find their center, fill their spiritual tank, or find a little unconditional love to power them through the journey they are walking. Being the physical expression of Christ's presence in the world today allows us to engage with our neighbors in University Circle and beyond in ways that stretch our imagination of what the "church" is in our world.
One way we do this is our role as the campus church. We are uniquely positioned in this time and place to serve as a hub for connection, compassion, and community for over 10,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students as they navigate their educational journeys; as they ask the big and important questions of life; and seek to find meaning, purpose and wholeness. We have the opportunity to engage with them through faith, fellowship, and service and to be a welcoming spiritual home, live God's inclusive love, express Christ's compassion and do justice in the world as they become leaders of character and influence in a global community.
As the campus church we are living out our faith in a way that is no less welcoming and hospitable than Jesus was.
