The Congregation and Corporation of First Presbyterian Church is called to meet for the annual meeting this Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. The meeting will also be available to livestream via Zoom by clicking HERE.

Eric Hankins and wife April welcomed their first child on Saturday, January 15. Mom and little Juniper Rose are doing well. Eric will be out on parental leave through most of February; for questions about youth group please reach out to Sara Pantazes at and for worship contact Caroline Cupp.

Congregational Night of Generosity

This year on Sunday, January 30, instead of our traditional spaghetti dinner hosted by our Youth Ministry, we are encouraging you to eat out, order take-out, or have food delivered, and tip in an extra generous fashion. We know that restaurants, delivery drivers, and waitstaff have continued to struggle with the changes Covid has brought to the industry and we’d love to share generously with our neighbors in local food service. If you don’t want to actually get food out that night, West Chester has a Virtual Tip Jar that you can contribute to: https://greaterwestchester.com/virtual-tip-jar/. Once you have tipped, please report anonymously via the website how much you were able to tip so we can track the total amount given.

Major sports events and food go hand in hand, so The Youth Ministry will be collecting food for the West Chester Food Cupboard in the weeks leading up to the NFL's final showdown. Collection bins will be available on Sunday, February 6 and Sunday, February 13. Not only can you bring whatever food items you donate to the church, you also get to place that food in the container representing the team you think, or hope, will win “The Big Game.” A list of recommended items can be found HERE. Once collected, the youth group will deliver these goods to the West Chester Food Cupboard.

All are invited to a Memorial Service Celebrating the Life of Mary Beth Drobish at 11am on Saturday, January 22 with a reception to follow. The service will be both in-person in the sanctuary and livestreamed at the following link: https://youtu.be/DnfNJdBTYIc.

Thank you to those who shared their stories in last Sunday's racial justice sermons: Ellen Endslow, Peter Guman, Greg Ondo, Kathleen Skomorucha and Caroline Cupp. If anyone would be interested in sharing their story for the photo essay, Peter has offered to explore that with you. Contact him at pguman@gmail.com. The full essay may be found HERE.

Book Drive Update

Many thanks to the First Pres community for your contributions to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Children's Book Drive! Due to your generous response, over 115 books were delivered to the Melton Center to be given to the children in their programs.

Spiritual Connection

Spiritual Connections continues on Monday, February 7 with 'Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most' by Marcus Borg. At age 70, Borg shared how he formed his bedrock religious beliefs, contending that Christians in America are at their best when they focus on hope and transformation and so shows how we can return to what really matters most. All women are welcome to join in the discussion about creating communities that celebrate joy, possibility, and renewal. Meetings are first and third Mondays via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Please obtain your own copy of the book. Contact Ellen Endslow at eendslow@verizon.net with questions or to obtain the Zoom link.

We are mindful of the prolific rise of covid cases in our area. While we are not planning to cancel in-person worship, all in attendance are encouraged to double mask and/or to wear a KN95 mask while in the church building (cloth masks are not effective against the omicron variant). Please feel free to take part in services via the livestream or radio, especially if you have symptoms of respiratory illness.

A few changes we’re making during this period of high transmission:

- Worship leaders will not be greeting people at the back of the sanctuary to avoid crowding

- Coffee hour is paused

The Worship Committee is closely following medical guidance as it relates to the current covid wave. You will receive regular updates through e-news. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Elder Tracy Burke (doctburke@gmail.com) or Pastor Caroline Cupp (ccupp@firstpreswc.com) for additional information.

Radio Broadcast

The 9:00 service each week is broadcast over WCHE at 11 a.m. each Sunday at 1520AM and also at 95.3FM. If you aren't able to clearly hear the AM service, the FM option might work better for you.

January Food Donation

This month, we are collecting pasta sauce (canned or plastic bottles) for the West Chester Food Cupboard. Thank you for your generosity toward our neighbors in need.

Make sure you follow First Pres on Facebook and Instagram (@fpcwc) for the latest updates on services, church events, ministry updates, and more!

Currently the church office is open the following hours:

January 23 - David Dickey, Annual Meeting at 11:30am

January 30 - Anderson Porter

February 6 - Bill Wilson

February 13 - Elgin Bailey

"The function of prayer is not to influence God,

but rather to change the nature of the one who prays."

-Soren Kierkegaard

Insight for Session in updating its Covenant for how members will work with each other.

Each week we pray for our congregation at 12:00 p.m on Thursdays. Set an alarm or schedule it in your calendar to join us! You don’t need to only pray for the topic of the week, but you can continue to pray for previous topics as well or anything that God lays on your heart.