IN PURSUIT OF UNCONDITIONAL AND INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY...
According to Matthew's Gospel, Jesus taught that God is a loving force at work unconditionally for the sake of all people regardless of whether they are labeled by others as "righteous" or "unrighteous." Jesus taught that good and true life is found not in perfect obedience, but as we live with love for God and neighbor. Early Church leader John wrote in his first letter that "whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love." Early Church leader Paul wrote in his letter to the people of Galatia that there was no longer need for dualistic labels like "Jew or Greek," "male or female," and "slave or free" because we know from the work and witness of Jesus that we are one human community.
Therefore, the Church is an unconditional and intergenerational community in which we celebrate our belonging to God and to one another. The Church is all those who gather to give thanks for the goodness in life by God's grace, who learn and reflect on God's good promises revealed by Jesus, and who commit our lives to acting as participants in God's peaceful purposes. Young, old, lifelong, brand new, certain and unsure are all welcome to belong as we become the grateful, faithful, and active community of the Church together!
The Valley Forge Presbyterian Church is a group of people seeking to embody this understanding of God and each other in all the ways we celebrate, learn and act. Please explore this website to gain an introduction to how this is true, and please contact us with any questions!
A MATTHEW 25 CONGREGATION
The Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has put out the challenge to all of its 10,000+ congregations to prayerfully consider joining a church-wide movement called "The Matthew 25 Initiative: A Bold Vision and Invitation." This initiative challenges every congregation to more deeply identify themselves as the sheep of Jesus' famous parable of sheep and goats from Matthew 25; that is, to claim that we are those gifted and called by God to love the least of our sisters and brothers in the world around us - those most in need of food, drink, welcome, shelter, clothing, care, and friendship.
The initiative proposes to focus our discernment in three different areas in order to more fully grow into this faithful and sheeply identity:
(1) to grow in vitality as a church,
(2) to participate in the dismantling of structural racism, and
(3) to participate in alleviating structural poverty.
The VFPC Session spent many months discerning in response to this invitation, and was compelled unanimously at the June 2019 Session meeting to accept the challenge. A new "Matthew 25 Committee" was initiated by the Session, and has been tasked with helping us as a congregation to grow in vitality so that we are strengthened for our mission, and to discern how we might respond as a congregation with loving action to the least of our neighbors who are affected by the systemic social ills of racism and poverty.
May God guide us into this season of intentional love for neighbor! Learn more about the PC(USA) Matthew 25 Initiative.
ALL are welcome as we gather freely and joyfully at 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary every Sunday for the public worship of God!
VFPC Links
Valley Forge Presbyterian Church * 191 Town Center Road, KOP 19406 * 610-265-2420
Print