Some Good News 1/26/23

Occasionally, the pastors at FPC are invited to lead worship at Westminster Canterbury senior community. We have over 50 church members who live at WC. We are grateful to their pastoral staff for inviting us to partner.

by Rev. Mary Kay Collins on January 26, 2023

Read this week's First News Weekly here. 

Occasionally, the pastors at FPC are invited to lead worship at Westminster Canterbury senior community. We have over 50 church members who live at WC. We are grateful to their pastoral staff for inviting us to partner.

The Rev. Josh Andrzejewski was invited to be the preacher last week, and I joined him as a liturgist. Josh preached a meaningful sermon about baptism, and following the service about eighteen folks stayed for a time of visiting with Josh and me. Josh shared with this group his ministry vision of belonging, identity, and purpose. We had a great conversation around youth mental health and the church today.

We also had a conversation about transportation for our WC members who want to join us in person for Sunday worship. We had a wonderful bus ministry with Van-Go for many years. During the pandemic, Van-Go went out of business. We have attempted to revive our bus ministry with some other companies, but we have not yet found what we need.

Thankfully, there is money in our budget that will allow us to move forward with our bus ministry once we can find a service. I find myself looking at buses while driving around town to see if they might be a service we can use – please join me in praying for this ministry to be revived. And if you have connections or know of companies we might partner with for our bus ministry, please give me a call!

We are so grateful for the many ways we are able to connect at FPC. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday for our Annual Meeting and brunch. Please let us know of your plans to attend by clicking the button below.

I plan to attend the Annual Meeting

– Rev. Mary Kay Collins, Associate Pastor

About the Author

Rev. Mary Kay Collins

Questions about pastoral care, the deacons, Neighbors at First, baptism, weddings, memorial services, membership, and fellowship events can be directed to Mary Kay.

Favorite... 

  • Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 13:12
  • Movies: Life is Beautiful, The Piano, Babett’s Feast, Inside Out
  • Books: Life of the Beloved, Traveling Mercies, Telling Secrets, Uncovering Happiness, The Magic of Tidying Up
  • Podcasts: Unlocking Us with Brene Brown, Good Life Project, and other podcasts my colleagues recommend
  • TV Shows: The Daily Show, This is Us, Nashville, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, and whatever new interesting series are available
  • Music: U2, Indigo Girls, eclectic, folk, jazz, classical
  • For fun, I like to: Go for walks, watch movies, and eat good meals.

About Mary Kay

I grew up in Central Florida, the youngest of four children. My parents worked for Young Life and I spent every summer from ages two to 18 at Windy Gap, a Young Life camp in North Carolina.  I graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine,  Florida in 1990. After working as a youth minister, and then a barista at an espresso bar, I went to the Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

My first call in ministry was in Nashville, Tennessee. My second call was to my home church in Maitland, Florida. In 2007 I was called to First Presbyterian Church and it has been a wonderful place to raise my three amazing young adult kiddos Maya, Alex, and Charlie. Each year that I have been serving in the church has brought with it new adventures, wonderful relationships, and great opportunities to learn more about how we are called to be Jesus's followers. I feel called to help make connections, strengthen relationships, and grow God’s church, all things that I get to participate in at FPC.

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