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Presbyterian
History
Presbyterians trace their history to
the 16th century and the Protestant
Reformation. Our "spiritual
forbearer" is the French lawyer
turned pastor, John Calvin
(1509-1564) whose writings
crystallized much of the Reformed
thinking that preceded him.
Centered in Geneva, Switzerland, the
Reformed movement spread rapidly to
other parts of Europe an the British
Isles.
Many early Presbyterians in American
came from England, Scotland and
Ireland. The first General Assembly
- our national governing body - was
held in Philadelphia in 1789, and
convened by the Rev. John
Witherspoon, a Scottish clergyman
and the first president of Princeton
University (then the College of New
Jersey), who was the only minister
to sign the Declaration of
Independence in 1776. Service
Seminary, the forerunner of today's
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, was
established in 1794.
There have been many divisions in
American Presbyterianism in its
history. The most serious, over the
issue of slavery, was resolved in
1983 with the reunion of the
Presbyterian Church in the United
States (southern) and the United
Presbyterian Church in the United
States of America (northern) to form
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
First Presbyterian Church was
organized in Hudson in 1855 with ten
members - eight women and two men
-under the authorization of the
former Synod of Iowa and the
Presbytery of St. Paul. The
organizing pastor was the Rev.
Charles Thayer. In 1873-74, the
church erected a building at the
corner of Third and Orange Streets
that would serve the congregation
for 131 years. In 2005, we
celebrated our 150th anniversary
with the construction of a beautiful
new building at 1901 Vine Street in
Hudson.
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Presbyterian
Beliefs
As a denomination in the Protestant
Reformed tradition, some of the
principles articulated by theologian
John Calvin (1509-1564) remain at
the core of Presbyterian beliefs.
Among these are:
the sovereignty of God,
the authority of the scripture,
justification by grace through
faith,
and the priesthood of all believers.
For
Presbyterians this means:
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God is the supreme authority
throughout the universe.
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Our knowledge of God and God's
purpose for humanity comes from
the Bible, particularly what is
revealed in the New Testament
through the life of Jesus
Christ.
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Our salvation (justification)
through Jesus is God's generous
gift to us and not the result of
our own accomplishments.
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It is everyone's job - ministers
and lay people alike - to share
this Good News with the whole
world. That is also why the
Presbyterian church is governed
at all levels by a combination
of clergy and laity, men and
women alike.
Presbyterians confess their beliefs
through statements that have been
adopted over the years and are
contained in the Book of
Confessions. These ten
historical and modern statements
reflect our understanding of God and
what God expects of us at different
times in history, but all are
faithful to the fundamental beliefs
described above. The most recent of
these statements, A
Brief Statement of Faith,
was ratified and approved for
inclusion in the
Book of
Confessions
in 1993. Even though we share these
common beliefs, Presbyterians
understand that God alone is lord of
the conscience, and it is up to each
individual to understand what these
principles mean in his or her life.
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Sacraments
in the Presbyterian Tradition
Presbyterians understand Baptism and
the Lord's Supper to be sacraments,
instituted by God and commended by
Christ. Sacraments are signs of the
real presence and power of Christ in
the Church, symbols of
God's action. Through the
sacraments, God seals believers in
redemption, renews their identity as
the people of God, and marks them
for service.
Baptism is the sign and seal of our
incorporation into Christ.
Presbyterians baptize both children
and adults. The baptism of children
witnesses to the truth that God's
love claims people before they are
able to respond in faith.
Presbyterians believe that God loves
us and our children, and that
parents and the faith community are
to educate and support children in
such a way of saying, "You belong!"
The baptism of youth and adults -
who event the covenant upon their
profession of faith - witness to the
truth that God's gift of grace calls
fulfillment in a response of
faithfulness. As the sign of our
reconciliation to God through
Christ's death on the cross, baptism
is received only once, as authorized
by the session.
The Lords' Supper, also known as
Communion or the Eucharist (which
comes from a Greek word meaning
thanksgiving), is the sign and seal
of eating and drinking in communion
with the crucified and risen Lord.
When Presbyterians celebrate the
Lord's Supper we
bless God for all that God has
done through creation, redemption,
and sanctification;
are renewed and empowered by
the memory of Christ's promises;
are sealed in God's covenant of
grace by partaking of Christ's
self-offering.
Around the Table of the Lord, God's
people are in communion with Christ
and with all who belong to Christ.
In every Presbyterian church all the
baptized faithful are welcome at the
Table, and none shall be excluded
because of race, sex, age, economic
status, social class, handicapping
condition, difference of culture or
language, or any other barrier
created by human injustice. All who
come in faith, repentance, and love,
regardless of church experience or
denominational affiliation, are
welcome to participate in communion
in this or any Presbyterian church.
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Sacraments at First Presbyterian
Church
When a child is being presented for
baptism, ordinarily at least one of
the parents shall be an active
member of the congregation. All
baptisms are approved by the session
(governing board) of the
congregation, and special
circumstances are considered on an
individual basis. Requests to
celebrate the sacrament of baptism
are usually directed to the session
by the pastor of the church after
individual consultation with a
family. Baptisms ordinarily take
place in public worship services,
and can be scheduled on most Sunday
mornings once approved by the
session.
Baptism for adults not previously
baptized and a public profession of
faith in Jesus Christ is one way of
entering the active membership of
the congregation. Individuals
interested in taking this step in
their life of faith should contact
the pastor.
Ordinarily the Lord's Supper is
celebrated in worship on the first
Sunday of each month. We also
celebrate this sacrament on Maundy
Thursday, the commemoration of
Jesus’ last supper with his
disciples before his crucifixion,
and at other times authorized by the
session. Throughout the year the
pastor and other officers of the
church take communion to homebound
and hospitalized members of the
church.
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Presbyterian Organization
What makes Presbyterians unique
among the churches of the Reformed
tradition is the connectional nature
of our polity (form of government).
The word "Presbyterian" comes from a
Greek word, presbuteros,
which means elder. Elders are
persons elected by a congregation
and ordained to serve as members
of the session, the governing body
of the local church that has the
authority over all aspects of its
congregational life. Local churches,
in turn, are members, through equal
representation of elders and clergy,
of a regional association of
churches called the presbytery.
Larger regional bodies called synods
are primarily mission-oriented
bodies made up of clergy and elder
commissioners to the biennial
General Assembly, which
oversees the life of the
denomination as a whole.
Presbyterian clergy are members of
the presbytery in which they serve
not local congregations.
Congregations may also elect and
ordain deacons to carry out
ministries of compassion, witness,
and service after the example of
Jesus Christ. Therefore, in the
Presbyterian tradition, there are
three different ordained offices,
deacons, elders, and ministers of
Word and Sacrament. The existence
of these offices in no way
diminishes the importance of the
commitment of all members to the
total ministry of the church. These
ordained officers differ from other
members and each other in function
only.
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