Valley Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Valley Presbyterian Church, 237 Main Street, Imperial, PA 15126, 724.695.0300, www.valleychurchweb.com, Rev. Jeri-Lynne Bouterse, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

Today we went back to Valley Church – always a delightful church to visit. I enjoyed the aesthetics of the Sanctuary. There is a smaller stained glass window in the front of the Sanctuary that matches the larger side windows. The front window is framed well so that the frame amplifies it. The space is pleasant and well-utilized.

From the bulletin boards and other displays of information, the church seems very mission-oriented.

It is also a friendly, welcoming church. The bulletin includes a welcome/sign-in reminder slip which also incorporates prayer requests. The Deacons collect these early in the service.

I was disappointed that the offering was taken before the Word, but pleased with the powerful effect of three crosses mounted together on the back wall of the Chancel.

The message was presented by a missionary who serves in the South Pacific with Campus Crusade. The message showed ways that our faith is never in vain; personal stories of chance contacts becoming Christian leaders provided a reminder that we never know how God will grow the seed we sow.

Jan’s thoughts:

It has been more than a year since our last visit to this church served by our pastor/friend Jeri-Lynne, and today seemed like a good time to make a return visit.

Although we had visited for worship once and once to speak with the Stephen Ministers about grief, I seemed to see the church through different eyes this time. I noticed the plentiful parking, the walk area with benches for sitting and talking or just taking in the sunshine. Inside the signage was very good, and the people were as friendly as I remembered, which is to say they were very friendly.

Jeri-Lynne was not expecting us, so was surprised when she turned a corner and ran into us. Since there was a guest preacher this morning, she had more time than usual so she invited us into her study and we spent about half an hour or so just catching up. (Obviously we were very, very early this morning!) We could hear the praise band rehearsing in the Sanctuary and were very pleased to be there for the contemporary music.

We entered the Sanctuary at the front and found a seat in the very last row where we were able to look around. Only then did I realize how very well designed and decorated the Sanctuary was. The Chancel is asymmetrical, with a fairly small stained-glass window bordered by a large frame, and both the glass and the frame matched the rest of the windows. To the left on the rear Chancel wall were three crosses. On the opposite side was a banner, along with an empty space perfect for use as a projection screen.

While we waited for the service to begin several people greeted us, including two who sat nearby and one who came from across the Sanctuary. Others did so during the passing of the peace during worship.

The bulletin was busy – like the church, apparently – containing a wealth of information about the goings-on at Valley. It was well laid-out, and everything not worship-related could be put aside for later, which I appreciated.

This was Presbyterian Women’s Thank Offering Sunday, and the speakers were husband and wife (and son) missionaries Rev. Don and Melanie Roths and John Lane. The Roths family currently serves with Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of the South Pacific on the island of Fiji. I admit I never really thought of Fiji as a mission field, but it is a very fertile one according to the brief video shown.

In his sermon Don Roths began by talking about his former college roommate who went into and then left the ministry. When Don was called to mission work on Fiji he was introduced to “the most influential Christian leader on the island.” As the story unfolded we learned that this influential Christian leader had come to Christ years before as a direct result of the work of Don’s former college roommate. Don surmised that this former roommate probably never knew the results of the seeds he planted, but declared that “faithfulness in ministry is never in vain.”

More and more I’m convinced that we will not know the true fruits of our labors on Earth until we meet Christ face to face, and I will remind myself of this story whenever I need hope that the seeds I plant are not in vain either.