By Ed Thompson

I have a lot of great memories as I look back on 2018. In no particular order, here are what I would consider the top 10 highlights of my year.

  • Celebrating the 235th anniversary of the Old Stone Presbyterian Church (right). What I will remember most about this day is the brief service that was held before the main event at the church’s original site, which is now located in the middle of a farm several miles outside of town. It was a fascinating history lesson.
  • Celebrating the 180th anniversary of the First Presbyterian Church of Huntington. As part the worship service, the church commissioned their Sunday School teachers and the leaders of their youth ministry and Logos programs. I think they had something like 72 people come forward. Considering that the median size of a church in this presbytery is 27 members, there were almost three churches worth of people standing in front of the sanctuary that day.
  • Dedication of the solar panels at the Spencer Presbyterian Church. Although the Spencer church building doesn’t look that big, when you get at the right angle to see the solar panels that have been installed on one side of the roof, you realize the building is bigger than you think. Not only was the crowd impressive (we might have come close to having a quorum for a presbytery meeting), but the vision of the members of the church and the work they put in to make this possible was outstanding.
  • WVMAW picnic at Colcord. I had the opportunity to be at Colcord twice this past year and had a great time on both occasions. What really impressed me, though, was the picnic I attended in June that the church held for the WVMAW work camp that was there that week. Apparently, the church hosts 4-5 groups each summer, and they have a picnic for each one as a way of thanking them for their work. This group was from a church in the suburbs of Chicago that had been coming to Colcord each summer for the past several years. It was obvious that they love the people of the church as well as the people of the community because they keep coming back. The blessings of this relationship flow both ways.
  • General Assembly (right). GA is almost always fun as an observer, although there are almost always occasions when you just have to shake your head at something that is said during debate. Perhaps the most fun (other than the Cubs vs. Cardinals baseball game) was the dinner we had with the commissioners and other PWV folks that were in town on Tuesday night. We had a private room that allowed us to relax and enjoy being with each other. Another GA highlight was the public march to end the cash bail system that took place on Monday afternoon. Yes it was hot, but that system just seems wrong. I like St. Louis, but I had to shake my head at that too.
  • Festival of Faith. This event is always good. I think this year’s might have been one of the best. I found Jan Edminston’s talk to be insightful, inspiring, and right on target.
  • Rick McGuire’s Retirement Celebration. We have several pastors retiring this year, and I regret that I was not able to attend the celebrations each church had. However, I was able to be there when Rock Lake celebrated the ministry of Rick McGuire, who has been their pastor for more than 25 years. The size of the crowd and the remarks that were shared indicate how much they appreciate all that he has done. I was also able to make the celebration that First Presbyterian Church of St. Albans had when Paul Romine retired. That was a good day too and an outstanding retirement gift.
  • February Presbytery Meeting. Each presbytery meeting has its own joys and challenges. The one that stands out for me this past year was the February meeting, where we split into small groups to consider our vision for the next five years. There was good conversation as well as good feedback. In some ways, it was almost too much information, as we’re still considering what we learned that day.
  • Visit to Kingwood. I had to be in Morgantown for Zac Morton’s installation in the afternoon, and since I had not visited or worshipped with the First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood, I decided I would go there that morning. I was glad I did. It’s a delightful church that’s doing some very creative ministry.
  • Listening Sessions. This year, we held listening sessions at eight locations throughout the presbytery that followed the session record review events. Although that was very labor intensive (at least for Maureen, Rocky, and me), I enjoyed the conversations we had and look forward to doing that again in 2019.

I’m sure 2019 will bring new joys and new challenges. I do look forward to seeing what blessings God has in store for us. If I or any of our staff can be helpful to you or to your church in the year ahead, please let us know.