Worship has been described as "the primary work of the congregation." It is certainly critical in the life and ministry of the church. Worship is the one activity that involves the entire congregation. It is our primary contact with our community. When people are looking for a church they start by attending worship. And often it is worship that becomes the deciding factor in determining whether or not a person will continue a relationship with a church. Most people consider worship to be the primary motivation and encouragement for the life of faith.
At First Presbyterian worship is a vibrant blend of worship styles, music, the dramatic and visual arts, and participatory engagement of the congregation. Our aim is to capture the energy and spiritual quality of contemporary worship while embracing the richness of traditional worship.
Worship design and content are highly regarded at First Presbyterian. Staff resources are devoted to the careful planning of each service. We began 2025 with the annual worship theme: “Rooted in Faith, Growing in Grace”. A monthly theme is selected to support that theme. Recent themes include:
A Message From Pastor RJ Leek
08/16/26
Before Jesus broke the bread, He gave thanks. Whether feeding five thousand, sharing the Last Supper, or sitting at Emmaus after the resurrection, the pattern remains the same: He took the bread, looked to the Father, and blessed it (Matthew 14:19; 26:26; Luke 24:30). The simple act of thanksgiving preceded the distribution. Bread was never treated as a mere commodity. It was received as gift.
This was not empty ritual. In Jewish practice the blessing over bread (HaMotzi) acknowledged God as the One who “brings forth bread from the earth.” Jesus stepped into that tradition and filled it with deeper meaning. Every loaf became a reminder that life itself is sustained by the Father’s hand. The prayer before bread trained the heart to see provision as personal and purposeful rather than automatic.
Christians should recover this model for the same reasons. First, it reorients us. In a culture of entitlement and distraction, pausing to thank God before we eat interrupts the illusion of self-sufficiency. Second, it joins us to the larger story. When we bless the bread, we stand in continuity with Jesus and the early church who “broke bread…with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46). Third, the table becomes a place of covenant again—where gratitude, dependence, and shared life are practiced rather than merely discussed.
A hurried “thanks for the food” is not enough. The model Jesus left us is deliberate: take, bless, break, give. In that order the ordinary meal becomes an enacted confession that every good gift comes from above, and that the One who provides bread also provides Himself.