Celebrating 150 Years in Honor of our Past, Present and Future

Welcome to the Central Presbyterian Church website! We are glad that you have found us! As you explore this site, you will find a lot of information about our congregation. I welcome you to connect with us in any way that suits you. Among the possible connections, you can:

• listen to podcasts or watch videos of our worship services online
• follow us through Facebook or sign up to receive a weekly update from us by email
• watch live broadcasts of our worship services on local cable TV, Channel 33 on Verizon FIOS, and Channel 36 on Comcast Sundays at 10:00 a.m. with a re-broadcast at noon. We also broadcast our WAVE services and TV show Chaos to Calm during the following time slots: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 3:00 p.m; Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m.; and Sundays at 7:00 and 9:30 p.m.
• participate in any of our ministries
• worship with us on Sunday mornings (services at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m.) or select Sunday evenings at 5:00 p.m. at WAVE
• watch our Parish Associate, Rev. Noelle Kirchner, in her parenting TV series, Chaos to Calm
• read our weekly Staff Blog (below)

Central Presbyterian Church is happy to announce the grand opening of the Central Arts Academy! This performing arts school is open to the public for private instruction and is committed to education and freedom of artistic expression.  Click here to visit their website.

May Christ enrich your life with all God’s grace! –Rev. Don Steele, Senior  Pastor

Staff Blog

by Rev. Deborah Huggins

This week I went to parent orientation at the high school. It was great. There was a panel with a parent, two students and a guidance counselor. But, as the presentation went on, and the two students talked about how we should encourage our kids to get good grades, participate in sports and activities, and how much social life and friendships change, I could feel the collective pressure in the room growing- especially as the counselor started talking about Freshman PSAT’s, creating a special email for college communications and the Spring College Fair, the feeling in the room had changed to terror. That’s when the parent on the panel said, “I remember four years ago, sitting where you are, terrified. Terrified that my son would never make the transition to high school and that he would never go to college, don’t worry- it gets better.” The whole room burst out in nervous laughter, and then one of the kids on the panel said something that really resonated with me. He said, “I think that one of the most important things that my parents did for me my freshman year was to make me feel at home.” All of the heads around the table started nodding, with the kids and parents and counselor adding examples and suggestions, “it’s was good to come home to dinner after practice,” “when some of my friendships kind of fell apart, I saw how important my family was,” or “sometimes its the little things, like watching a movie together that really helped my kids, especially when their classes go harder.”

At Central, we know that your kids have a lot going on- and that you do to. Our schools are excellent, our sports teams are excellent and our curriculars are excellent, and we are really, really fortunate to live in a community that has so many resources and opportunities for our families, but sometimes, its really good to remember that each of us has a home at Central, and especially with God, where we can just be.

This fall, we are going to be learning about how we can use our Breath to help us connect to that sense of home that we have with God – using the ancient practices of awareness of our breath and of breath prayer. Join us at 9:00 on October 14 at Central. Pam Robertson will lead a class to learn how this simple, ancient prayer practice can help us, and our kids, connect with God. Until then, I hope that each of us can take a moment to pause, and to breathe, and to remember that God is with us and with our families, that God cares for us and that God always invites us home.