Welcome to Northminster

We are a biblically-based Presbyterian church seeking to experience and share God’s love to transform our homes, community and the world. We hope you will join us.
 

Join us this Sunday!

We have Sunday school for all ages at 9:00, and the worship service is at 10:30am. We look forward to seeing you! 
 
 
 

Upcoming Events

The Latest from our blogs…

01
Jun '20

June 2020 Pastor’s Corner – How’s This for Unexpected Irony?

Posted on Jun 1, 2020 by David Garrison in Christian Living, Coronavirus, Devotions, Family in the Bible, General, HomePage, Pastor's Corner, Spiritual Growth | 280

01
Jun '20

Pentecost brings to a close the first half of the Christian year.  The seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter trace the grand arc of God’s saving action in Jesus Christ.  In addition to that rhythm, we have spent the past 90 days reading through the entire Bible.  It’s felt something like a whirlwind.  Then add in the chaos we’ve all experienced in our lives and our world with the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s enough to leave you dizzy, confused and probably a little overwhelmed.  At this point, most all of us are yearning for just a little bit of ordinary. 

The second half of the Christian year is one long season called Ordinary Time. This year, Ordinary Time begins today, June 1. As Philip Reindeers explains, ‘“Ordinary” doesn’t mean boring or second-rate but simply “every­day.” The Christian faith is not an otherworldly faith; it’s about this creation, your life, these days. Ordinary Time gives us the space to consider all the implications of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ for our day by day, week-in, week-out lives.’  As we find ourselves yearning for something of the ordinary in these very extraordinary times, the Christian calendar offers an invitation to consider the implications not just of all that God’s salvation in Christ means for our daily lives, but also how this pandemic is impacting us as well — and perhaps even to ask how does the Gospel inform and affect our understanding of the pandemic’s impact?

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Rom. 12:1–2 MESSAGE)

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison


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15
May '20

Northminster’s Plans for ‘Phase 1’

Posted on May 15, 2020 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News, Worship | 244

15
May '20

Good afternoon, Folks,

On Tuesday, the Session met to discuss our plans for Phase 1 of Virginia’s ‘Forward Virginia’ reopening plans.  Up to this point, we have been limited to no more than 10 people at any gathering and, out of an abundance of caution and a desire to follow the guidance from the VDH and CDC, we have postponed all ministries.  Since we have 8-9 people leading worship each Sunday, we’ve asked that no one else attend.

As of today, the 10 person limit has been lifted and so, if you greatly desire to do so and believe it is safe for you, the sanctuary is open for folks to join us on Sunday mornings.  However, we believe it best to err on the side of caution at this time and are encouraging folks to join us on Facebook Live for worship, especially if you are in an at-risk category or are experiencing cold symptoms.  Sunday school, women’s circles, children’s and youth ministries continue to be suspended at this time.

To summarize:

  • The sanctuary is open for worship, but we still encourage you to stay home and worship with us online.
  • All other ministries and programs will remain suspended for the duration of Phase 1.
  • If you have any symptoms or are at-risk, please remain home.

The Session will continue to monitor the situation and will make plans as we learn more about Phases 2 & 3.  As always, we welcome your feedback and invite you to email me or the elders.  Particularly if you have need, please let us know how we can be of help and pray for you during this ongoing season.

We miss seeing you very much, but want to be prudent and wise in how we move forward.

Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison, and the Session of NEPC


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01
May '20

May 2020 Pastor’s Corner – What to do about Communion?

Posted on May 1, 2020 by David Garrison in Christian Living, Coronavirus, General, HomePage, Pastor's Corner, Worship | 366

01
May '20

We are about to begin our second full month under quarantine, and under normal circumstances we would be celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.  As we all know, however, these are not normal circumstances.  How do we celebrate the sacrament in these times?  Should we celebrate the sacrament during these times? Is it possible to celebrate the sacrament “virtually”? These are questions pastors and elders have been wrestling with over the past month.

As the kids say these days, the “TL;DR” (too long; don’t read) answer that your Session has come to, is that for right now we, once again, will not be celebrating the Sacrament  this month.

Now for the (slightly) longer version.

As said, these are unusual times.  Someone commented to me the other day how much they appreciated the online worship service, as it provided a sense of ‘normal’ in very abnormal times.  That’s one of the key reasons why we are doing our best to keep the order of service as much as normal as possible.  But, these are nevertheless unusual times, and there are some things we might normally do that we hold off on until we get back to normal, and the Lord’s Supper is one of those things.  Our “virtual worship” is a blessing, but it is not a replacement for the real thing.

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is inherently communal and physical.  As a visceral, physical experience it is one of the most tactile moments in our worship service.  It involves all of our senses – taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound.  It is also communal; it is an act of the community.  While we are symbolically together through Facebook Live, yet we are not physically together.  It’s like when traveling for work.  I can still FaceTime my wife and kids, which is better than a phone call, but it’s not the same as being physically present with them.

Much like the spiritual discipline of fasting is meant to remind us of our deeper longing and need for God, it is our hope that as we “fast” from communion, it would remind us of how the sacrament serves as a ‘sign and seal’ of our salvation.  As one theologian said regarding this absence, “the practice of the sacrament is an aid to our faith, it’s absence is not a detriment.”  It is our hope and prayer that the absence of the sacrament will foster in each of us a longing for that wondrous day when we, once again, gather together as a congregation to worship our Savior and celebrate this sacrament once again.

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison


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06
Apr '20

A Call to Prayer and Fasting – Good Friday, April 10, 2020

Posted on Apr 6, 2020 by David Garrison in Announcements, Christian Living, Coronavirus, General, HomePage, Ministry, News, Prayers, Spiritual Growth, Worship | 470

06
Apr '20
This Friday we invite and encourage the members of Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church to join our brothers and sisters in the EPC, PCA, ECO, ACNA and many other denominations and churches in a day of prayer and fasting to cry out for God’s help in addition to a day of worship.  As the coronavirus pandemic continues to sweep the globe and our nation, this is an opportunity for us to set ourselves before the Lord and plead with him to intercede on behalf of His creation.
 
If you’ve been joining us on B90, you’ve seen how, time and again, when the people of God were convicted of their sin and sought His intervention, they began with a period of fasting and then prayer.  While you might consider fasting from technology or something like that, there is something particular about going without food for a short period of time.  The pang and tug of physical hunger reminds us of our deeper, spiritual hunger for God and his action in our lives and our world.  As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13–14)
 
Setting aside a day of prayer and fasting isn’t something to be entered into lightly.  To help us prepare for this Friday, the EPC has provided several resources which you can find on their Good Friday Call to Prayer and Fasting Resources page.  There is a very helpful Guide to Prayer and Fasting, a suggested prayer list, and a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer that addresses the needs of suffering people in troubled times.
 
Our Day of Prayer and Fasting will conclude with the Good Friday service, streamed live on our Facebook page which you can find at www.facebook.com/npcmh (you do not need a Facebook account to access the livestream).  The service will begin at 7:30pm and is a simple service of scripture, song, candlelight and prayerful reflection.
 
We hope you’ll join us in this day of prayer and fasting, asking God to  intervene in the face of this ongoing pandemic.
 
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison

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01
Apr '20

April 2020 Pastor’s Corner – The Conundrum of the Cluster

Posted on Apr 1, 2020 by David Garrison in Christian Living, Devotions, General, HomePage, Local Service, Pastor's Corner, Prayers, Spiritual Growth | 346

01
Apr '20

The Conundrum of the Cluster

We are creatures of habit, it’s a part of human nature. Part of that habit is grouping together with like-minded individuals, collections of people with shared beliefs, routines, customs, vision, etc. This is very normal and natural, it’s how communities form — including church communities — and it’s encouraged. We need the mutual support, accountability and encouragement that comes from the Body of Christ. In fact, in adolescent development theory, the “cluster” is an important and necessary part of the social development of the teenager. Where “cliques” are unhealthy and exclusive, “clusters” are not only inclusive and healthy, they are necessary for proper and appropriate development.
 
But this “clustering” also presents a problem, a problem we’ve been talking about in the church for several decades now. We aren’t called to be the church “gathered in” or “clustered together” but rather the church “sent out” (we’ve called this being a “missional” church) But the “sending out” part is hard — well, it’s very easy to talk about theoretically, but gets harder when we actually go to put it into practice. Why is it hard? Because it means leaving our comfort zone, our “cluster,” and going “out there,” wherever that may be. Our natural inertia is toward the cluster, not away from it. Throughout history, it has taken an outside force acting on the cluster that forces it to disperse and be sent out.
 

The Church Scattered

There is an interesting word used several times in the book of Acts, diaspeiro. It appears in Acts 8:1, 4, and 11:19 and it means “to scatter abroad.” After Stephen was stoned to death in Acts 7, there was “a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem” (8:1) that caused the Christians to be “scattered” (diaspeiro). And what happened? “Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4) From the very beginning, Christians preferred to cluster together (see Acts 2:42). It took a persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem to send them out to Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch and further. It was the persecution of Christians by Nero in AD 64 that sent them out to “the ends of the earth,” spreading the Gospel far and wide. But God doesn’t always use persecution to scatter the church.
 

The Church Closed. Or is it?

We are, in many respects, in an unprecedented time. It certainly isn’t the first time humanity faced a pandemic like this, but it is for most of us it’s the first in our lifetime. It’s forcing us to rethink much of how we understand being “church.” How do we “do church” if we can’t meet for worship on Sunday mornings? But the church never was a building or a time. For the sake of the health of each other and our community, we can not gather in groups of 10 or more until this pandemic passes. But that doesn’t mean the church is closed. A colleague of mine posted this on her Facebook wall the other day,
A couple of years ago, God gave my associate pastor a vision of our church having transparent walls. For two years, we have been wondering how on earth God was going to turn stone and stained glass into transparent walls. We got the interpretation today. He’s making them transparent by locking our doors. Suddenly people will be able to see in from the outside! May God make transparent all the walls of our churches, that the world may know the Good News of Jesus Christ… He has been preparing us for this since November. We just didn’t understand what he was saying until now. Our church is being called to love and serve one another. We are the church sent out, not the church closed!
 
Through the wonder of modern technology, we will still “gather together” for worship, but in our own homes. Each Sunday morning, we will still worship in our sanctuary, and you can join us for the worship service at www.facebook.com/npcmh (no, you don’t need a Facebook account to get to it, just a phone or web browser).  The service will be adapted to focus on and facilitate at-home worship as families and individuals.
 

The Church Sent Out

We are still Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church, but we are not closed. We are the church dispersed, scattered, sent out, like dandelion seeds. Even in the midst of the social distancing of this pandemic, we have an opportunity to love our neighbor in ways we’ve forgotten or lost. If your neighbors are elderly or in the higher-risk categories for the coronavirus, offer to go to the store for them and leave the groceries on their porch. If your neighbors have kids and jobs that don’t allow them to work from home, offer to watch the kids during the day. There are many other ways to serve our neighbors, and we’ll help you explore some of those in the weeks to come. This is going to be a difficult season, let there be no doubt. But the church has faced pandemics and difficult seasons before, and every time the light of the love of Jesus Christ has shined brightly in the darkness. Hold fast to your hope, stand firm on the foundation of Jesus Christ and don’t be afraid.
 
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison

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