Who We Are
The First Presbyterian Church of Morgantown is a mission-oriented congregation that God has called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Practicing the hospitality of Christ, we welcome and embrace all people. We strive to offer a variety of opportunities where each person may celebrate their unique gifts and talents and will be challenged to grow in new ways, ever becoming more and more the mind and heart of Christ.
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We are proud members of the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination and belong to the Presbytery of West Virginia.
Presbyterians Are:
Protestant. We come from the protestant Reformation that began in the 1500’s with the theological thought of Martin Luther and John Calvin.
Reformed and always reforming. We try to always reform our life and practice, both individually and corporately, according to the teachings of scriptures.
Elected by God’s grace. We believe we have been chosen by God’s grace. However, this election is not primarily for privilege, but rather for service. It leads us to gratitude and assurance in our faith, and is best recognized in retrospect.
Saved to share the good news with the world around us. Missions have always been a strong emphasis of our denomination.
Bible centered. The scriptures of the Old and New Testament are our primary guide for faith and life. The words of the Bible help us engage more critically with our faith and life by providing examples of how people experienced God in the past. It is the best source for helping us engage in practical work to make the world a better place. This means being good stewards of God’s creation. It means working for peace and justice. We seek to change unjust social structures where they exist. We find examples and theology about all of these topic and more in the Bible.
Thinkers of our faith. We believe that God has given us minds to use for his service. We believe that the life of the mind is a service to God. Therefore, we study our faith in order to love God with our mind, as well as our heart and soul.
Relying on God’s grace. Everything in our faith revolves around grace - a free gift that God extends to each of us. As we become more aware of God's grace, we respond by offering more grace to others around us. The life of faith is a life-long journey deeper into God's grace.
Inspired to worship God in all we do. Everything that we do can be an act of worship. We make personal prayer a priority and regularly gather to worship with God’s people. The practice of regular worship helps us experience God together and inform the way we worship in other areas of our lives.
Held together by the bonds of love. Every person matters to God. Every person’s gift is needed in the church. Everyone is of value and worth in God’s sight. We believe that the church is built up by the exercise of God’s peoples’ spiritual gifts therefore we encourage everyone to find a place to serve.
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