Pastor BruceApr 302 minNewsletter May 2022 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, This month, I’ve decided to use this space to write a stewardship article, but not the kind of stewardship article you...
Pastor BruceMar 282 minNewsletter April 2022 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, During the early days of the pandemic, when it was not safe to gather, our worship services were pre-recorded and made...
Pastor BruceFeb 211 minNewsletter March 2022 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, Four years ago during Lent, we created a midweek worship service combined with a simple meal. During its early years, the...
Pastor BruceJan 243 minNewsletter February 2022 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends: As January gives way to February, I think of Valentine’s Day. And of course, Valentine’s Day makes me think of love. The...
Pastor BruceDec 30, 20213 minNewsletter January 2022 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends: As I sit down to type my first First Press article of 2022, I am reminded of the practice of adopting New Year’s...
Pastor BruceNov 26, 20214 minNewsletter December 2021 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends: It was a number of years ago, a few days before Christmas, and my mom wasn’t feeling well. So she went to see her...
Pastor BruceOct 26, 20212 minNewsletter November 2021 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends: As he often does when writing to the churches, the Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Philippians with words of...
Pastor BruceSep 27, 20212 minNewsletter October 2021 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJConsecration Sunday Is Coming: Sunday, October 24! Congregations which approach financial stewardship from a biblical perspective do not...
Pastor BruceAug 30, 20211 minNewsletter September 2021 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, As I write this, August will soon give way to September, children will soon return to school, and in the rhythm of church...
Pastor BruceMay 26, 20212 minNewsletter June 2021 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, While we’re not completely out of the woods, conditions created by the coronavirus are improving greatly! Thanks be to God...
Pastor BruceApr 29, 20212 minNewsletter May 2021 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, As I write these words, I am preparing to plant pansies in some raised pots and beds around the backyard of the manse. I...
Bruce BallantineFeb 26, 20213 minNewsletter March, 2021- First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, It was two days before our regularly scheduled Sunday, March 15, 2020 worship service. Reports were beginning to surface...
Bruce BallantineJan 30, 20211 minNewsletter February, 2021- First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, Three years ago during Lent, we created a midweek worship service combined with a simple meal. During those three years,...
Bruce BallantineDec 28, 20203 minNewsletter January, 2021- First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, Recently I was asked to write an online devotional for my alma mater, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. The assigned date...
Pastor BruceNov 24, 20202 minNewsletter December, 2020 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends: In just a few days on November 29, we enter the season of Advent, a season of preparation for the coming of Christ, whose...
Bruce BallantineOct 30, 20202 minNewsletter November, 2020 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJ Dear Friends: I doubt that St. Paul realized that his letters to various first-century churches would one day become part of the...
Pastor BruceSep 28, 20203 minNewsletter October, 2020 - First Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJDear Friends, I believe worshiping God is the most important thing we do as Christians. It is in worship that we center our lives before God
Pastor BruceAug 27, 20202 minFirst Presbyterian Ridgewood, NJ Newsletter September, 2020Dear Friends, Although we’re still living through a pandemic, and life is so different than it was six months ago, the church continues to
Carola Di IorioFeb 24, 20201 minMarch Blog and Lenten SeasonDear Friends, Two years ago during Lent, we created the opportunity to experience a midweek worship service combined with a simple meal....
Carola Di IorioJan 30, 20202 minMy February Blog Message, Pastor BruceDear Friends, “All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable...