I was talking with a member of the church who asked what I was up to and I said, “Well, I’m working on yet another bulletin for a worship service. They tend to roll around every seven days.” I always try to say the “every seven days” line with
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There is an old African American spiritual that goes: I got shoes, you got shoes, all God’s children got shoes. When I get to heaven, gonna put on my shoes, I’m gonna walk all over God’s heaven. . . There are some other verses to this song, including one
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During February, while I was on Sabbatical, Amy and I took some time to purchase a new bed for our son, Samuel. This new “Big Boy Bed” fits in his room along with another big bed that we use for reading stories at night. Up until February, Samuel had been
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Years ago, a friend of my brother (who happened to be a pastor) joked that on Pentecost Sunday, wouldn’t it be cool to have, like, a flamethrower - or something really fiery to get his congregation’s attention and remind them that the Holy Spirit is with them. I
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On Tuesday evening, after news of the killings at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, I was helping my son with bath time. He has a new set of swimming goggles that he was trying out, dipping his head under the water and looking around, filled with wonder. While he
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(Tassels Abound!)When I was newly-ordained and began serving as Associate Pastor in my old church down in Georgia, I made the mistake of telling people “Just call me John or Pastor John.” This was something that most of the people in the church did with no problem, whatsoever. There
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Some of you might know that I have a minor obsession with guitar effects pedals. For those of you who don’t know about pedals, you can take an electric guitar and plug it straight into a guitar amplifier (with a speaker that makes it loud) OR, you can plug
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A member of our church sent me a message this week, saying, “Another super pressing morality debate is upon us! This is, what, like #258 in the past five years?” They were, of course, referring to the news of the leaked Supreme Court opinion regarding the possible overturning of the
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I was grateful to hear the news this week that the US is “out of the pandemic phase.” Public health and infectious disease experts have downgraded Covid-19 in the US basically from “full-blown pandemic” to “controlled pandemic.” There are fewer infections each day, fewer hospitalizations, and fewer deaths. This is
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So there I was. . . hiking along a rocky seashore trail in Northern Ireland one week during my sabbatical. I had heard about a secluded beach at the base of a cliff near the town of Ballycastle and I wanted to see it for myself. I parked my car at the
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Reverend Doctor Blair Moffett retired to Wolfeboro, N.H., having served two churches in Pennsylvania and two more in Connecticut. When his wife Patricia transferred her membership to BPC, Blair became a trailing spouse. He continues as a member of Northern NE Presbytery. It’s a bit far to commute
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A member of BPC since 2005, Jill is originally from Omaha, Nebraska. As a mother of two, she currently lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, and is a music teacher in the Bedford School District. Jill also works at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, where if she's not on stage singing
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Manny Barreto, a lifelong Presbyterian grew up in the First Presbyterian Church of Levittown, New York, and as a young man was a Deacon of that church. He was also a member of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church for over 20 years when he lived in NY City. As a Deacon,
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Join us in welcoming our guest preacher Reverend Dr. David Reynolds, for worship services this coming Sunday, January 2, 2022, at 10 AM. Dr. Reynolds is a member of the Pastoral Counseling Services team, a non-profit counseling agency in Manchester, NH, whose primary focus is the integration of spirituality and
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We welcome Elder Michael Chen, a 14-year member of Bedford Presbyterian Church, as our Guest Preacher this week. Mike and wife Melinda, also an Elder, reside in Bedford with their three daughters. Mike is currently an Elder on Session, has served as Chair of the Nominating Committee, is a member
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For Worship Services this Sunday, February 20th at 10AM, we welcome our Guest Preacher Jennifer Chew. Jennifer has been a member of BPC for 21 years. She and her husband, Greg Zimmermann, joined when they moved to Bedford in 2001 from North Carolina. Jennifer and her family live in the
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Marc Michael Murai was born and raised in Monterey Park, California, a small suburb approximately 15 minutes east of downtown. He, his wife Sarah (one of BPC’s newest Elders), and their son Carter moved to Bedford, NH from the San Francisco East Bay in 2007. Shortly thereafter, their daughter
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This week we welcome BPC Member Bruce Olsen as our Guest Preacher for worship services this coming Sunday, January 30, 2022, at 10 AM. Bruce grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts. He studied Mechanical Engineering at WPI and MIT and taught for a couple of years, then moved to NH, where
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Join us in welcoming Deacon Mary Beth Dopfer as our guest preacher for worship services this coming Sunday, January 23, 2022, at 10 AM. Mary Beth was born and raised in upstate New York. She and her husband Herbert moved to Bedford, New Hampshire in 1995, where they reside with
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Join us in welcoming our Guest Preacher, BPC Elder Cindy Chagnon for our January 16, 2022, Sunday Worship service at 10 AM. Cindy, a native of West Virginia, has lived in New Hampshire with her husband, Jean, since 1973. She grew up as a Presbyterian in WV, and she and
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This week we welcome Elder Andy Wickwire as our guest preacher for worship services this coming Sunday, January 9, 2022, at 10 AM. Andy grew up in Manchester, CT, and has called Bedford home for 29 years with his wife Nancy (Lord) Wickwire, and two kids, Eddie and Layla. Andy
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As I write this, there are several people I know who are busy doing their last-minute Christmas shopping. Here in the church office, we have been busy printing bulletins for the Community Carol Sing, our Christmas Eve services, and our regular Sunday service this week. Out in the world, there
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Hello All! This is a friendly reminder that we will be holding a Congregational Meeting this coming Sunday, December 19, at 11:15 AM. This will be a “hybrid” meeting, with some people in-person in the Sanctuary and others joining on Zoom. To join the meeting on Zoom, please click
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This past week, the Session of BPC met in-person for the first time since March of 2020. Throughout the pandemic, we have been meeting on Zoom, but we decided to meet in-person, in the Fellowship Hall, wearing masks for our last Session meeting of the year. It was a beautiful
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It’s shaping up to be a busy Advent at BPC! Here are just a few of the things going on in the month of December. Mark your calendars and plan to take part! Sunday, December 12 at 10 AM – Children’s Christmas Musical – “Broadcasting Christmas” – Join us for the
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