Don’t panic, but for now, don’t come, either.
Due to the current guidance from the county, commonwealth, and federal officials regarding COVID-19, and in order to keep people safe,
the Catoctin Presbyterian Church building is closed until further notice.
All in-person activities at the church are canceled, including our partners in other organizations who meet at the church.
Nevertheless, our ministry and mission work continue, through online worship, prayer, study, and fellowship, and extending God’s kingdom by serving those in need.
If you are in need, please call our CPC help line at (571) 293-6543.
During this time, the session will be meeting frequently to respond to the changing situation, providing for our worship and pastoral care, encouraging ongoing mission and stewardship, and praying with and for the congregation.
Pastor David will be leading worship online. Details are here and at our Facebook Page. We are using the zoom.us platform. You may want to visit their website to familiarize yourself with it if you haven’t already, and maybe download their app. We’re also holding weekly online prayer meetings on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 p.m. (ET). Click here to join us.
We will still provide pastoral care to our flock to the best of our ability.
For your part, please be careful out there. Stay informed with reliable sources. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds regularly and often. If you are sick, stay home and contact your doctor. And whatever happens, do not be overcome by fear. In life and in death, we belong to God. Whatever comes, Jesus Christ is our hope, our life, our Savior. Be kind to one another. Pray fervently. Strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the suffering. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Join us for Online Worship!
We are holding worship online each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (ET) on the zoom.us platform.
We also have a prayer service each Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. (ET), also on Zoom.
Check our news blog or Facebook for details, or join us by clicking here or the Worship Online link above.
About CPC
Catoctin Presbyterian Church is a small congregation with long roots in an old farming community that now finds itself in the middle of one of the fastest growing, most affluent counties in the United States. Holding those dynamics in tension is a big part of the “personality” of the congregation.
We are small and close-knit. We are traditional in many ways, and trying to respond to contemporary needs in people’s lives. We are farm families and urban commuters and lifelong Presbyterians and converts from other faiths. We have families that have been in the church for seven generations and some who just moved in last year. We try to provide a quiet place of reflection and deepening relationships in a fast-paced, hyper-reactive culture. Our worship is liturgical (that is, structured with written prayers and responses for the people), but it’s not unusual to have someone calling out comments to the preacher during the sermon. The very least you can say is it’s an interesting mix! There’s a good chance we have a place where you will fit right in.
Get your bearings for your first visit here, or learn more about what we believe.
Message from the Pastor
When the congregation was founded over 250 years ago, I’m sure those folk couldn’t imagine the sort of connections we can make today. But even after all this time, the bedrock of our church’s life is still the same. We have faith in Jesus Christ, and we do our best as a community to follow him and to love and support one another.
So, yes, we are a historic church within a historic village. But we have to deal with the challenges of contemporary life like everyone else. We believe discovering who Christ is, being in relationship with Christ and others, and serving Christ by helping our neighbors is what gives life its meaning and purpose. Sometimes we nail it, and sometimes we fail. Either way, we keep trying to help each other down the road. That’s why we say we’re a community growing in faith, hope, love, and witness to Jesus Christ.
We hope you’ll come for a visit sometime soon.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor David Douthett
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