Thanks and praise be to Almighty God!
Catoctin Presbyterian Church is open!
We will continue to be careful, following official guidance and orders, as we know the pandemic is not yet over. But we believe we are in a position to begin using our building again. We still encourage everyone to practice safe habits of social distancing, frequent hand washing, wearing masks in a crowd, and especially getting vaccinated if possible. We still ask that you stay home if you are not feeling well or have been exposed to anyone who might have COVID-19 or its symptoms. We encourage everyone to continue the best practices to keep one another safe and healthy, especially those who are most vulnerable. Above all, we encourage everyone to practice love, mercy, patience, and compassion for all God’s children.
We are open for in-person and/or hybrid meetings for worship, committees, and outside groups.
(Please contact us at cpc@catoctin.org or 571-593-6543 to schedule building use.)
Worship services will continue to be live streamed.
As the effects of the pandemic continue, if you find yourself in need of assistance, please call our CPC help line at (571) 293-6543.
Worship Online with Us!
We have returned to the sanctuary for in-person worship each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. (ET), and we are live streaming the services on YouTube. You can also watch the stream right here on our website!
We also have a prayer service each Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. (ET), which is on Zoom. This is a casual service with some liturgy, and it is not recorded or live streamed.
Check our news blog or Facebook for details, or join us by clicking here for Zoom or here for YouTube, 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
CPC Announcements
A Plan to Begin Again
Beloved in Christ, It has been a long time - fourteen months, in fact - since we closed the church building due to the pandemic. In all this time, we [...]
Newsletter! Yay!
It's still technically March as this is going up. Anyway, here's lots of news and points of interest! Click the link to download. 2021 March Newsletter.docx
Regarding the Storming of the U.S. Capitol
The following was sent to the congregation on January 7, 2021. Beloved in Christ, Yesterday I was stunned, as I'm sure you were, to watch as a mob breached [...]