Blogs

Sabbatical Management Team
A Fond Farewell to Jennie Barber
August 3, 2020
We have been truly blessed by having Reverend Jennie Barber to lead us during this tumultuous time period of Pastor Craig Sumey’s sabbatical and the unanticipated and challenging time of dealing with the Covid-19 virus. The virus caused us to close down the worship service to protect our members and visitors ...  read more 
Rev. Jennie Barber
Remembering and Blessings
July 27, 2020
Do you remember January? Though it was only six months ago, it seems like light years. We say “January” and it feels like we are evoking a mythical time and place. Maybe that’s why it’s hard for me to recall January. So much of it seems lost in a fog that blurs memories of what ...
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Matthew Harrison
Farewell From Our Custodian
July 20, 2020
I was given the chance to write the blog for this week because it is such a great opportunity to say goodbye. With two new sons in the last year (my baby-boy Holden and my foster son Maxx), my family is growing, and I felt it was time for me to grow, too ...  read more 
Janet Starkey
Summer Camp Memories
July 13, 2020
I like to multi-task. I can focus on a task and be aware of something else like music or the news on television, running in the background. Last week the news was sharing stories on summer camp and what it will/could/should look like this summer ...  read more 
Kent Kimball
God is Great! 
July 6, 2020
Question: Did you know that David addressed over 50 of his Psalms to "The Choir Director"?  Yep, it's true.  David was passionate about music, specifically music used to glorify God and to lead worship.  What does this have to do with 1st Presbyterian Church ... read more
Emily Rogers
A Job Done Well 
​June 30, 2020
I love to work—always have and probably always will. Coming from a large household of six children, I learned early-on to chip-in and do my part of the work of keeping up a home. Washing dishes for... read more
Bonnie Piovesan
Looking Forward
June 23, 2020
Lately I have found myself looking forward to lots of things. Looking forward to when we are all back together again at church. Looking forward to a stocked toilet paper aisle at the store ... read more
Janet Starkey
My Fitbit Died This Week
June 16, 2020
​My Fitbit died this week. Some of you might know that I wear a Fitbit (fancy pedometer) because I like to track the number of steps I take every day. It also tracks my sleep, which either confirms or denies the quality of my sleep—good and bad ☺... read more
Stephanie Rogge
​Happiest Year
June 91, 2020
The year 2020 has been an eye-opening year so far with the world pandemic and civil unrest all around us. It is easy to become disheartened, which is where I have been occasionally in the recent months. It’s times like these that we need to remember the good things that God has done in our lives ... read more
Matthew Harrison
​Happiest Year
June 1, 2020
The last year has been the happiest of my life! Nine months ago, God gave my wife and me our amazing little Holden. Every single day, my perfect son has brought so much joy to me–even when he has decided for the moment to not be so perfect with his endless antics...read more
Chris Gray
Memorial Day 2020 - A Symbol of Remembrance & Hope
May 27, 2020
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friend. John 15:13
It is bright. It is bold. It is something to behold. These resilient flowers flourished in the middle of so much chaos and destruction, growing in the thousands upon thousands. It also serves as an ​... read more
Carley Walker
The Most Precious Gift
May 18, 2020
Last weekend, I had the lovely opportunity to get together with my four sisters and my mom for a lunch and cousin visit. It had been such a long time since we were all together. It was precious to say the least. My mom had called us all together ​... read more
Bonnie Piovesan
Beautiful Name
May 11, 2020
I like my name. Bonnie is not a common name, and it means beautiful. My mom said she named me after her best friend when she was young. From my point of view, my name is pretty nice ... read more
Emily Rogers
What's My New Normal
May 4, 2020
During our last staff meeting with Pastor Craig before he went on his 3-month sabbatical, he asked us to think about all the changes that have come with responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. ... read more
Janet Starkey
Coffee and Community
April 29, 2020
A very dear friend permanently moved to Hawaii with her husband a few years ago. On one hand, I mourned the move because rather than being on the mainland and a few hours away by airplane, she was now an ocean away ... read more
Judy Flieger
A Still Small Voice
April 20, 2020
1 KINGS 19:12-13 And the Lord told Elijah to ‘Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord’ and behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces ... read more
Steve Balas
Are You Seeing What's Happening
April 14, 2020
When you watch the news, and you see and understand something of the scope of the human suffering associated, it is hard to think anything good about the coronavirus. Lost lives, lost jobs ... read more
Chris Gray
Not Cancelled... God's Goodness
April 6, 2020
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another ... read more
Bonnie Piovesan
'I Told You So'
​March 31, 2020
I hate it when people tell me, “I told you so.” I remember as a kid I would get hopping mad when this phrase would come out. I don’t think I fully understood why this phrase would make me so angry back then. Now as an adult I understand some of the emotions ​ ... read more
Janet Starkey
Inspiration and Introspection
​March 23, 2020
Last Tuesday, I received a text message from my daughter; she and her fiancé made the tough decision to postpone their May wedding. “Due to local restrictions and health concerns, we’ve made the decision to reschedule our wedding to a later date this year. ​ ... read more
Emily Rogers
God's Plan for Us
​March 16, 2020
“I know you’d want to know that Jesse passed away this morning,” read the text message from my ex-husband, Keith. It started me on a long trip down memory lane last week. And, it eventually reminded me that God has a plan to prosper us. ... read more
Stephanie Rogge
Something New and Beautiful
​March 9, 2020
Since moving to the area from Montana, I’ve enjoyed the weather here, for the most part. We don’t experience the subzero temperatures or have to endure the deep freezes that seem to linger forever in Montana. I have to admit the long periods of gray skies, rain or snow, and short days here in the winter have been a challenge ... read more
Connor Harris
Come Unto Me
March 3, 2020
​Isn’t it odd to think of all the generations before us – how they have looked forward to the end of this present age and thought how glorious to be alive in that time – and wished for themselves so great an honor as to live for Christ in the ... read more
Steve Balas
Isn't it Odd
February 25, 2020
Many times inspiration is visual, as it is in this sculpture. Truly, a photo is worth a thousand words!  When my grandmother passed away a few years ago, I noticed that my mother had made this her background photo on her computer screen.  ... read more
Matthrew Harrison
Signs
February 18, 2020
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” Matthew 12:38

In our day to day lives as Christians we look for the signs around us that reaffirm God’s blessings ... read more
Chris Gray
Valentine's Day
February 11, 2020
Isn’t it funny how the mythology of our human love involves a roly-poly, flying, diapered baby wielding a deadly weapon!?! This whimsical creature and icon of Valentine’s Day sees two people and shoots them with his bow and arrow … read more