You may be a little curious as to what "co-pastors" are - we are a pair of pastors who serve the church together and, in this case, happen to be husband and wife.  We like to think we bring a wide range of complimentary skills to our ministry and are excited to be part of one of the most caring, compassionate and fun congregations we've ever found.  All churches are meant to be places of compassion, healing and forgiveness and at First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway, the members really take that to heart.  Our Deacons carry out the caring ministry of the congregation, our parish leaders keep in personal contact with all of our members and friends, and in particulary difficult times, the Stephen Ministers are trained to walk with you on your faith journey.

From our church newsletter, The Church Street Journal (January, 2012):

In 1995, a book came out that made a tremendous impact on many churches. Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Church took a very progressive approach to answering the question, “What is the purpose of the church?” First, Warren explained that according to the Bible, the church doesn’t have just one purpose, but five: fellow-ship, discipleship, worship, ministry, and evangelism.

Warren’s five purposes are good starting points for all of us to think about what part we play in the life of the church. Consider these questions:
     In what ways do you take part in the fellowship of the church?
     How are you growing in discipleship?
     How often do you take part in worship?
     In what ways do you share in the ministry of the church?
     How do you spread the gospel message? [evangelism] (And do you know what that message is?)
These questions aren’t meant to point fingers, but they should help each one of us understand what areas we need to work on in our life together as members of this congregation.

At the beginning of each year, many people make resolutions on ways they plan to improve their lives – like losing weight, eating healthier, getting more exercise. In the next few months, we’d like to challenge each other to carefully consider how the entire congregation can more fully live out our purposes as a church of Jesus Christ, with the responsibility of sharing the gospel message in word and deed. But we want to do more than that. It’s not enough to simply consider how all of us together can do a better job of ministry – we need to put the ideas into action. We want to be the healthiest congregation we can possibly be.

Maybe the best way to close is with this New Year’s poem – read it well!
O God, make me discontented with things the way they are in the world
and in my own life;
Make me notice the stains when people get spilled on;
Make me care about the slum child downtown, the misfit at work,
the people crammed into the mental hospitals;
the men, the women, the youth behind bars;
Jar my complacence, expose the excuses,
get me involved in the life of my city and world;
Give me integrity once more, O God, as we seek to be changed and trans-formed,
with a new understanding and awareness of our common humanity. Amen.
---Mitch & Sue Trigger