Atlanta Reformed Presbyterian Church

In the December 31, 2021 issue of Penny’s Pen, we told you the story of Larry Kerr (though not by name).  He had professed his faith and joined the church from a hospice bed in July 2021.  At that time Pastor Frank was told by the chaplain that it was anticipated that Larry would pass away within a couple of weeks.  Instead, two weeks later, he checked himself out, caught a bus and then a MARTA commuter train, and went back to his apartment.  However, it is my sad duty to tell you that he has now passed away.

After checking out from hospice, Larry attended church as he was able. However, he also showed some signs of backsliding at times. On October 20, 2022, as a result of a traffic stop, he was arrested down in Newnan, Georgia, and eventually transported back to Atlanta to face several charges (mostly, we believe, trumped up by one or more persons who wanted to destroy him). On November 23, 2022, while in custody, he passed away of an apparent heart attack at the age of 66.

The memorial service was held at our church on December 11th in conjunction with our regular worship service, and it was a very moving time. As Pastor Frank recounted during the sermon:

In his sixty-six years, he lived a colorful and, in many ways, a difficult life. He was a cracker-jack mechanic. He was an automobile racer. He was one who fell afoul of the law and served time. He had a rough edge to him at times, but he could also be sweet. He was well respected for his honesty and telling it like it is. For the last year and a half, he was living on borrowed time. We all expected him to die in July 2021 when he was in hospice. It was during that time that he was able to profess his faith and join the church while on a hospice bed.

Larry, with his sister, Helen, showing off his membership certificate

But a couple of weeks later, he showed his courage when he got up from his hospice bed, hopped on a MARTA bus and train, got picked up by his daughter at West Lake station, and went home. He told me he was tired of being around people who were dying—he loved life! And, while in prison years before, he read through the Bible about four times—which leads us to our text for today:

Psalm 119:71-72.  It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.  The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

After speaking of the word-oriented nature of Psalm 119, Pastor Frank presented the first major point, viz., the Role of Affliction. Affliction could entail many things, including loss in relationships, and also being imprisoned, whether justly or unjustly. Whatever form it may take, affliction is not fun—nobody wants it.

But the psalmist speaks of the goodness of affliction. Why? For at least six reasons.

1. Because it reflects the sovereign will of God who is good.

2. Because it enables us to understand the horribleness of our sinful nature.

3. Because God uses affliction to get our attention.

4. Because affliction is used by God to make us more dependent on Him.

5. Because affliction enables us to see beyond this life to life eternal.

6. Because affliction teaches us as to what is actually important

What is being learned through affliction? God’s statutes; God’s commandments; God’s law; God’s word.

Among the things that would especially be learned and believed and kept are, negatively, to keep away from the horrible greasiness of sin (v. 70); and positively, to honor God as He should be honored: listening to His word; respecting His worship; honoring His Sabbath; believing His gospel; and living for Him.

What is being taught in v. 71 was Larry’s experience. He knew that he’d been disobedient and hadn’t been living like he should’ve been the last several months. He referred to jail as his ‘house of correction.’ And he started to read through the Bible once again. This is why he really wanted reading glasses, so he could read without difficulty. This is why he wanted his own Bible. . . . He was able to internalize the word through this affliction.

In commenting on The Preciousness of the Law, the preacher noted the value which the psalmist places upon this law. It was better than thousands of gold and silver coins.

There is in this text a rejection of materialism and an affirmation of spiritual blessings. More than that, we learn many things from God’s revelation to us.

It tells us who we are, creatures made in God’s image. It reveals who God is. It informs us as to the history of mankind. It speaks to us of God’s love. It gives us rules for living. It serves as the conviction of sin. It points the way to salvation. . . . We all have rap sheets demonstrating our condemnation in God’s courtroom. Yet we also have a Savior who has paid the price for those crimes against heaven. And we have the certainty of our own resurrection someday and our being in heaven forever. [Indeed, God’s revelation] provides comfort to the soul.

[And] it is precious because you can take this truth with you into eternity. Death is a great leveler. We’re all going to die; every one of us will someday experience the coldness of death.

Larry didn’t have a lot of possessions; but, every person, rich or poor, will not be able to take any material things into the next life; [speaking of a rich person, the question was asked,] “How much did he leave?”, and the answer was, “He left it all!” . . . But you can take the certainty and the promises of God’s word with you into the grave and beyond.

This preciousness of God’s word was what Larry experienced in the last month of his life on earth. By his own statement, he was ‘eating it up.’ His enthusiasm and desire for and interest in and love for the word of God put me to shame. Psalm 19 refers to the law of God being sweeter than honey to the lips.

And then Pastor Frank said,

Let me share with you something that happened a week and a half ago. On Wednesday, November 30^th, late in the afternoon, I got a phone call out of the blue. It was from a lady who told me that her son had been a cellmate of Larry’s at Rice Street [Fulton County Jail]. This fellow had heard that Larry may have died and he wanted to see if that was true. She said that her son had been reading the Bible that Larry had left behind; and her son wanted her to  contact me, as he knew that I was Larry’s pastor, and he gave her the contact info from what Larry had written down. I was able to confirm that Larry had indeed passed a week before; I thanked her for the phone call and said that I was sure that Larry would be glad to know her son was reading Larry’s Bible. About 40 minutes later, I had a sudden urge to call that lady back: I had not really gotten her name and I wanted to follow up with her. Lo and behold, when I called, she was on the phone with her son at the Fulton County Jail, and we were able to have a three-way conversation. The son shared with me how Larry had counseled him and another fellow in the jail. And then, he read to me a letter that Larry had written to Miss Penny and myself but hadn’t been able to send [though the post card on which he wrote this message was finally mailed and received]; this letter had to have been written very shortly before he died—perhaps even the same day. And here it is!

Greetings: Pastor Frank and First Lady Mrs. Penny:                                                    May the grace of our Father and Lord Jesus Christ in heaven be with you all.                   I thank you for my glasses. Very much. Amen.                                                                “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me: because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tiding unto the meek:  he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”—Isaiah 61:1.                                                                                                                                     For me and you and T.J. [Pattillo, the elder at our church], Amen.  I’ve never seen so many people [who want] to read the Bible.                                                                           Happy Thanksgiving.  Our Lord Jesus’ love be with you.

This, we can say, is Larry’s last will and testament.  It expressed his own faith and his desire that others have it, too.  Larry had a rough life—but, you know, it doesn’t matter how you begin, but rather how you finish the race. 

Larry had one daughter, five grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. What a legacy! To these family members, and others (sisters, brothers, nieces, cousins), we at ARPC offer our sincere condolences, as well as to his friends and acquaintances. Please know that we at Atlanta Reformed Presbyterian Church also grieve—we loved him, and he loved us.

The message that I have for all of us here today is simple: Follow the example that Larry Wayne Kerr left for us. He delighted in the word of God and found his comfort and joy in it. And the reason why he was able to benefit from it, was because that word pointed him to Jesus, his Savior. Christ is the only Redeemer of God’s elect—paying the price not with silver and gold but with His precious blood. Jesus Christ not only died for Larry’s sins but rose again from the dead. Larry looked to Jesus by faith, trusting in His sacrifice at the cross and  believing in His resurrection. And Larry knew that Jesus would some day raise him from the dead, too. You, too, can have that same hope and assurance by believing in Jesus, just like Larry Wayne Kerr did. And so I call upon you to treasure the law of God and appreciate its preciousness, far above thousands of fine coins of silver and of gold.

I don’t think there was anyone in the congregation who was not deeply moved. It was a solemn and serious occasion, and a very poignant one, but also one filled with the hope of the resurrection, too. We will miss Larry. Though we rejoice in his release from the trials of this life, physical and spiritual, we still grieve.

Allow me to begin with an apology for the many months that it has been since I last wrote, and to bring you up to date with an account of some of the Lord’s blessings as well as some of the difficult issues with which our mission church has been challenged so far this year.

First of all, looking back, the new year started off with an unexpected problem, when, on the first Lord’s Day, we arrived at our church building to find that vandals had tampered with our locks and we couldn’t insert the keys, meaning that we had to call for a locksmith. While waiting about an hour and a half to get in the door, we enjoyed some cheerful fellowship in mild weather and sang a few Psalms.  Even though we had to cancel Sabbath School, we were able to hold the service, after which Mrs. Nancy Pattillo purchased and installed new locks for us.

                          We also began the year with a couple of tough and somewhat tricky issues on our plate, namely that we were coming close to having to conduct disciplinary action against one of our members, and were unhappy with the behavior of one of our regular attenders which we had to find some way to deal with.  This took a lot of our time and energy and was, honestly, quite distressing while still having to deal with the other aspects of a very difficult ministry.

Pastor Frank was really exhausted by spring of this year to the extent that many people told him (and me) that we HAD to take some time off.  So, it was agreed that we should take a 5-week sabbatical, with our Sunday duties being taken over by our intern TJ Pattillo and his wife, Nancy, and our weekday duties taken over by a newly formed benevolence committee made up of four members of our congregation led by our intern.  The sabbatical was due to run from May 25th to June 30th.  Frank was to “maintain radio silence” and we were to leave everything to other people to deal with.

The day after our sabbatical started, however, we and our intern and his family came down with Covid, and the following Lord’s Day the service at ARPC had to be cancelled because there weren’t enough staff to open the building or coordinate transportation.

Meanwhile my kitchen and part of the dining room had flooded because the instant hot water tank under the sink had leaked.  It seemed at first that the only damage was to the flooring in both rooms but, nearly a month later, it was discovered that the bottom cabinets were damaged beyond repair and there was a buildup of mold on them and the wall.   Thankfully, our homeowners insurance company agreed to cover the costs of repair and renovation, starting with drying everything out and killing the mold. The kitchen was tented, loud equipment which exhausted a lot of heat was brought in, and the temperature in there was 94⁰ for a week.  Then everything was ripped out and it took until late September to rebuild it.  Going through something relatively minor like this has given me more empathy for the people who not only lost homes during the recent hurricane but for those who, while not losing their entire home, have had to deal with much more extensive water damage than I did.

Early on in the sabbatical, Frank learned that his contract with Georgia Gwinnett College where he had been employed for ten years would not be renewed.  Effectively, he had lost his job and, as we learned later, our health insurance as well.

One bright spot, however, was Frank’s participation in the joyous occasion of the installation of Drew Poplin as associate pastor at First RPC Durham, North Carolina, on June 10th.

                                                   Pastors Drew Poplin and Frank Smith

There were a number of additional challenging issues that the Lord brought into our lives during our sabbatical resulting in my not being able to accomplish any of my personal goals and in Frank only being able to work on one of his.

It was a blessing, however, that, on four of the five Lord’s Days during that period, we were relieved of having to make the difficult and occasionally horrendous journey into Atlanta.  Also, if we had not been on sabbatical during those five weeks, the various challenging and time-consuming providences would have been even harder to handle.

Maybe more importantly, as a result of our experiences, there have been times of deeper prayer.  What we went through brings to mind Psalm 119:71: “It has been very good for me That I was humbled low. It through affliction was that I Thy statutes came to know.” And so, we thank the Lord for His goodness to us and His preserving of us.

Since the end of June, we have been putting extra effort into our church building which was originally a broom factory built in 1947 and has been in serious need of repair and renovation ever since we started meeting there in October 2019.  Not least of our problems is that we have suffered a number of flooded areas following heavy rainfalls.  We know we have had a moisture issue because of a musty aroma when we first come into the building.

We had been seeking professional help from a variety of tradesmen in our area of Atlanta but were unable to find anyone reliable.  By God’s grace a number of men from White Oak ARP Church in Senoia, Georgia, spent a day with us in July 2020, demolishing the baptistry and removing a great deal of unusable/unneeded/trash items that the previous church had left behind.

In June of this year, and again, in September, men from Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Buford, Georgia, assisted by several of our church members, removed the water-stained acoustic tiles and the track on which they rested, floor tiles which had become loose and dangerous, along with more unneeded/unwanted items, and demolished three unwanted rooms made of two-by-fours and panelling which were not original to the building.  They also removed the old panelling from the worship area.

That wonderful volunteer work has left us with a much clearer idea of what is left to be done.  We have been talking to a mold and mildew expert about removing the mold and preventing it from returning and are also working to get a roofer to fix roof issues and a carpenter to replace rotten wood in the ceiling. Those are the most important priorities, and will be followed by drywalling, bulletproof windows, panic doors and electrical and plumbing issues.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers for our ministry.  I hope that this article has given you a helpful update on the challenges and blessings that the Lord has providentially brought our way this year.

Praise the Lord for the following blessings:

• The addition of two new members
• The faithfulness of our core group of members and adherents
• The encouragement of several members of RP churches around the country attending worship with us as they passed through Atlanta
• Progress on the renovations to the building particularly by volunteer workers
• Answered prayer with regard to events during our sabbatical:
  – A speedy recovery from Covid
  – A promising offer of an online teaching job
  – New health insurance obtained
  – A brand new kitchen, a truly unexpected blessing

Please continue to pray for us, however, specifically for the following:

• That many more people would be attracted to our worship services and find salvation in Christ
• For outreach, specifically the possibilities of a prayer table in front of our building or in the new park two blocks away from us
• That the Lord would bring us an experienced deacon or two—firstly to help us deal with many difficult issues that arise as we minister in this area of Atlanta and secondly to help Pastor Frank with plans, phone calls and meetings with tradesmen as we move forward with the work on our building
• Reliable, competent workmen to carry out the repairs and renovations to the building

And we know that: Unless the Lord build the house they labour in vain that build it.  Psalm 127:1.

The year 2020 brought with it a number of challenges with which we are all familiar, but throughout them all, the Lord guided, preserved, and prospered our congregation.

As you are already aware from an earlier article, we had moved into our current location in October 2019, renting it from a church which, as a result of its aging population, was in the process of disbanding.  This, Pastor Frank thought, might give us the opportunity to purchase it in the upcoming months if the Lord so willed.  The ministry had begun nearly ten years earlier, and all through the intervening years, he maintained and pursued his vision of our owning our own building and planting the flag of King Jesus in the heart of this great city of Atlanta in which we minister.

And, as you now know, in June 2020 the purchase was made, but that wasn’t the first milestone that we hit in 2020.  Having been established the previous year as a mission church rather than a preaching station, we were able to celebrate our first communion service on February 16th.

Not long after that, of course, COVID hit, and we decided that, given the unusual number of members in our congregation with pre-existing health conditions, some of whom were significantly immunocompromised, we stopped meeting in person in late March.  We figured out ways to get together using video conferencing with those who had access to the internet and phone conferencing with those who did not.  At least, thankfully, everyone in our group has a phone even though few have a computer.

We resumed meeting in person on May 10^th, and less than a month later the papers were signed giving us ownership of our church building.

Even though we began meeting again in person a lot earlier than many congregations (most African-American churches in Atlanta are still meeting virtually), we had only one case of COVID in the congregation, and that was not discovered until after this man, who has significant underlying health issues, had recovered from it.  The Lord has been very gracious to us.

In order to create as little physical contact as possible at our gatherings, we met only for worship to begin with and didn’t start Sabbath school again until the first Lord’s Day in October.

Older and younger children combine for one of their Sabbath school classes

SURPRISE!
Children start to spot the surprise that Miss Michele brought them

We have been very excited that, during the months since we started meeting again, a number of first-time visitors have returned and keep coming back.  They are telling us now that this has become “my church”.  One person looked us up and started attending after watching the hour and a half long documentary Spirit and Truth:  A Film About Worship, in which we were featured.

In early summer, ARPC started a bi-weekly men’s meeting on Wednesday evenings led by Elder TJ Pattillo.  The men read and discussed a Matthew Henry book, Building a God Centered Family: A Father’s Manual.  It was put on hold for a while following Andrew Jubera’s tragic death in late June and resumed later in the year.  The number of men attending has grown since that time.

In spite of the pandemic last year, we averaged an attendance of 25 people per week.  This year we are averaging 27 so far.

Please continue to pray for us as we move forward into the new year:

1. We are in serious need of a deacon and are hopeful that one of the local men already attending the church will be able and willing to assume this role.

2. One of our issues is our inability to start the worship service on time because of the number of people who need to be picked up, and it would help enormously to have a church van (our old van has died) and driver so that the pastor and elder do not have to do the driving and can perform their duties at the church building.

3. That we can take care of the needed repairs and improvements to the building.

4. That the Lord would send a quiet spirit to the children in the congregation as we encourage them to show respect and reverence during the worship service.

5. That more men, women, and children in this needy area would come seeking help, and that their hearts and minds would be open to receiving the Gospel.

Thank you all for your continuing interest in this ministry.

May God bless you and keep you safe.

The months of February to June 2020 will go down in the annals of church history as containing a number of milestones in the progress of Christ’s kingdom in Atlanta.

Pastor Frank and I had been ministering in an impoverished area of Atlanta since April 11, 2010, starting with a sidewalk Bible study on one of the most dangerous intersections in the country.  Now, almost ten years later, here we were, with a core group of faithful attenders, baptizing adults and children, and preparing for communion the following week.

Plans for this day had begun months earlier, when Pastor Frank started preaching a sermon series on baptism and the Lord’s Supper, so that everyone would understand the biblical basis for, and the important ramifications of, these precious sacraments.

As already reported, in March 2019, Great Lakes-Gulf Presbytery had voted to promote Atlanta Presbyterian Fellowship, as we were previously known, from a preaching station to a mission church.  This meant that we would be offering church membership and administering the sacraments.  Pastor Frank and members of the TGB (temporary governing body, acting as a session) took their time in preparation in order to make sure that these new privileges were undertaken decently and in order.

The first thing was to invite anyone in our congregation who was interested in becoming a member, to attend mid-week evening classes on not only the rights and privileges of membership but also the duties.  They needed to understand what they would be doing if and when they took membership vows.

Pastor Frank held eight sessions, the first one being an introduction and overview, and then seven sessions, each one covering one particular vow.  The participants had “homework” to be completed during the week, answering questions which he had written on the meaning of the vows.

On February 9^th, we witnessed the baptism of two adults and five children.  Pastor Frank officiated, assisted by Pastor Steven Work (TGB Moderator) and Elder T.J. Pattillo.

In conjunction with the baptisms, the two adults along with three people who had been baptized in the past took communicant membership vows, with the children becoming non-communicant members.

One other person, Andrew Jubera, had been scheduled for baptism but had been involved in a serious bicycle accident nine days prior to the date, had been hospitalized for several days, and was not able to be there.  However, he was present the following week, the day of our first celebration of the Lord’s Supper, at which he took membership vows, was baptized, and partook of communion all in the same service.

Taken during fellowship time following the baptismal service:

Wynter, Miyani, and Hannah

Michele with Tawana and four of her children

Miyoshi, who has attended almost from the beginning, excited to become a member of Atlanta RPC

In mid-March it became obvious that we may have to put a temporary hold on holding worship services in person.  Apart from the federal, state, and local coronavirus guidelines, we were concerned about the low quality of health of many of our local folk, including kidney disease, HIV, and other immunocompromised issues. There were other concerns, too, such as the impossibility of maintaining distancing while transporting people in our cars. Accordingly, we made the decision that we would not meet the following week, March 22^nd.

Pastor Smith encouraged people to listen, on that day, to Dr. Joel Beeke’s sermon on dealing with the pandemic, and also to call each other so that some form of fellowship could be engaged in.

By the following Lord’s Day, Pastor Frank had emailed or texted people with the information to call in to a telephone conference call at 3:30pm.  We engaged in a cheerful time of fellowship followed by Pastor Frank bringing a short message on Psalm 56.  We followed the same format the following Lord’s Day and then, on April 12^th, started meeting by Zoom video.  Times of fellowship and spiritual exercises continued on in this way for a further three weeks, with either Elder T.J. Pattillo or Pastor Smith bringing the message.  We were encouraged by the number of participants during this time, ranging from 14 to 21, with an average of 17.

On May 10^th, we met in person for the first time in eight weeks.  We decided that, for the first time back, we would meet outside on our porch and grass.  Even though the temperature was only 72⁰, the sun was shining directly onto the porch and there was precious little shade, so, one by one, people moved inside, to a cool spot from which they could still hear the preaching.  We had fifteen people join us in person, with another four listening in and participating by speaker phones.  T.J.’s family listened on his phone, and church member Jimmie Snider listened on my phone, and, as he told me afterwards, sang the Psalms with gusto (“. . .could you hear me?”, he asked me later).

T.J. Pattillo, his wife Nancy, with Hannah and Sawyer

Jimmie Snider

Who IS that masked man?

Miss Amy, pretty in her coffee filter mask

There is another exciting piece of news, which has to do with the purchase of the building that we had been leasing since October.  At the beginning of December, we had just a bit over $15,000 in our building fund. In my article towards the end of that month, I noted that we then had $20,000, and I asked your help to raise at least a further $30,000 in order to have a 25% down payment on the $200,000 building.   Well, the Lord was more gracious than we could have thought or imagined.  By the end of May we had received over $75,000, and had been granted a 3% mortgage by the Trustees of Synod for a loan of $150,000.  On June 1^st we had all of our paperwork in hand (title insurance, proof of property insurance, etc.) and were able to close on the building.  In addition to the loan, Synod awarded us a $10,000 grant at closing, increasing the total amount of building fund moneys to close to $86,000. This means that in six months, we had raised more than $70,000!

The day of the closing, however, was not without drama.  There were technical issues regarding getting the mortgage loan funding actually transmitted to the attorney’s office.  By God’s grace, however, the money arrived as we were actually in the process of heading down to the closing, and from then on everything went smoothly.

Because of the gracious giving, the extra donations will allow us to do some much needed repairs, improvements, and even a new sign.  We would also like, by means of future donations, to be able to pay off the 20-year mortgage ahead of time.

So, a big THANK YOU to you all for your most kind and gracious gifts.  We stand amazed at the Lord’s blessings, and look back at His awesome providences in bringing us this far.

Pastor Smith signing the purchase papers

Pastor Smith with the seller, Elder Ernest Gates

We now have three big causes for celebration, deserving of a party when we are able to do so!  The first is one that had been planned by Michele for her young Sunday School class of 5 to 10 year olds, on March 22^nd, for having memorised the Ten Commandments—not a summarised version, but the entirity of Exodus 20:1-17.  And that turned out to be the first day that we did not meet for church in person.

The second is the ten-year anniversary of our ministry in downtown Atlanta which would have been celebrated on April 12^th.

The third cause of celebration, will be in gratitude to the Lord for the finalisation of the purchase of our own building, planting, more firmly, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the heart of this great metropolis.

May 10th, 2019

As reported in my most recent article, one of the most exciting things that took place this year was that Atlanta Presbyterian Fellowship was granted Mission Church status on February 28, 2019 at the Great Lakes-Gulf Presbytery meeting.  One result of the change is that people can now become members in the church, and we can observe the sacraments.  This was something that we had been working towards and praying for, for several years, and was a cause of great celebration and thankfulness to the Lord.

The following day, March 1, Pastor Frank accepted the call to be the organizing pastor.  The men of presbytery do not normally applaud the acceptance of a pastoral call, but in this case they did, given the fact that the work had begun as a preaching station almost ten years earlier, and the process to become a mission church had taken about five years.  There was a sense of excitement and relief that we had finally met all the requirements of the presbytery.

The men who had been serving on the Atlanta Commission were relieved of duty, with thanks, and a TGB (Temporary Governing Body) comprising the elders (as individuals) on the session of South West Ohio Reformed Presbyterian Church (SWORP), led by Pastor Dick Knodel, took on this responsibility.   When it was noted that South West Ohio is a long way from Atlanta, Pastor Knodel quipped, “It’s not that bad really.  After all, we’re located on the same street: I-75!”.  And, of course, Pastor Steven Work, one of the SWORP elders, who is also the moderator of the TGB, has a really good reason to head south, namely that his daughter, Miss Amy Work, is deeply involved with us as the children’s coordinator.

The installation service was planned for Friday, May 10^th, and the TGB came down to conduct the proceedings.  We were gratified to have a large number of people in attendance, including representatives from the PCA, OPC, ARP, and the Free Church of Scotland Continuing.  With 55 people there, we were at maximum capacity.  Everyone, except for some of our local residents who needed to be picked up, had arrived early and were seated well before the start time of 6:30pm.

However, as Pastor Frank was still picking people up at 6:22pm, and was approaching an intersection in our residential area, a car coming from the right failed to yield at a stop sign and Pastor Frank collided with him, hitting his rear end and pushing the back end of his car into a telephone pole.  One of our guests drove me to the site of the accident so I was able to go back to the church and inform everyone of what was happening.  Naturally, everyone was upset and concerned for Frank.  Pastor Work prayed a beautiful prayer which helped us all to be calm.  He then suggested that the group pray and sing Psalms while things got sorted out.  Another of the SWORP elders, Tim Vincze, led the singing, while my daughter-in-law, Bethany, and I went and picked up those who still needed a ride to get there, as did Elder Warren Jackson, who had led the Atlanta Board of Advisors while we were still a preaching station.After the police had taken the details, including citing the other driver with “failure to yield”, Frank was able to drive the van back to the church, and the service started about one hour late.  Pastor Knodel preached the installation sermon, Elder Tim Vincze prayed the installation prayer, Pastor Work gave the charge to Pastor Frank, during which he warned him that he and the congregation would be under increased spiritual attack, which had already been demonstrated that evening, and Elder Scott Damerow gave the charge to the congregation.

Pastor Steven Work

A full house

Sean McPherson and son Samuel

Miyani

Adrienne

Felson

During the fellowship time following the service, Miss Amy Work, our Children’s Coordinator, presented faithful attender, Miyoshi, with a birthday surprise.

A rather dramatic ending to an already dramatic evening occurred as people were fellowshipping outside of the building, when the Moderator fainted.  After being treated at the hospital, he was released with no serious issues.

May 12th

Two days after the installation, following the evening service, Pastor Frank led the congregation in a discussion about whether or not to change the name of the church.  Following a lively and respectful discussion, the name Atlanta Reformed Presbyterian Church was adopted, with the intention that it be shortened to Atlanta RPC when appropriate.

June 27th

As also mentioned in my recent article, in terms of practical considerations, our most urgent need was for a new meeting place.  We were told by the owners of the duplex in which we have been meeting for more than 4 years that when our lease is up (originally at the end of August, but now at the end of September) they will be upgrading the building and turning it into an airbnb.  This led to months of scrambling to find a new location.

On June 27^th, Pastor Frank and I travelled into downtown Atlanta to meet with one of many local pastors with whom he had spoken on the phone or met in person.  Pastor Gates had indicated to Frank that the church may well be willing to rent, and was even looking towards the possibility of selling the building.   Pastor Gates had led the small group of parishioners at The Beginning Walk of Faith Church for many years and is ready to retire and disband the group.  We met him there along with his wife, son, and a deacon and his wife.

The building, originally built as a broom factory, is in need of a lot of TLC, with ceiling damage, some rotten timbers and a musty smell.  But it is of a solid cinder block construction and therefore, we are told, has good bones.  Neither the worship area nor the social hall has windows.  There are rooms for the two children’s Sunday school classes and a cry room.  Discussions regarding the cost of rental began that afternoon, after which Pastor Frank and I carried on to the duplex for a Bible study, held in the evening.

On the way home following the Bible study, heading north out of Atlanta on a busy highway, Pastor Frank lost control of the car, which seemed to take on a mind of its own, causing us to swerve in one direction all four lanes of traffic, then back the other way.  At this point we were perpendicular to the traffic and slammed into the concrete centre divider head on.  We bounced back, spun around, and finally came to a stop.

I was able to open the door on my side and crawl out.  Frank had to clamber over to my side to get out.  The fact that we weren’t hit by any other cars is a miracle.  Frank was not badly hurt, only a cut lip from hitting the steering wheel, which needed stitches, and a mild whiplash.  I was not as fortunate.  I had a severe whiplash, and bruised ribs and chest wall from the seat belt, which is OK seeing as it saved my life.  We hit the wall so hard that our glasses flew off our faces.  I couldn’t move most of the upper half of my body including my neck or head, so I wasn’t able to see the two police cars, fire engine or ambulance when they arrived.  I got scooped up and taken to the hospital and had a couple of x-rays and CAT scans on my neck and back which revealed that nothing was broken.  I was out of commission for a while, unable to attend church for five weeks, but am just about back to normal now, having undergone several weeks of physical therapy.

I must say that my husband was a wonderful nurse, cook, dish washer, cleaner upper, grocery shopper, cat parent, etc., etc., during the time that I was unable to perform these functions ?  Our family brought a week’s worth of food, and we received many cards and well-wishes.  Miss Amy wrote down the duties that I normally perform at the church, and everyone stepped up to the plate and, between them, got everything covered.   Frank and I couldn’t help but keep thanking and praising the Lord for our escape from serious injury.  It was remarkable that we hit no other cars as we swerved back and forth, that no-one hit us, and that therefore no-one else was injured.

Meanwhile, the hunt for a new location was put on hold.

July 10th

The moderator of our Temporary Governing Body, Pastor Steven Work, had come down from Ohio in order to preach for Frank on the first two Lord’s Days in July.  On the evening of one of the days that he was in the area, he and his wife Jeannie met up with Frank at The Beginning Walk of Faith Church along with our two children’s Sunday school teachers and three of our regular attenders to take a look around it. 

August 4th

We were saddened to hear from Sean McPherson that he and his family would be moving back to Pennsylvania, and that their last Sunday with us would be August 4^th.  We have been extremely thankful for the McPherson family and so grateful to have them with us for three years.  Sean served as deacon, having been ordained in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and he did a masterful job teaching the adult Sunday school class.  He even preached on the first Lord’s day following our car accident, turning his Sunday school material for that day into a sermon which was, by all accounts, extremely well done.

Seeing as Sean and Anne desired to transfer their membership to Atlanta RPC before leaving, it was arranged that they, along with Pastor Smith, Penny, and Amy Work, would take public vows of membership on their final day.  At the end of the evening everyone joined in a group photo.

September 1st

For several years now we have been praying for and advertising for an intern to come along:

1) in order to be of assistance in diaconal work such as financial giving to those in need; in helping to bring local residents to church and take them home again (there are so many, from different directions, that we are unable to start Sunday school or the service on time); in assisting me with dealing with unruly people who wander in off the streets or who disrupt the service; and anything else that may come up.

2) whom Pastor Frank can take under his wing and mentor, to the point that the man might be sufficiently interested in the ministry that he might look at the possibility of assuming total responsibility when, for example, the time comes for Pastor Frank to retire.

Our prayer has been answered in the form of TJ Pattillo, who, along with his wife, had been a member of Northminster Reformed Presbyterian Church.  He was ordained years ago in the PCA as a ruling elder. He has taken some seminary courses and desires to take more, with the goal of becoming a pastor himself one day.  He is committed to Presbyterian doctrine and worship and therefore appreciates our denomination’s distinctives.

TJ started worshipping with us starting in mid-August, and, with the permission and approval of our Temporary Governing Body, came on board as a member of the staff on September 1st.  Following the departure of our regular Sunday school teacher, TJ has assumed that role.   As you can imagine, we are very delighted and thankful that we can welcome this additional member to our staff.

September 13

Pastor Frank continued looking into possibilities for a new location for the church as soon as he was able, but none of the options seemed as viable as the “white building”, as we now referred to it.  (As opposed to the “pink building” that we looked at, which really was painted pink, possibly because it had previously been led by a female minister.)

It had become evident that the pastor of the white building was more interested in selling it as quickly as possible rather than renting it.  He arranged for an appraisal to be done, which came back with a value of $250,000.  This seems rather high for a building that needs so much repair, but it has to be admitted that it is partly because of the location.  It is only two short blocks from a multi-million-dollar park that is being created, which, in addition to normal park features, will also have statues of African-American heroes, water features, and a tower up which one can climb to view the city skyline.  In addition, it is four blocks from the Georgia World Congress Center; about two-thirds of a mile from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and a MARTA train station; about a mile from the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, and CNN Center; about a mile and a half from Bobby Dodd Stadium in the heart of Georgia Tech; and within two to three miles of several HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) institutions, including Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman College.

After discussing possibilities such as “renting with option to buy” with the pastor, and with time running out on us, it was agreed that we would rent the building for six months for $1,000 a month (which is only $50 more than we pay at the duplex) during which time we would start fund-raising to see if it was feasible that we purchase the building one year from the start of the lease, for $200,000.   The Beginning Walk of Faith Church congregation would continue meeting there in the mornings for a while, until they disbanded.  During that time, we will continue meeting as we have been since the end of June, namely for Sunday school in the late afternoon and worship in the evening.

Pastor Frank and I met with the pastor, his son, and others at the building on Friday, September 13^th, signed the agreement, gave the pastor a check for October’s rent, and were given the keys.  We have already started moving our church furniture, Bibles, psalters, etc., to the new building and will begin services on October 6^th.

Prayer Requests

• For a smooth transition to the new building.
• That many people in our new area will come and join us for worship.
• That we will be able to raise funds to be able to purchase the building at some point during the coming year.
• That we will be able to correct some of the more egregious issues regarding the condition of the building.
• For safety in all our travels.