Faith at First Fall 2026 Magazine

If you picked up a copy of the recently completed Vision Report, you may remember the photograph on its cover: the beautiful Yulan magnolia tree that stands just outside the front doors of the Sanctuary. It is a fitting image for the season of life we are now in here at First Presbyterian. Just as a tree’s strength comes from roots that reach deep below the surface, the health and vitality of a church depends first and foremost on being deeply rooted in Christ. It is from those roots that God nourishes our faith, shapes our life together, and sends us into the world as witnesses to Christ’s love.

That is precisely the vision we have discerned together as a congregation over the past year. After months of prayer, listening, conversation, and dreaming, we have named our calling to be a people who are Rooted in Christ, Bold in Love. Those words are intended to be far more than a tagline or strategic plan. They are an expression of the kind of church we believe God is inviting us to be and become: a people whose lives are firmly grounded in Christ and whose love naturally (and boldly) overflows into every facet of our church, our community, and the world.

One of the things I love most about this edition of Faith at First is that it gives us a glimpse of what that vision looks like when it begins to take root. As you turn these pages, you’ll encounter stories of lives being touched through mission, service forged through friendships, the gift of music at the heart of our worship, and other ways First Presbyterian is serving, learning, and celebrating together. Each page tells a different story of how we are living out our shared calling.

Of course, no vision is ever fully realized in a single season. Like that Yulan magnolia, growth happens gradually. Every act of kindness, every meal shared, every lesson taught, every hymn sung, every prayer offered, every hour volunteered, every hand extended in compassion becomes part of the quiet work God is doing to deepen our roots and broaden our witness. 

And so, as we turn toward the second half of 2026, I want to challenge each of us to consider what it might look like for God to deepen our own roots in Christ while also stretching our capacity to love more boldly. Perhaps that means plugging into a Bible study, serving at Thursday Meal Ministry, inviting a neighbor to worship, or simply showing up with a listening ear for someone in need. 

Just as that magnolia tree outside our Sanctuary did not grow overnight into the strong, beautiful tree it is today, so it is with the life of a church. Every faithful step we take – no matter how ordinary it may seem – is another ring in the story God is writing among us. 

Peace,

Rev. Alan F. Dyer
Senior Pastor