About Us
Worship at 8:30 am and 10:45 am on Sundays after Labor Day
9:30 am on Sundays starting Memorial Day
Who We Are
We are a family on a mission to love God & all people.
We are a family. Through Jesus Christ, we are brothers and sisters in the faith. We are the church community who visits when people are sick, brings a meal, or helps babysit a kid. Every child in our congregation will discover grandparents or an aunt and an uncle that they never knew existed. The First Presbyterian Church of Norwalk, Ohio, embraces our calling to offer connection, care, and community.
We are a family on mission. We resist the temptation to become insular and self-focused. We go beyond the church walls to share the faith with others. We put God’s love into practice in our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces, welcoming new family members.
We discovered what we call our CORE VALUES. It’s our DNA, it’s what makes us different and what makes us tick.
Our core values make us tick.
Here is where our strengths lie and what matters immensely to us. They make us different. It’s our DNA. This is who we are.
GOD
We are sinners called by God, redeemed by Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
John 3:1-16, 1 John 4:9-16
FAITH
We gather in worship and prayer, guided by Scripture, to understand God and the new life He has given us.
Acts 2:42-47, Colossians 3:12-17
FAMILY
We care for the whole family of faith across the generations.
Mark 3:31-35, Ephesians 2:17-22
FELLOWSHIP
We value doing life and ministry together, not alone.
John 15:12-17, 1 Corinthians 12:12-21
SERVICE
We encourage and support individuals to reach out in God’s love to meet the needs of our community.
Acts 1:6-11, Ephesians 4:11-16
SHARING
We reflect God’s grace by generously sharing our gifts at home and abroad.
Luke 20:45-21:4, 2 Corinthians 9:6-12
What we Believe
A Brief Statement of Faith
In 1983, the two largest Presbyterian denominations united to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). As part of that reunion, they developed this Christian statement of faith. The statement is rooted in Reformed tradition, confessing God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In life and in death we belong to God
We trust in Jesus Christ
Fully human, fully God. Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives, teaching by word and deed and blessing the children, healing the sick and binding up the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and giving his life for the sins of the world. God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life, breaking the power of sin and evil, delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God
Whom Jesus called Abba, Father. In sovereign love God created the world good and makes everyone equally in God’s image male and female, of every race and people, to live as one community. But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God’s commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God’s condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. In everlasting love, the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth. Hearing their cry, God delivered the children of Israel from the house of bondage. Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant. Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit
Everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church. The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace. In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit, we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks and to live holy and joyful lives, even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!” With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Staff Team
Clair Brewer
Pastor Emeritus
Mike Matter
Director of Worship & Music
Serena Bowles
Organist