About Us
Pastor
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Chris Williams
Parish Associate
Ben Newcomer
Parish Associate
Carol Ferrantelli
Office Administrator
Email
Elaine Cole
Office Assistant
Susan Weir
Financial Secretary
MUSIC STAFF:
EDUCATION STAFF:
John Clark
Outreach Program Coordinator
Dora Macdonald
Children's Ministry Director
Joe Callaway
Custodian
We are a community of diverse people united by belief in God and faith in Jesus Christ. As a church, we strive individually and jointly to: grow in Christ; celebrate God’s love; and extend God’s love and Word to others. We gather and organize to accomplish this purpose through our personal and corporate worship, learning, participation, caring and serving, all under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church USA we have a Book of Confessions which contains nine confessional statements. They are: The Nicene Creed (Fourth Century); The Apostles’ Creed (Second to Ninth Centuries); the Scots Confession (1560); The Heidelberg Catechism (1563 ); The Second Helvetic Confession (1566); The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (1647); The Theological Declaration of Barmen (1934); The Confession of 1967; and A Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith. Pastors, Elders and Deacons in our congregation promise to be instructed and led by those confessions as they lead the people of God. The text of the latest of these confessional documents is included below.
The Nicene and Apostles’ creeds are widely accepted by Christians of many different denominations. The Nicene creed is used in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches. Presbyterians see themselves as part of the Christian Church that dates back to the Apostles and seeks to work cooperatively with other Christians to give expression to Christ’s prayer that his followers be one, even as he is one with God (John 17:11). We believe in God, Creator of all things. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, fully human and also fully God. We believe that in his life, death and resurrection God was reconciling the world to God’s self and entrusting to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). We believe in the Holy Spirit who empowers us to bear witness to Christ (Acts 1:8) and to discern all the spiritual gifts that God has given us to share with others (1 Cor. 2:12-13). We believe the Bible is the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ and God’s word to us. We seek to interpret its message in the light of the culture, language and context in which the message was initially given. We understand its purpose as one of guiding us in our life with and service to God and people (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We are a congregation that encourages dialogue and discussion in the journey of understanding and applying our faith. The root meaning of disciple is learner, and we want to be disciples who continue to learn and grow in our faith. We welcome honest questions as part of that growth.
We treasure the legacy of the Protestant Reformation which emphasized the authority of Scripture, the ministry of all believers, and right standing with God by faith in the grace of God in Jesus Christ. We value the form of government developed by the Reformed or Presbyterian expression of the church in which pastors and elders are chosen by the congregation which they serve.
The roots of First Presbyterian Church go back to February of 1849 when the Reverend Samuel Hopkins Willey arrived in Monterey and held services in March at the quarters of Governor Bennett Riley. With the discovery of gold in the Sierras, the population of Monterey declined and it wasn’t until 1883 that thirteen persons came together to petition the Presbytery of San Jose to organize a Presbyterian congregation in Monterey. The petition was granted in July of 1883. David Jacks was elected as one of the first elders. Mr. Jacks had acquired extensive holdings of land in Monterey and gave to a variety of churches and charities. The first building site for First Presbyterian Church of Monterey was given by him and was located on the northwest corner of Franklin and Pacific Streets. In Dec. 14, 1890 the first church building was dedicated. A second larger building was erected in 1917 and served the congregation until 1962 when we moved to our present site at 501 El Dorado Street on a five and a half acre site.
Over one hundred and twenty years we have been a community of persons who worship, study and serve our community together. We have had a significant ministry with military personnel and staff members at the Defense Language Institute, Naval Postgraduate School, and before its closure in 1995, Fort Ord. In addition we serve staff and students of Monterey Institute of International Studies and California State University Monterey Bay. For a copy of an illustrated booklet of the first hundred years of our church’s history just give a call to the church office at (831) 373-3031. We will be happy to send you one.
Finances
The session of the church which is made up of the elected elders and pastors has the responsibility of developing a budget and managing the funds of the congregation. The budget is available in the church office. Each month a financial report listing all income and disbursements in the respective line items of the budget is given to the session for review and is available to anyone who wants to see it. The elders have the responsibility of approving all expenditures. The Financial Secretary records funds given to the church and the treasurer disburses funds as authorized by the elders on session. The church has a financial review each year as required by the Presbytery of San Jose. The church has a manual of financial policies and procedures which is designed to guarantee integrity in the handling of funds. The ministry of our church is funded primarily through the voluntary gifts of members and friends of the church. Our church has some designated reserve funds which are used for mission abroad (Our Mission Memorial Endowment Fund); scholarships for youth to church camps and conferences. (the Hunter Youth Fund); support for our Steady Job/Steady Life Outreach Program, and for improvement and maintenance of our church facility. These reserves are managed by our Financial Advisory Committee which is chaired by Session’s Finance elder under the direction of session.