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Click here to access an archive of sermons INTRODUCING REV. ROBIN E. LOSTETTER Most of you have heard by now that Session has entered into a contract/covenant with the Reverend Robin E. Lostetter as our Temporary Supply Pastor. Her official start date is January 12, 2010 and her first day leading worship is January 17, 2010. We are pleased to introduce her to you and invite you to also read her own message to the congregation provided on page 2 of this newsletter. Rev. Lostetter was born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico. Her family attended the Episcopal Church. She took her B.A. in Liberal Arts (with a lot of work in music) from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, her M.A. in Music from SUNY at Buffalo, and her M. Div. at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester. She served in church music from the time she was in junior high, in several Protestant Denominations. Prior to entering the called ministry, she was an organist/choir director in two Presbyterian churches for about eight years each: Lockport, New York, and Binghamton, New York (where she also served as Stephen Leader/Assistant to the Pastor). She was ordained February 20, 2000, and has served as Associate Pastor for Membership and Nurture at the Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church ever since. While there, her primary responsibility has been pastoral care and adult nurture. She has been a faithful, dedicated servant to Monmouth Presbytery in many ways. First, she has assisted two congregations with specific development challenges: (a) She served as the liaison from the Committee on Ministry to the United Presbyterian Church of Yardville when the church was formed through a merger. Rev. John Milne advises that she helped them through several rough patches in the process and prevailed in bringing them to where they are today. (b) She served on the Administrative Commission that assisted the Tuckerton Presbyterian Church through a rough period. Second, she presently serves on the Mission Council, the Nominating Committee, the Committee on Representation, the Committee on Ministry, and the Tri-Presbytery Joint Administrative Commission on Tres Iglesias Presbiterianas (which is seeking to develop a specialized ministry to reach out to the state’s burgeoning Hispanic community). She has previously served as Moderator of Monmouth Presbytery and in numerous other capacities too many to list here. According to Presbytery leaders we interviewed, she has been an effective presence in every instance: articulate, reasonable, compassionate, and pastoral. She has also participated in national denominational activities. For example, she was a Minister Commissioner from Presbytery to the 217th General Assembly 2006-2008 and is the vice chair of Presbyterians for Disability Concerns. Robin is compassionate about all of God’s children and creatures. She has become a leader in ministries for those living with disabilities or age-related limitations, is involved in various aspects of social and eco-justice (she brings her two rabbits with her, has experience with “greening” churches, and participates in Presbyterians for Restoring Creation), and has assisted in several mission projects (including Katrina relief in Gulfport, MS). Her track record with respect to continuing education and special interests shows her to be someone who is committed to becoming informed about many issues of today’s changing world and changing church. She clearly is committed to being fully equipped to lead our congregation through whatever challenges we may On a more personal side, Robin has two daughters and four grandchildren (one family is in Buffalo, the other in Pittsburgh). Her favorite leisure activities include bird watching, watching movies, reading medical mystery novels, cruising the internet, and eating out with friends. A LETTER FROM ROBIN.... Dear New Friends, Grace and Peace to you . . . and Happy New Year! How appropriate that greeting feels . . . 2010 will indeed be filled with new experiences, new friendships, and new challenges. I look forward to getting to know you, both as individuals and as a community of faith. You may want to know something about me as well, and about my vision for the mission of First Presbyterian Church, Bordentown. But instead, let me draw your attention to this statement from your website: Guided by the Holy Spirit, This is from your congregation’s mission statement, a statement which attracted me to this church in the first place. And while I am here, we’ll be looking at that mission statement – we’ll see if it fits, if it needs a little tweaking, or if you have an entirely different identity from when this was adopted. We’ll talk about your past, your present, and your future. We’ll work with what you have and what you remember, in order to create a narrative of this church’s life and history, and together we’ll begin to envision the future. In the meantime, we’ll do our very best to be a representation of the Reign of God to the community around us . . . showing Christ’s love not only through ministry and prayer, but also through fellowship and laughter. And me? Well, my primary message is always, “God loves you.” That knowledge, when internalized, is transformative and strengthening. And it invites us into living the Great Commandment – to love God and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And something else . . . you are the church here in Bordentown. Elton Trueblood said it well: “The laity are not the passengers of a ship. They are members of the crew.” I am excited to help the crew steer this ship, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Blessings, Robin
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