Welcome to Our Church

It's a pleasure to welcome you to the Buford Presbyterian Church website. Whether member, friend, or visitor - we hope that this site reflects the friendly and open nature of our congregation. If you are searching for a church home, we'd like you to know that there's a special place here just for you.   Our Church is...

  • A Place for Worship. The primary reason we meet together is to focus our attention on God, giving Him our worship and receiving His blessing and inspiration. Each of these occasions is a special time of spiritual refreshment.
  • A Place for Learning. To us, studying the Bible is vital because it not only instructs us intellectually, but also guides us spiritually. We believe it and accept it as God's Word to us, a Book that is alive and relevant to life today. Learning its truths is a thrilling adventure.
  • A Place for Enrichment. For every person at every age level we offer a wealth of opportunities - special programs and ministries for children, youth, and adults which fill the church calendar. You can be sure that in this kaleidoscope of activities there's more than one place where you can be personally enriched.
  • A Place for Friendship. Nothing quite compares to the joy of Christian friendship. That's why we make it a priority to build lasting bonds between the members of our church family - bonds of concern and genuine commitment to one another.
  • A Place for Service. Just as Jesus Christ came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister..." we accept our responsibility to reach out in service to others. This applies both within the church family and outside our fellowship.

Best of all, this circle of care is ever-widening. We'd love it to include you too.

Inspiration for the Week

QUOTE:
"Only in the sacraments does the Christian community pass beyond the purely human measure and become the church...Yet sacraments are not merely signs of a professed faith, but rather effective signs of the saving grace; not only symbols of human aspiration and loyalty, but the outward symbols of the divine action."
--Clarence T. Craig 

PRAYER:
"Lord, we are not worthy that you should come under our roof; but speak the word only, and your servants shall be healed. Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but in our souls the Son of Man has no fit place to lay his head. But as you were born in the stall and manger of brute beasts; as you did not disdain to enter the house of Simon the Leper; as you did not reject the woman who touched the hem of your garment or the thief on the cross when he confessed you; even so admit us to your table, bruised and sinful creatures, to a communion and participation in the holy, quickening, and saving sacrament of your most blessed body and blood. Amen."
--John Chrysostom 

INSPIRATION/REFLECTION:
One of the central principles of Reformed church government is that the church is reformed, but always reforming. In other words, we are to remain open to ways God may be speaking a new word to us and asking us to change our beleifs and practices in certain matters. The ordination of women to offices of church leadership (Elders and Ministers) that took place nearly two generations ago might serve as an example. It was a reform made when the church sensed God's Spirit was directing it to change its practices. 

I also remember my childhood growing up in the Presbyterian church at a time when children were not allowed to take the elements of communion prior to confirmation. That rite of passage was even called "Communicants" class and once completed and with our professions of faith made in worship, youth in the church were permitted to partake of a thing we'd long been denied. I remember not liking Sundays we observed the Lor'ds Supper all that much. To a restless child sitting on hard, wooden pew, it only seemed to extend the service and besides, I always had to watch the tray go by without partaking. 

In the early 1980's, the church changed its mind about this and declared the table open to all baptized persons. Children are now permitted to partake with the hope, of course, that they have some rudimentary understanding of what it is they're doing. I think the theological reasons for doing this are good ones inasmuch as our baptism affirms the grace we received throughout our lives as God's children (no matter how old we get). As I've grown older, the sacrament of Holy Communion has taken on new meaning for me. It is an ancient rite that has been a part of the church since its founding but one that also brings new meaning to Christian people each time it is celebrated. It is Christ's gift that keeps on giving. As the church is "always reforming" and not subject to ossification, neither does God's word to us become static. It is a living Word whom we worship, One who brings new life even as we participate in rites that have been handed down to us through the centuries.

Pastor Corey

Buford Presbyterian Church Warmly Welcomes to our new Pastor:
Rev. Dr. Corey Ingold

We are pleased and excited to welcome Rev. Corey Ingold as our new permanent Pastor (Head of Staff) on August 8, 2010. He comes to us after serving at Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, VA where he has been Pastor (Head of Staff) for eight years. Prior to that, he also served as Solo Pastor of Rocky River Pres. Church in Concord, NC and Associate Pastor of Steele Creek Pres. Church in Charlotte, NC. 

In addition to serving his church, he has served the community as a member of the Board of Trustees for Interfaith Outreach, a local ministry dealing with community needs, and for Westminster-Canterbury, a 500-bed senior care facility in Lynchburg. 

He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg NC, and a Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary here in Atlanta, and Doctor of Ministry from Union-PSCE in Richmond, VA.

One of the common themes that comes up when we speak about our church is the sense that we are a family. The Ingold’s will be a wonderful addition to our community of faith and we welcome them to our family in Buford!

From the Minister's Desk

These first weeks at Buford Presbyterian have been very blessed ones for me and my family. The reception given in our honor on August 8 was overwhelming, and I’ll never forget all the children who gave me tootsie rolls of welcome that day. Your generosity was extended into the next week with the “pounding” of household items that has packed our pantry to the brim. Our cups runneth over, and we cannot adequately express what it means to feel so welcomed and embraced by this congregation. 

I also have been thankful for the gifts of new eyes as I come to learn more about you and how the Christian faith is uniquely practiced and expressed here at BPC. After a while, we normally begin to settle into a routine after making changes in life, and I know that will increasingly become the case with me. But right now, I have new eyes and am seeing church life with a fresh perspective. 

Here are some of the things I see: lots of children and youth and young adults, many of them new to the life of faith but eager to learn more; a wonderful facility that, while expensive to pay for and maintain, gives us the ability to do things many other congregations cannot; an excitement about the future and our prospects for both serving and sharing the gospel in this community and well beyond; an appreciation for worship that points to God and not just back at us; a gathering of people who get along with each other and appreciate their time together on Sundays or whenever they get together; and finally, a sense of investment by church members that comes through in the extensive list of volunteers who have some duty to perform on Sunday mornings and other times. 

This is an active church, and its people display a wide variety of gifts and talents. Though you have called me to perform pastoral duties as you called Rix some 5 years ago, the church here is a body of Christ with many, many more component parts. We’re all in this together as we share both joys and burdens and as we seek to glorify God in our worship, service, and fellowship. It is with great excitement that I take on the mantle of pastoral leadership here, and I look forward to deepening relationships with you as time goes by. 

Peace in Christ,
Corey