Weekly News — February 25, 2026

Contents

News

• Call for the Annual Meeting
• Lent Devotion Books Are Here - new
• Matthew 25 Lent Campaign
• Lenten Dinner Sign-Up
• Ghana Trip - new
• Lenten Study on Kingdom of God - tonight
• Family Music Bingo Night - new
• Palm Sunday Potluck Dinner Sign-Up - new
• Egg Hunt Donations - new
• Egg Hunt Volunteers - new
• Clothing Closet Call for Donations - new
• Family Faith Practices for Lent
• New Spiritual Connections Book Study
• Spring Women's Study
• Weekend With the Arts
• Column Classics Concert

Prayers

Call for the Annual Meeting

The Session of First Presbyterian Church of West Chester has called for the Annual Meeting of the Congregation and Corporation to be held this coming Sunday, March 1, at 10:00 am in the Sanctuary. Please note that this meeting will be in-person only.

Business to be conducted includes receiving staff and committee reports, review of the Finance Committee report regarding preliminary 2025 financial results and the 2026 budget, and voting on the Terms of Call for Rev. Andrew Esqueda and Rev. Caroline Cupp. The election of officers will also take place at this meeting.

The Annual Report and the slate of officer candidates will be sent electronically in advance of the meeting.

Lent Devotion Books Are Here 

After a shipping delay, our Lent devotion books, Living Into Lent by Donald McKim, have arrived. You can get your copy by stopping by the church office this week or at the table in Fellowship Hall on Sunday morning. Books cost $10 each as you are able to pay.

Matthew 25 Lent Campaign

Each year during Lent we seek to raise $25,000 to support urgent housing, hunger, and transportation needs among our neighbors in Chester County. The funds raised go toward rental payments, utilities, and car repairs for people who can’t be served by other nonprofit or government programs. Most of those assisted are parents working for hourly wages who have lost work due to a health issue. Many are veterans, immigrants, seniors, or domestic violence survivors. Over the years, we’ve seen people impacted by this program go from homelessness to stable housing and full-time employment. Others are able to avoid eviction or access a car repair that allows them to keep their job. The dollars this congregation gives make an extraordinary impact in people’s lives.

Our goal this year is the same as it’s always been: $25,000 for urgent needs.

Those who wish to do so can give online (select Matthew 25 Lent), or write a check to First Pres with “Matt 25” in the memo line. The campaign runs from Ash Wednesday through Easter. Along the way, you’ll hear from some of our partner organizations what your gifts have meant to those they serve.

Our hope is that each person connected to our church decides to contribute what they can – every dollar makes a difference, and we would love to celebrate every First Pres member taking part in this initiative. Thank you for your generous support of this ministry, and we look forward to another wonderful year of Matthew 25.

Lenten Dinner Sign-Ups

We've got eight families ready to host you for a Lenten Meal. Please check your calendars and sign up to enjoy a meal with some other First Pres members in the coming weeks. Use the button below to link to the Signup Genius with dates and times, and you can find more info on the church website!

Ghana Trip

A small group from First Pres will be traveling to Ghana June 5-14 with our mission partners at Lifetime Wells. We will visit rural villages to meet residents and help install pumps for fresh water. The total cost of the trip will be about $4000, including all travel expenses, and include comfortable hotel accommodations. Travelers must be inoculated against yellow fever and covid, take malaria medication, and be tolerant of long car rides down bumpy roads. Space is limited, but we’ll have a waitlist and can run this trip again in the future. For more information or to sign up, please contact Pastor Caroline.

Lenten Study on Kingdom of God

Tonight we will begin our Lenten study on Citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Over 5 weeks we’re going to learn more about the Kingdom of God, we’ll consider what it means to be citizens of the Kingdom of God and then connect those theological ideas to our ideas about being a citizen of this country in this time. This study is being offered in a hybrid format so you can attend in person or online. Email Sara Pantazes at spantazes@firstpreswc.com before 5 pm tonight to receive the Zoom link or join us in Fellowship Hall starting at 6:30, we hope to see many of you there. 

Family Music Bingo Night

All First Pres families and friends are invited to join us for a family fun night on Friday, March 13! We'll provide a pizza dinner starting at 6 pm and then play 3 rounds of music bingo, featuring tunes your kids will love. Pizza dinner, music, laughter, and friendly competition - what could be better?! Please sign up using the button below so that we know how much pizza to order and talk to Sara Pantazes with any questions.

Palm Sunday Potluck Dinner Sign-Up

All are invited to a church-wide dinner on Sunday, March 29 at 5:30 pm in Fellowship Hall. It will be a potluck soup and salad dinner; you can sign up using the button below to bring something for the meal. Please join us in the Lenten season to enjoy fellowship over a meal!  

Egg Hunt Donations

We're setting a big goal for this year’s Egg Hunt in Everhart Park and hope to have thousands of eggs for our young friends to gather! Last year we had 9,000 eggs and several hundred attendees. We're asking for volunteers to fill plastic eggs with wrapped candy or small trinkets to be used at the Hunt (April 5). Bins are in Fellowship Hall to collect the eggs. Thank you in advance for helping make this event a memorable one for our church and neighbors!

Egg Hunt Volunteers

In addition to the eggs, we'll need lots of help the day of the event to hide the eggs in Everhart Park. Please sign-up using the button below. 

Clothing Closet Call for Donations

The First Pres Clothing Closet is in need of the following items. You may be going through your childrens’ closets and have some of these items which your child has outgrown. Please consider donating them to our clothing closet. 

Boys pants sizes 6, 7, 10, 12

Girls pants size 10, 14, 16

Girls long-sleeve tops 14, 16

We are very grateful for all donations and the continued support of our congregation.

The Clothing Closet Committee

Family Faith Practices for Lent

Lent may not be as flashy as Advent, but it's still a valuable season to recognize as you go about your daily life. Starting this Sunday, a handout will be available at the Welcome Center to help your family remember Lent. "40 Days of Simple Practices for Lent" contains ideas to help your family practice kindness, gratitude, letting to and prayer. This is targeted to families with your children but can be useful for people of all ages. Pick up a copy for yourself and a friend!

New Spiritual Connections Book Study

Spiritual Connections starts a new book on Monday, March 2 at 6:30 p.m. Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor asks us to explore all that God has to teach us “in the dark.” Through darkness we find courage, we understand the world in new ways, and we feel God's presence around us, guiding us through things seen and unseen. All women are encouraged to join the discussion to consider and reflect. Meetings are the first and third Mondays via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Contact the church office to be connected with this group and to obtain the Zoom link.

Spring Women's Study

All women are invited to take part in a four-week Easter study that will take place on Wednesdays from 9:30-11 am, beginning March 18. We’ll be doing a workbook and video study called The Promise and Power of Easter by Christine Caine & Lisa Harper. We'll join the authors to take in the details of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, reliving His steps with a heart full of hope. See it all with eyes of faith. We hope to celebrate Easter in more ways than we ever have and be inspired to share the joy only Jesus could make possible. Join us in this spring study! Sign up on the website sign up tab or click the button below.

Thursday First Pres Prayers

This Month’s Prayer Request:

Holy One, as the winter season sets in we pray for those who are without homes, and those who are far from home, or whose homes do not offer refuge. We pray that all might have what they need to live safely, comfortably, and well. Give peace to fearful hearts, and bring your righteousness, justice, and peace to our lives, communities, and world. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus, Amen.

Each week we pray for our congregation at 12:00 pm on Thursdays.

Set an alarm or schedule it in your calendar to join us! You don’t need to only pray for the topic of the week, but you can continue to pray for previous topics as well or anything that God lays on your heart.

For those who would like to set up time to meet one-on-one with someone to navigate a time of transition or difficulty, Stephen Ministers are here to help.

Prayer Requests

If you would like to add a prayer (in joy or in time of need) to our Prayer Band, complete the website form, send an email, or call the church at the number below.

First Presbyterian Church | 130 W. Miner Street | 610-696-0554

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