Clarinda Reformed Presbyterian Church

04/01/2026

Clarinda RP Church will not meet for evening worship this Sunday, April 5.

03/30/2026

The ladies from Clarinda RPC did an outstanding job of planning for and welcoming the Midwest Women's Fellowship for their annual retreat this past weekend.

Do you see them? Some of the ladies in our congregation joined about 60 others at the Midwest Women’s Retreat in Clarinda, Iowa this past weekend. Our own Tori Sturm spoke on the topic “Counseling One Another.”

03/27/2026

Pray for the Midwest Women's Fellowship Spring Retreat starting today, and for Tori Sturm as she speaks at it. Midwest Presbytery (RPCNA)

03/13/2026

New Sunday Schedule (as of March 8, 2026):

Morning Worship -- 10:00 am

Sunday School -- 11:15 am

Evening Worship -- 6:00 pm

Come join us this Sunday!

All meetings are held in the Grace Ministry Center, 223 E. Washington Street, in the heart of Clarinda!

03/07/2026

Who might attend an evening worship service?

Episode 5: YOU.

Seriously, why not come to worship?

You are always welcome to sit in and join us, every Sunday evening at 6:00 pm in the little green building at 223 E. Washington, in the heart of Clarinda!

(If you don't have somewhere already, you can also join us Sunday mornings at 10:00 am!)

clarindarpchurch.org

03/07/2026

Who might attend an evening worship service?

Episode 4: People who want to grow.

The Apostle Peter’s second letter opens with this word of blessing: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2). The same letter closes with this word of instruction: “GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

God’s grace and peace are multiplied to us in the knowledge of God as we grow in that same grace and knowledge. Notice that the command is to grow in grace AND knowledge -- not one or the other -- because the two really go hand in hand.

In the Reformed tradition, we often refer to God’s Word (the Bible) as being a “means of grace.” In other words, the Scriptures are one way that God’s favor is communicated to us. One manner by which the Word is made particularly effectual in communicating God’s grace is the public preaching of God’s Word.

In case that sounds like the words of a preacher who thinks too highly of his own importance, this conviction comes from Scripture itself. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from HEARING, and HEARING by the word of Christ,” but just a few verses earlier, the question is asked: “And how will they HEAR without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14).

Besides the blessing promised to the preaching and hearing of God’s Word, public preaching has the added benefit of hearing and growing TOGETHER, not in isolation from other Christians. When we grow in grace together, grace and peace are truly multiplied to US. Sometimes we miss this in our English translations, but both the blessing of 2 Peter 1:2 and the instruction of 2 Peter 3:18 are addressed to the plural “you” (that is, Peter is not just talking to YOU, the individual, but to ALL Y’ALL together, at the same time).

So, if you are someone who longs to see grace and peace multiplied in your life, understand that this happens as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To hear more preaching of God’s Word, join us each Sunday for evening worship at 6:00 pm in the Grace Ministry Center at 223 E. Washington St. – in the heart of Clarinda!

03/06/2026

Who might attend an evening worship service?

Episode 3: People who embrace the Fourth Commandment.

In recent years there has been increased debate on the role and presence of the Ten Commandments within the public sphere. Within the private sphere, even among professing Christians, the fourth of those Ten Commandments has fallen out of use.

Which one is the Fourth Commandment? It begins with the instruction, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,” and goes on from there with further instruction regarding work, rest, and allowing others to rest from their labors. The point here, though, is to recognize that we are called to set apart an entire day in loving obedience to the Lord.

When we gather for a second time to worship the Lord on His day, we intentionally bookend the day, morning and evening, by meeting in God’s presence and turning our focus unto Him. We lose a lot when we lose the Sabbath day as an entire day. We lose rest, we lose balance, we lose relationship. Many of us recognize that these good aspects of life are lacking in our own lives.

So, if you are someone who would like to return to the practice of keeping the entire day holy, or set apart, we invite and welcome you to join us each Sunday for evening worship at 6:00 pm in the Grace Ministry Center at 223 E. Washington St. – in the heart of Clarinda!

03/04/2026

Who might attend a Sunday evening worship service?

Episode 2: People who are curious.

Have you ever passed through downtown Clarinda and happened to glance upon the little green building that's almost hiding in plain sight on the corner of 14th & Washington, the one that used to be a beauty salon, or a bookstore, or a service station (depending on how far your memory goes back)? Have you noticed the little building improvements or seen the church signs and wondered: "what's going on in there?" Come and see this Sunday evening at 6:00.

Are you already a Christian who belongs to a local congregation or church tradition but wonder how other churches practice worship? We believe in church membership and are all for being committed to a local church, which among other things means that you rarely get the opportunity to see the broader body of Christ in action. After all, visiting another church service means that you're missing out on your own. But since fewer and fewer churches meet for a Sunday evening service, here's an opportunity to participate in the experience of a Reformed Presbyterian worship service. Come and see any Sunday evening at 6:00.

Perhaps you are not a Christian and you are curious about who Christians are and what they believe. The Sunday evening service is a great opportunity both to dip your toes into the Christian community as well as to learn what exactly we believe. Beginning on Sunday, March 8, our pastor will be preaching a series in the evenings called "Foundation," which will be a topical teaching series on the core doctrines of the historic Christian faith.

If you're curious to know more about this, wherever you may be in relation to faith and Christ (even if that's nowhere at all), then please, come and see: every Sunday at 6:00 pm in the Grace Ministry Center, 223 E. Washington -- in the heart of Clarinda!

03/04/2026

Who might attend a Sunday evening worship service?

Episode 1: People who are busy.

There's a number of reasons that someone will not make it to a Sunday morning worship service. Some of these reasons might be more legitimate than others:

Maybe your job requires you to work Sunday mornings.

Perhaps you work overnight on Saturdays and can't wake up on time.

Maybe you were just out late partying, and, a little like the last person, you also can't wake up on time.

But even if your weekends are well ordered and your time is your own, we all know that unplanned events and unexpected emergencies don't take Sunday mornings off.

Whatever may have prevented you from going to church on Sunday morning, here's another opportunity to come to worship in the evening.

However, if you often find that the business of busy-ness is running your life, you may also find that pausing your day for a brief time of worship -- slowing down and sitting still in the Lord's presence -- will bring you measures of rest and perspective which cause the rest of your week to fall into the balance it is meant to have.

So, whether you've already attended a church service in the morning or not (and whatever your reason may be for missing), we invite you to come join in evening worship, every Sunday at 6:00 pm in the Grace Ministry Center, 223 E. Washington -- in the heart of Clarinda!

12/17/2025

12/17/2025

"This congregation was organized December 17, 1855 with 34 members. Since its organization there have been received into it's member- ship 395 persons, making. grand total of 429 members. Some have died and some who have left the area. There have been 355, persons baptized since its first organization..
The officers of the congregation have been: First pastor, Rev. Joseph McCracken, ordained and installed October 29, 1856, who left in 1858.
The present (1890) pastor, Rev. David McKee, preached for the people in 1859 and became their pastor, on March 17, 1861."

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~iapage/churchs/harlan/harl-rpc.htm

11/30/2025

Clarinda RP Church will not meet for worship today.