First Presbyterian Church - Inverness

05/29/2026

Lou Ellen's last Sunday in the pulpit will be June 7. We will miss her and are SO GRATEFUL for her calm guidance, teachings, and care for this congregation over the past 5 years. We wish Lou Ellen and Brett peace and happiness as they transition to their new home and Church (Harbor View Presbyterian Church) in Charleston, S.C.

The Presbytery of Tampa Bay is in close contact with the Session and is providing guidance to assist the Session with the transition of finding a new pastor. Lou Ellen's message that she sent to the congregation this week regarding her resignation via email included the following: "The Session will be leading you in the days to come. There will be anxiety and uncertainty as well as hope and new possibilities. Be gracious to each other in this time of transition and prayerfully lift up one another as you move into the next chapter God is writing in this faith community."

The Session has called a special congregational meeting for the purpose of dissolving the pastoral relationship between the Reverend Lou Ellen Hartley and FPCI to be held immediately following the Worship service on June 7, 2026.

05/29/2026

05/25/2026

Thanks to our Men's Fellowship for cleaning/pressure washing one of the out buildings and trimming some trees at Church today following the Worship service!!

05/15/2026

We continue to collect items for the hygiene kits in the Blessing Box. We currently are in need of deodorant, travel size shampoo and conditioner, and small bars of soap. Thanks to all who contribute so that we can help those in need in our community!

05/15/2026

Relief Share is a local charity run by FPCI members Dan and Megan Carella. Their mission is to "Support community health clinics and health development efforts in underserved countries and the US by getting first aid and medical supplies and equipment to organizations and facilities that need them." They do this by "collecting medical surplus locally and distributing globally to clinics, hospitals, and healthcare providers in developing countries."
They also address issues of food insecurity by "Sponsoring program of assembling pre-packaged high nutrition rice/soy meals and arranging distribution to refugee, migrant, and under-served communities and natural disaster victims." We are grateful to house Relief Share here at FPCI and provide the space they need to sort medical supplies and assemble the food packages. We celebrate them for their latest shipment of medical supplies to Ukraine and an upcoming shipment to Haiti. If you would like to participate in this good work, Relief Share meets every third Saturday in the Fellowship Hall from 9 am until 1 pm. You can come for an hour or stay for more. Join us for our next packaging/ sorting day on JUNE 20.

05/15/2026

Men's Fellowship will meet at 11 am after the Worship service this Sunday in the Fellowship Hall. We will be discussing upcoming mission/service activities for the summer.

05/15/2026

Summer Hiatus: Bible Study and Rock of Agers Game Day will not meet throughout the summer. We will announce when they will resume as well as the Bible Study topic at the end of summer.

Adult Sunday School is on pause until after Labor Day.
PLEASE NOTE- the Men's Bible Study is still meeting in the Youth Room at 8 am.

The Chancel Choir will take a break in June, July, and August and will resume singing for Worship services in September. We thank all of the dedicated choir members who share their time and talents to help lead us in Worship! And, we are grateful for Dr. Marina Veiler whose musical gifts are a blessing weekly. Thank you to everyone who offers their gifts and talents to this special music ministry!

04/27/2026

This beautiful poem is drawn from the gospel lesson yesterday. Beautiful words and images to open our hearts on a Monday morning.

I know I am not alone in thinking that life has been very threshold-y of late, in beautiful and challenging ways. So this is for you (and for us), for the fourth Sunday of Easter: a blessing with a gate in it. May we be open to the grace that comes to meet us in every crossing, every passage, every place where we are working to come through.

BLESSING OF THE GATE

Press your hand
to this blessing,
here along
the side
where you can feel
its seam.

Follow the seam
and you will find
the hinges
on which
this blessing turns.

Feel how
your fingers
catch on them—
top,
bottom,
the slightest pressure
sending the gate
gliding open
in a glad welcome.

Wait, did I say
press your hand
to this blessing?

What I meant was
press your hand
to your heart.

Rest it over that
place in your chest
that has grown
closed and tight,
where the rust,
with its talent
for making decay
look artful,
has bitten into
what you once
held dear.

Breathe deep.
Press on the knot
and feel how it
begins to give way,
turning upon
the hinge
of your heart.

Notice how it
opens wide
and wider still
as you exhale,

spilling you out
into a realm
where you never dreamed
to go
but cannot now imagine
living this life
without.

—Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief
janrichardson.com/books

Image: “Blessing of the Gate”
© Jan Richardson
janrichardsonimages.com

(Blessing & image inspired by this Sunday's gospel reading from John 10:1-10.)

04/27/2026

Thank you to the Men's Fellowship for donating your time and efforts to spruce up the yard for someone in our community on Saturday. It was a beautiful day!

04/27/2026

Please join us for fellowship and to support this very important mission!