Jon Rodriguez 3/5/26 Jon Rodriguez 3/5/26

2026 State of the Church

If you have had the chance to read my letter in the annual report, you probably know that I’ve been thinking a lot about change and continuity this past year. When you serve a church that is over 375 years old, you learn quickly that change is a dirty word. The worst thing a pastor can do isn’t commit a scandal, it isn’t bankrupting the church, or taking two martini lunches – the worst thing a pastor can do is to change things. Change the color of the choir robes, or the candles we use, or the kind of paper the bulletin is printed on. Now, obviously, I’m exaggerating. But it’s true – change is the single quickest way to upset church members.

Adapted from the February 15 2026 Stated Congregational Meeting

But what happens when change is what’s required to stay the same? Earlier this year we were required to launch a six figure capital project to restore our steeple. The gorgeous steeple you see today contains almost zero material from its original 1961 construction. The truth is that we had to change out every board and nail, just so that it could remain the exact same.

As it turns out, change is inevitable, even when we deeply desire to stay the same. As we look ahead as a congregation, I have identified two major projects that will define the next few years of our life together. To be clear, these are not pet projects that your pastor would like to use his free time to accomplish. No, these are deeply necessary, church-wide initiatives that have come into focus only after months of conversation with the elders and members of this church. It’s no stretch to say that they are the homework God has given us for this chapter in our church’s history.

The first is the restoration of the manse. If you attended the manse stewardship gathering, then you have already heard about the urgent need to form a plan to address the structural issues our beloved manse faces. In November, your session approved the formation of a taskforce to do just this. And over the past few months, the taskforce has begun to meet with qualified experts to provide a realistic assessment of what it will take to rehabilitate the home such that it can continue to serve the church for generations to come. I don’t have a master plan to share with you this morning. What I can say is that the scope of this project will require a serious and sustained commitment of the church’s financial resources. In other words: this will not be cheap.

It will not be easy, but we will do it and we will be better for it. We will rise to the occasion and make the sacrifices necessary to ensure that our future is more stable than our present. We will do it because we want to stay the same. We want the pastor to live on this campus, in this community for generations to come.

The second initiative follows the same logic. This church has served the families of our community from the very beginning. While much has changed regarding child rearing, God’s expectation that we raise the next generation in the faith has not changed. Here’s what’s new – what has changed: we find ourselves as a crisis point. There are more families living on the East End than ever before, and we are putting fewer resources toward serving those families than ever before. There are more children and youth in need of a church home than ever before, and we are investing less than we were 20 years ago.

I could frame this issue in existential terms – I could say that, if we don’t get serious about ministering to the families of our community today, there won’t be a tomorrow. Or I can simply say: God has given us this mission and we must accept it. No one else is positioned to step forward for such a time as this. If we do not meet the needs of our families, no one else will.

With this urgency, your Session approved a taskforce focused on beginning the process of calling an associate pastor for family ministries. I realize that many of you are empty nesters and grandparents. You have run the race and finished. In your day, the church adequately resourced this ministry. You might even be thinking – “we did just fine without a youth pastor.” I hear you. But, on behalf of every family in our community, I would humbly submit that times have changed. Statistics tell us that it is more difficult than it ever has been to raise your child in the faith. We cannot expect old solutions to bring new results.

This issue is personal for me. On the one hand, I am your pastor and want to continue building relationships with the families and children of the church. But I speak from experience when I say that they deserve better than a solo pastor pulled in 10 different directions. They deserve more than one hour a week in Sunday school, and 90 minutes every other week at Youth Group. We will not raise a new generation in the faith by giving them our leftover time and attention. This issue is personal for me because I have a son, and soon I’ll have a daughter, and I know that my experience in youth ministry made me into the Christian I am today. I want them to have all the opportunities I had, all of the attention and support that only a dedicated pastor can provide. If we want to once again become the place where families can receive the support and guidance they need to raise their children in the faith, we need to return to the level of investment that made this possible in years past.

Once again, adding a full-time minister to our staff will not be easy, but because this is the mission God has set before us I believe we will succeed. I believe we will make the sacrifices necessary to do right by our families and actively build the future of the church.

So where does this leave us today? What does this mean for the year ahead? Well, we are entering into a chapter where we are finally setting goals that cannot be accomplished in just one year. We will not have a renovated manse, and we will not have a youth pastor by December 31. Instead, we are building the foundation on which these goals will be achieved.

That begins with improving our financial situation. During our stewardship series, I shared with you the dilemma we find ourselves in. When reviewing our giving over the past 3 years, we found that those who regularly give to the church are generally very generous. The problem is that very few of our members give anything at all to the ministry of the church. 50% of our members give generously, and the other 50% give nothing at all. It is very difficult to build a firm foundation when only half of the household is contributing.

But out of every challenge we will face in the journey ahead, this one should scare us the least. Because this is the challenge over which we have the greatest control. It begins with each of us going to God and determining what we can afford to contribute. Beyond our generosity, there is ample opportunity to tap into our community’s generosity. We are not in this alone. We are eager to explore grants and public funding that may help us finance the Manse renovation. There is funding available from our presbytery and area churches that may subsidize the cost of a youth pastor. With God, there is always a way.

And to your credit, you have already begun to rise to the challenge. Outside of stewardship season, I don’t talk a lot about church finances and money. But you should know that our church isn’t just growing numerically. We are growing in generosity. Total pledges went up by 25% this year. The number of people who made a pledge went up by 30%. For the past two years, we have expected to end the year in a deficit, but instead we have grown the size of our endowment by 32%.

When you deal generously with the church, two things happen. First, we are able to continue living into our Christian vocation of serving God and our neighbor in spiritual and tangible ways. That means we continue to meet for worship, fellowship, prayer, and service on our beautiful campus. But the second thing that happens is even more exciting. When you are generous with the church, we can move beyond survival, beyond the bare minimum programs into blessing our entire community. We are able to pay our needy neighbor’s heating bill and ask for nothing in return, because God has been generous with us. We can purchase coats and snow boots for children in our schools, so they will know that we believe in a God who is more interested in giving than getting. Although we follow Jesus, the homeless preacher, we are able to pay for our neighbor’s rent.

When we rise to the expectation God has set for us, when we are generous as God is generous, we can invite more people into this community of faith. We can meet the needs of more families and children, we can build bigger tables for bigger crowds. And I know God isn’t the only one setting high expectations for you. I know I have always believed this church is capable of more. My belief today has not changed from the moment I became your minister – God will do great things in this place. You are the people, this is the mission, and now is the time.

Let us begin to build our future together. Amen.

Jon Rodriguez 3/5/26 Jon Rodriguez 3/5/26

Winter 2025 | The Life of the Church

When the Rev. Trevon Ferguson of Calvary Baptist Church took to our pulpit in November, it was the first act of Christian unity between our two churches in nearly 40 years of Sunday worship. His presence in our sanctuary indicated an important shift in perspective for the faithful within our community. There is much that separates Christians – theology, worship style, location, and demographics. There is just one thing that unites us: the Gospel. Rev. Ferguson’s presence indicated a shift toward unity and away from division.

The Session of our church (the ruling board of elected elders) hopes that by providing this newsletter every few months our members and friends can stay abreast of all that is happening behind the scenes here at First Church! Throughout the year, our committees are working hard to provide opportunities for ministry, to meet our congregation’s needs, and to move the church forward in outreach and service to our larger community as well. Here’s what has been happening these past few months:

†††

Pastor’s Report

As a church, we have made the decision to be more for something than we are against something. We are for the Gospel, and therefore we will be for each other. We are for unity, and so we are against division. This is an easy shift to perceive in our relationship with a congregation like Calvary Baptist, but my hope is that we begin to see this shift within our own congregation.

In this newsletter you will read about the many programmatic and administrative updates that have transpired in the past 6 months. It is crucial that you do not lose sight of the guiding vision that ties them all together. At our best, every decision we make – whether it is about church facilities or Sunday School – takes us one step closer to our ultimate goal. But this is only possible when everyone understands and believes in the goal.

Our goal in sharing worship with Rev. Ferguson, replacing the handicapped ramp, hosting a Christmas Pageant, and making a 2026 budget is to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. It is to live out the Greatest Commandment. God partners with us in sometimes ordinary decisions to build toward extraordinary embodiments of this goal. As you will read, being for something (namely God and our neighbor) is quite practical most days. But when we commit ourselves to a lifestyle of discipleship and faithfulness, we get to enjoy something 40 years in the making. God provides us the rare opportunity to experience something that is both old and new, forgotten and remembered, obvious and rediscovered.

†††

The Mission Committee is among the busiest of the group and they have work hard to assure our outreach is meaningful. They help fund the Ladies’ Cancer Support Group that meets in the manse monthly and continue to support the Food Pantry financially as well as collecting food with a bin in the narthex. On Christmas Eve all loose offerings will go to the local food pantries.

A sizeable donation was sent to Heifer Project in honor of Karen Schulz, our former minister’s wife who died this past year.

Christmas projects in the works now are Christmas Families, which provides $25 and $50 gift cards to local families to purchase toys and other gifts for their loved ones. White Gift Sunday is December 21st when congregants wrap simple gifts of warm gloves, hats, socks, scarves, and hats in white tissue paper to be given to Maureen’s Haven for distribution to our homeless brothers and sisters on the East End.

Other outreach by this committee includes a trip to Cuba to visit our sister church there and take much needed provisions for them such as OTC medical supplies.

Also, boxes of goodies were sent to fourteen college students during finals week this fall.

If anyone is interested in helping with any of these projects, or becoming a member of this important committee, just see Barbara D’Andrea who is the chair.

The Worship & Music Committee, along with the Fellowship Committee, planned and executed a wonderful evening of fellowship and fun at our Cabaret Night this fall. Attendees were provided with a delicious dinner in the Session House followed by entertainment by members of our congregation as well as invited performers. Many thanks to Jane Hastay for her work on this fun-filled evening!

The Worship & Music Committee continues to fine tune the way we conduct our worship services and oversees the music ministry of the church.

This committee was once again faced with the task of filling a staff position when our much-loved sexton Steve Bock retired. The position has been filled by Artie DeLalla, who is still settling in to the job here at the church. Please take a moment to say hello to Artie if you see him working around the grounds!

Another of our very busy committees is the Buildings & Grounds Committee. With three very old buildings to oversee (1830, 1858, and 1860!) this committee is tasked with assuring that not only are our grounds looking well-kept and manicured, but our buildings continue to serve us safely for many years to come. Fire inspections, fumigations, and other regular maintenance is always an issue, as is the beautification of our grounds. But at this point in time our manse is the focus of most of their efforts as leaky pipes, an old furnace, and structural challenges continue to keep them busy. Since the Session House and the sanctuary were both recently renovated, this beautiful old house, built in 1830 (originally a shop as well as a home for the Isaac family), is showing its age. To that end a Manse Task Force has been created, to be led by Elder Karel

***The Buildings and Grounds Committee gratefully accepts the donation of an AED from Suffolk Legislator Ann Wlker***

DeBoer, to do a deep dive into the necessary work on this structure to make sure it is a safe and comfortable place for our ministers and their families to live for the next 200 years. We know that we are stewards of these properties which were left to us by our previous generations and we want to make sure we leave them in good shape for future generations. Stay tuned for more information about this as our task force begins their important work.

Here is a list of projects planned and completed as well as some unplanned surprises:

· NARDY pest control treatments completed

· Gutters were cleaned

· Bush removal and re-sodding done in front of church

· Heating system in sanctuary failed on a Sunday morning, manse a/c went out during the summer heat wave, and the manse washer & dryer both needed replacing

· Windows in both the church and the manse which had been painted shut are now operable

· Rotting window sills in the sanctuary were replaced

· A front door of the church fell off when being opened for Wednesday prayer the day before Thanksgiving. Apparently some hinges don’t last more than 160 years!

· The steeple work was done - and as soon as it was completed AT&T wanted to upgrade their system. The committee will be carefully watching everything our tenants do in the future to assure our steeple is not compromised.

· The ramp in front of the church needs repairs and those will be done very soon.

· The outdated heating and cooling system in the Session House was removed.

· Fire inspection was done, elevator inspected, kitchen hood inspected, security system inspected, and HVAC systems inspected in all three buildings.

· SCWA authority tested water quality

Another very important committee is our Christian Education Committee. They are charged with overseeing education for all ages, from cradle to grave! The Sunday School has been meeting regularly on Sunday mornings following Children’s Time. Youth Group has been created for grades 6-12 and has been meeting regularly to do projects like baking pies for the Thanksgiving Dinner, and enjoying the corn maze and apple orchard at the Halsey Farm in Water Mill (thanks to John Halsey for his personal tour!). They are a lively group and we all enjoy seeing our youth in worship on Sunday mornings, reading scripture, ushering, and helping with the children’s Sunday School program.

Our Nursery will soon be open every Sunday morning for moms and dads to drop off their little ones so they can enjoy worship downstairs. With a tv monitor upstairs it is now possible for nursery attendants to enjoy worship as well as take loving care of our smallest Presbyterians!

Our Board of Deacons works hard to assist with funerals, recognize newly baptized babies with a basket of gifts from the church, distribute prayer shawls, and continue their ongoing quiet work helping our members and friends in ways too plentiful to count. Their ministry to the body is so important and we hope you will all take the time to attend their fund-raising Christmas Tea coming up by purchasing tickets and bringing friends! Please see Fran Chapman or contact the church office at 324-0711 about getting your tickets before they sell out!

We hope you will reach out to any of these committees if you feel moved to help with the various ministries of this church. Any of our committee chairs, Session members, or Deacon members are more than happy to discuss their work in greater detail so please ask! And Pastor Jon is also happy to answer questions about our church or help you understand what it is we do to reach out to our larger community.

Questions and Answers!

What is per capita?

Each member of the Presbyterian Church is asked to contribute an annual per capita amount, which is determined by the local Presbytery. Here is a breakdown of what makes up this amount for 2025:

General Assembly:          $10.84
Synod:                           $ 4.25
Presbytery:                    $27.00
Total:                             $42.09
If you have not submitted your per capita you can do so at any time – simply use an envelope in the pew and mark it “per capita” along with your name. Or mail a check to the church office at 120 Main Street marked for per capita.

What is the job of a ruling elder?

The ruling elders are elected by the congregation and serve three-year terms on the board. Elders share in the government and spiritual oversight of the church, working with the pastor to assist in leading worship and ensuring the church’s spiritual health.

What do the deacons of the church do?

Deacons are charged with acts of care and compassion, often undertaking ministries of feeding, visitation, prayer, and hospitality as well as other acts of service.

Who is in charge of the care and upkeep of our buildings?

The Buildings & Grounds Committee oversees the properties of the church. In addition to our grounds we own three buildings: the session house, the sanctuary, and the manse where our pastor’s family lives. These buildings were built in 1858, 1860, and 1830 respectfully and upkeep is essential for such historic buildings. They need to be safe and comfortable. In addition, this committee deals with snow removal, plowing, mowing, landscaping, and local utilities as well as the cell tower companies who lease space in our steeple.

Who makes decisions about our worship services, like the hymns we sing and the type of bulletin we use?

The Worship & Music Committee oversees all aspects of our worship services. Our pastor and our director of music both sit on this committee and have input into the details of our services, both on Sunday morning and during special church events such as Holy Week and Advent.

What does the Mission Committee do?

The Mission Committee is concerned with the various missions of the church. In addition to their Cuba mission and their work with Maureen’s Haven, they continue to be busy on numerous projects like the annual Heifer Project which provides animals to impoverished areas of the world in order to make the communities more self-sufficient. They also oversee the One Great Hour of Sharing and Christmas Joy special offerings collected every year, as well as adopting families for Christmas who are in need of help with buying gifts for their children.

The Mission Committee also oversees special offerings for disaster relief. The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, whose motto is “Out of chaos, HOPE”, assists churches to care for communities affected by crisis and catastrophic events. It is the emergency and refugee program of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It is funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing program, which our mission committee coordinates every year.

All the committees of the church operate under the oversight of the Session and each provides important work in the life of the church. In addition to the committees already mentioned, there is a Christian Education Committee that is in charge of the education for all ages of the church and makes plans for our children’s Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Bible studies, and any other opportunities to assist in growth for our members. The Fellowship Committee plans opportunities for the congregation to gather outside the walls of the sanctuary. These may include dinners, movie nights, game nights, and other fun activities designed to provide social events where members can get to know the folks sitting in the pews near them on Sunday mornings. A Nominating Committee meets to select nominees to run for positions on the session and deacon boards, and a Pastoral Care Committee is charged with making sure that the needs of our pastor and family are met.

If you have a special interest in serving on one of the committees of the church please speak to the pastor.

What is the Long Island Presbytery?

The Long Island Presbytery is made up of all the churches on Long Island who are part of the Presbyterian Church (USA). There are 52 member churches and each one sends representatives to meetings of the Presbytery. The Presbytery office is located in West Islip. Our Long Island Presbytery (the oldest presbytery in the country) provides resources for churches covering such things as personnel, worship, church development, Christian Education, and Policies, among many others. Our per capita money goes to support the offices and personnel expenses of the Long Island Presbytery.

Where can I find additional information on the church?

First Presbyterian Church has a website which can be found with a simple google search, as well as a Facebook page and (hopefully soon!) an Instagram page where important announcements may be found. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm and the phone number is 631-324-0711. (Wednesdays are “administration days and no appointments or drop-ins are appreciated except in the case of an emergency).

Jon Rodriguez 5/6/25 Jon Rodriguez 5/6/25

April 2025 | The Life of the Church

Session Report

*Some members of the 2025 confirmation class*

The session has been spending time in 2025 visioning for the future of the church as well as digging into the Bible to see what we are called on to provide for children and families in the church. A decision was made by the session to explore the possibility of finding an associate pastor who will take on Family Ministries. An informational meeting was held in the Session House May 4th for interested members of the congregation. If you would like more information please speak to Pastor Jon.

During their business meetings the session makes note of how many people received communion each month as well as any change in the membership roles. In February they noted the death of longtime member Jane P. Talmage.

Our year-to-date income has been under budget. Unexpected expenses have driven our shortfall, mostly involving building maintenance and repair issues. It was suggested that a reminder about the per capita expense should be put into the bulletin or the “News From the Pews”. A committee will be formed to review the membership rolls. Additional information about budget issues can be addressed to our church treasurer, Wendy Mott.

At the April meeting session members met with the members of the confirmation class to assess their readiness for joining the church. Each confirmand met with a session member to talk about what they have learned in the classes and whether or not they feel they were ready to join the church. Confirmation will be held May 18th which will also be celebrated as Family Sunday.

Buildings & Grounds Committee

The committee reported work needing to be done on the steeple which will involve scaffolding - a very expensive proposition. More will be reported on this as things evolve but this is going to further challenge the church’s budget this year.

There is also considerable work needing to be done on the manse and the committee will be making numerous repairs. Windows which were painted shut have been opened and other areas of concern are being addressed. We will be hiring a structural engineer to assess the foundation of the house before a kitchen renovation can be considered. The kitchen was last renovated in 1995 so although appliances have been updated, cabinets, flooring, and tile all need to be replaced.

Personnel Committee

Our wonderful church administrator, June Lester, retired at the end of April and the committee spent some time discussing the job as well as the load on our church treasurer, who has been doing much more bookkeeping than should be expected of a volunteer. The decision was made to again divide the job into two positions (as has been done in the past). To that end, the Session approved the hiring of Amber Talmage to be an outside contractor who will take care of our bookkeeping, including payroll and reporting. Bess Rattray has been hired to take care of the administration of the church office and will be doing our weekly bulletins, secretarial work for Pastor Jon, and social media posts as well as working with all the church committees and officers to assist where needed in their duties. Of special interest to our church history buffs: The Reverend Nathanial Huntting, the second minister of this church, is the seventh great-grandfather of Bess Rattray! How neat is that, right?

June has been a great asset to the church and we will miss her greatly! But we are excited about getting to know Bess and having Amber to tackle our financial duties. The church office hours will remain the same and we hope members will take just a few minutes out of their day in the next couple months to stop in and introduce themselves to Bess.

Worship & Music Committee

A new (badly needed) copy machine was purchased for the church office. Aside from performing more reliably and efficiently than the old machine, the new model adds features that return much needed time to the office administrator.

It was agreed that the Elder of the Month will make a decision about whether communion will be served in the pews or done by intinction.

Communications & Evangelism Committee

The committee took charge of advertising and events for Holy Week.

It was felt that communication between committees and boards could be improved.

A project to create a new church directory is in the works.

Mission Committee

The Mission Committee continues its work with Maureen’s Haven and sent a team to Cuba recently. In April members of the congregation traveled to Bridgehampton to set up beds and feed dinner to 41 guests of Maureen’s Haven. This is an ongoing mission and other congregants are encouraged to join when needed. Although Maureen’s Haven does not provide overnight accommodations during the warmer months, once the autumn arrives there will be more need for help in giving our friends a warm meal and place to sleep when the weather is cold. Please consider this for the future.

In addition to Cuba and Maureen’s Haven, the Mission Committee reminds our members that our church needs members to walk in the Hamptons Pride Parade June 7th and they are collecting for Laundry Love, One Great Hour of Sharing, and the Heifer Project, which will be done this year in memory of Karen Schulz, our former minister’s wife who passed this winter. If you need a bank for saving your coins or have any questions about how you can assist in any of these projects please speak to Barbara D’Andrea.

New Opportunity!

Since April our sanctuary has been open every Wednesday from noon to 1pm for prayer and meditation. Anyone may drop in at any time during that hour to spend time alone in prayer, to meditate, to ask someone else to pray with them for a special need, or to join for a time of corporate prayer led by Pastor Jon. If you are interested,please feel free to come in and find a place where you are comfortable-no one will bother you if you wish to be alone, but there are people available to pray with or for you if you would like that. It is a casual time of quiet and a peaceful place to gather with others in the middle of your busy week. Everyone is welcome!