Presbyterian Encounters

Even on vacation, the fellowship of the Presbyterian community breaks through. After wonderful, family filled holidays that culminated in sending our new University of Illinois engineering grad off to Nigeria for an Engineers without Borders project and our middle daughter back to New Orleans where she is working with Habitat for Humanity on a year break from college, together with her younger sister on break for the month of January, my husband and I headed to Arizona for exercise, reading and relaxing. Multiple paths led to Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, although we ourselves didn’t get there in our mid-week get away. A long time Motorola colleague will join the session there shortly and a friend who retired from Chicago to Scottsdale not only worships at Valley, but introduced us at dinner to the church's pastor emeritus, the Rev. Wilson Kilgore. I was regaled at supper with inspiring stories of new church development.  The Valley Church, under Wilson’s leadership, started two other churches – including Pinnacle in Scottsdale – which both now number over 1,000 members.  I learned that Wilson’s former church in Cleveland, Ohio, recently honored him by naming part of a building after him.  What a marvelous legacy!

May your New Year be similarly filled with delightful encounters with friends old and new!