THE GAYTON KIRK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, USA
Vision: The love of God, neighbor and self will be in everyone`s heart.
Mission: To enable individuals to learn, practice, live and share the word of God.
Values: Commitment, Love, Faith, Relationships, Forgiveness
Kirk History
Who We Are
THE PEOPLE
We are Musicians, Teachers, Lawyers, Administartion Assistants, Students, Nurses, Self-Employed, Actors, Managers, Retired, Dancers ... we are your neighbors.
Our worship style is casual, respectful, and creative...
We celebrate The Lord's Supper on the first Sunday each month.
THE KIRK'S CHALICE AND PATEN
We study Scripture so that as we follow Jesus Christ we might become more like him.
We baptise infants and adults, knowing that it is not by anything that we do but by God's grace that we are called children of God.
We become members of Christ's church by publicly confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We believe that God changes us through our worship and discipleship so that during the week we are enabled to be kind, to stand for justice, and to walk humbly with God.
Our name "kirk" means church in Scottish, and has prompted us to study and embrace Celtic Spirituality.
THE CELTIC CROSS BUILT BY JIM COLLINS
THE CONNECTION WITH OTHERS
The Gayton Kirk is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church USA ( www.pcusa.org )
We are members of a group of 114 congregations in this area of Virginia called
The Presbytery of the James (www.presbyteryofthejames.org ).
We will celebrate our 25th birthday this year -- May 4, 2008.
Our congregation began meeting at Steward School in the early 1980's as a new church development begun by our mother church, First Presbyterian Church of Richmond.
The Rev. Richard A. Brand was called as the first minister and The Gayton Kirk became active in 1982. The present facility was occupied in 1985.
After the retirement of The Rev. Brand in 2005, The Kirk called The Reverend Mary Hutchinson Johns as Interim Pastor.
In the Fall of 2007 The Rev. Janet James became our second and current pastor.
___________________________________
OFFICIAL GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF THE GAYTON KIRK ON AUGUST 26TH, 1984.
*****
____________________________________
LEST WE FORGET: MUSINGS
By Dick Brand, Pastor Emeritus
The new Celtic Cross near the church sign is a beautiful work done by Jim Collins, one of The Kirk Elders.
The cross in the sanctuary was made shortly after we moved into the building by Elder David Fitzgerald at the request of Mary Cauthorn (and with the full support of all of us).
David made the cross from his family's farm near South Hill, He designed the cross so that it is actually an onlay of two crosses - there is no other like it.
THE OUTDOOR SANCTUARY CONSTRUCTED BY EVAN AND CLAYTON DAVIS FOR AN EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT
THE PEOPLE
We are Musicians, Teachers, Lawyers, Administartion Assistants, Students, Nurses, Self-Employed, Actors, Managers, Retired, Dancers ... we are your neighbors.
Our worship style is casual, respectful, and creative...
We celebrate The Lord's Supper on the first Sunday each month.
THE KIRK'S CHALICE AND PATEN
We study Scripture so that as we follow Jesus Christ we might become more like him.
We baptise infants and adults, knowing that it is not by anything that we do but by God's grace that we are called children of God.
We become members of Christ's church by publicly confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We believe that God changes us through our worship and discipleship so that during the week we are enabled to be kind, to stand for justice, and to walk humbly with God.
Our name "kirk" means church in Scottish, and has prompted us to study and embrace Celtic Spirituality.
THE CELTIC CROSS BUILT BY JIM COLLINS
THE CONNECTION WITH OTHERS
The Gayton Kirk is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church USA ( www.pcusa.org )
We are members of a group of 114 congregations in this area of Virginia called
The Presbytery of the James (www.presbyteryofthejames.org ).
We will celebrate our 25th birthday this year -- May 4, 2008.
Our congregation began meeting at Steward School in the early 1980's as a new church development begun by our mother church, First Presbyterian Church of Richmond.
The Rev. Richard A. Brand was called as the first minister and The Gayton Kirk became active in 1982. The present facility was occupied in 1985.
After the retirement of The Rev. Brand in 2005, The Kirk called The Reverend Mary Hutchinson Johns as Interim Pastor.
In the Fall of 2007 The Rev. Janet James became our second and current pastor.
___________________________________
OFFICIAL GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF THE GAYTON KIRK ON AUGUST 26TH, 1984.
*****
____________________________________
LEST WE FORGET: MUSINGS
By Dick Brand, Pastor Emeritus
The new Celtic Cross near the church sign is a beautiful work done by Jim Collins, one of The Kirk Elders.
The cross in the sanctuary was made shortly after we moved into the building by Elder David Fitzgerald at the request of Mary Cauthorn (and with the full support of all of us).
David made the cross from his family's farm near South Hill, He designed the cross so that it is actually an onlay of two crosses - there is no other like it.
THE OUTDOOR SANCTUARY CONSTRUCTED BY EVAN AND CLAYTON DAVIS FOR AN EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: A SHORT HISTORY
The Presbyterian church is a branch of the “Protestant Reformed Faith” that grew out of the Martin Luther’s instigation of reforms in the Roman Catholic Church.
Its name is derived from the form of government established by John Calvin in Geneva during the mid 1500’s and carried to Scotland by John Knox where it became the state religion.
The basis for the organization is “Elders” (Presbyters in Greek) elected by the local congregation from it’s lay members to manage church affairs in conjunction with the clergy as a “session.” Each member of a session has equal vote at the local level and parity with the clergy at the higher “Courts” outlined below.
Like other mainline Protestant churches such as the Lutheran, congregation and Disciples of Christ, Presbyterians insist on a trained clergy and this limited their growth during the great religious revivals along the frontier during the 1800’s.
Presbyterians conduct themselves decently and in order. Three “courts” above the local congregation level are used to maintain discipline and manage national affairs. These are:
1. Presbyteries that are regional groups of local churches. There are 176 Presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. with 11,363 churches. The Presbytery of The James, to which the Gayton Kirk belongs, has 114 churches in central Virginia with administrative headquarters in Richmond.
2. Synods which are 16 regional groups of Presbyteries. The Presbytery of The James is in the Mid-Atlantic Synod which is headquartered in Richmond.
3. The General Assembly which is national in scope and meets bi-annually to consider current questions and give direction to the churches.
The General Assembly staff is located in Louisville, Kentucky. The General Assembly is the final arbitrator for all questions. The Christian Bible is the basis for all Presbyterian beliefs and practices and is the reference for deciding all questions related to belief and practice by its members.
At different times the Christian church has used ‘confessions’ to interpret and apply scripture to their time and/or specific questions.
Presbyterians use 11 of these beginning with the Nicene Creed of the early church to the 1967 statement by the United Presbyterian Church addressing the turbulent 1960’s which was the first written confession of the Presbyterian church in the U.S. for 300 years.
A “brief statement of faith” was adopted in 1983 at the time of reunion of the Northern (United Presbyterian church ) and Southern (Presbyterian church in the United States) and became part of our confessions.
The Westminster Confession of 1640 generated at the time England became protestant for the Church of England at the direction of Parliament is also a major Presbyterian guide.
In addition to the Bible and approved confessions for faith and life, Presbyterians have a ‘Book of Order’ to regulate their temporal church affairs.
The book of order is amended regularly by the General Assembly to reflect current church governance requirements. The book of order and the confessions comprise the constitution of Presbyterian church U.S.A.
Regardless of the written documents governing Presbyterians they exhibit the same range of beliefs and practices that members of other religious bodies do.
While these grouped into conservative, moderate and liberal by the media and academia the Gayton Kirk’s love based ministry accepts and supports all persons just as Christ did.
All seekers of a better life in Christ are welcome!
The Presbyterian church is a branch of the “Protestant Reformed Faith” that grew out of the Martin Luther’s instigation of reforms in the Roman Catholic Church.
Its name is derived from the form of government established by John Calvin in Geneva during the mid 1500’s and carried to Scotland by John Knox where it became the state religion.
The basis for the organization is “Elders” (Presbyters in Greek) elected by the local congregation from it’s lay members to manage church affairs in conjunction with the clergy as a “session.” Each member of a session has equal vote at the local level and parity with the clergy at the higher “Courts” outlined below.
Like other mainline Protestant churches such as the Lutheran, congregation and Disciples of Christ, Presbyterians insist on a trained clergy and this limited their growth during the great religious revivals along the frontier during the 1800’s.
Presbyterians conduct themselves decently and in order. Three “courts” above the local congregation level are used to maintain discipline and manage national affairs. These are:
1. Presbyteries that are regional groups of local churches. There are 176 Presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. with 11,363 churches. The Presbytery of The James, to which the Gayton Kirk belongs, has 114 churches in central Virginia with administrative headquarters in Richmond.
2. Synods which are 16 regional groups of Presbyteries. The Presbytery of The James is in the Mid-Atlantic Synod which is headquartered in Richmond.
3. The General Assembly which is national in scope and meets bi-annually to consider current questions and give direction to the churches.
The General Assembly staff is located in Louisville, Kentucky. The General Assembly is the final arbitrator for all questions. The Christian Bible is the basis for all Presbyterian beliefs and practices and is the reference for deciding all questions related to belief and practice by its members.
At different times the Christian church has used ‘confessions’ to interpret and apply scripture to their time and/or specific questions.
Presbyterians use 11 of these beginning with the Nicene Creed of the early church to the 1967 statement by the United Presbyterian Church addressing the turbulent 1960’s which was the first written confession of the Presbyterian church in the U.S. for 300 years.
A “brief statement of faith” was adopted in 1983 at the time of reunion of the Northern (United Presbyterian church ) and Southern (Presbyterian church in the United States) and became part of our confessions.
The Westminster Confession of 1640 generated at the time England became protestant for the Church of England at the direction of Parliament is also a major Presbyterian guide.
In addition to the Bible and approved confessions for faith and life, Presbyterians have a ‘Book of Order’ to regulate their temporal church affairs.
The book of order is amended regularly by the General Assembly to reflect current church governance requirements. The book of order and the confessions comprise the constitution of Presbyterian church U.S.A.
Regardless of the written documents governing Presbyterians they exhibit the same range of beliefs and practices that members of other religious bodies do.
While these grouped into conservative, moderate and liberal by the media and academia the Gayton Kirk’s love based ministry accepts and supports all persons just as Christ did.
All seekers of a better life in Christ are welcome!
HOW THE WORSHIP AREA HELPS WORSHIP
more musings from Rev. Dick Brand
The architectural firm that designed our building was Tyler, Nash and Farmer, which later merged with Baskerville and Sons. When our building committee met with the architects they asked what we wanted the building to do.
We told them it would serve as worship space, church school space, office space, fellowship space, meeting space and community space -- and that it had to be affordable.
Then we told them that the worship/fellowship space would be where the congregation gathered to hear God's Word and then disperse to do God's will. And we said that we wanted to gather around the table and be able to see the world into which we would go. They said, "okay."
The beautiful result:
The highest part of the roof is at the sanctuary's entrance which is a corner of the square room. The roof (which is almost two stories high) descends to the worship center.
The clear windows located on each of the two exterior walls are grouped first two windows, then three windows, four and finally a group of five windows using light to draw the eye toward the communion table, the baptismal font and the pulpit. The windowed walls become higher as they near the worship center.
The clear windows enable a view of the world outside and everything inside is movable so that the space is multifunctional.
We asked and the architects did what we wanted in a very unique way!
more musings from Rev. Dick Brand
The architectural firm that designed our building was Tyler, Nash and Farmer, which later merged with Baskerville and Sons. When our building committee met with the architects they asked what we wanted the building to do.
We told them it would serve as worship space, church school space, office space, fellowship space, meeting space and community space -- and that it had to be affordable.
Then we told them that the worship/fellowship space would be where the congregation gathered to hear God's Word and then disperse to do God's will. And we said that we wanted to gather around the table and be able to see the world into which we would go. They said, "okay."
The beautiful result:
The highest part of the roof is at the sanctuary's entrance which is a corner of the square room. The roof (which is almost two stories high) descends to the worship center.
The clear windows located on each of the two exterior walls are grouped first two windows, then three windows, four and finally a group of five windows using light to draw the eye toward the communion table, the baptismal font and the pulpit. The windowed walls become higher as they near the worship center.
The clear windows enable a view of the world outside and everything inside is movable so that the space is multifunctional.
We asked and the architects did what we wanted in a very unique way!
