On 13 January, Brent England was ordained as the first pastor of a Reformed Presbyterian (RP) church-plant in Housatonic, Massachusetts, USA. The new church venture is supported by First RP Church of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Atlantic Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.
One hundred and twenty people gathered at the service of the Berkshire RP Mission Church. These included the 20 members of the new church as well as national denominational representatives. Previously members commuted for Sunday worship to various places, including Cambridge and Springfield.
Charles Burger, an elder at Housatonic, used to hold services in Sheffield or Bible studies in his own home. ‘We spent years
travelling to Cambridge, about once a month. With a family of eleven, it was tough. But this is what we need’, he says.
Rev. Gordon Keddie, who formerly ministered to Brent at State College RP Church, Pennsylvania, notes the significance of this new work. ‘It is one of these clouds no bigger than a man’s hand that reminds us that God is at work in all sorts of corners of the world’.
The church is in an area historically associated with Jonathan Edwards (Stockbridge is nearby), but where for a long time evangelical witness has been weak.
Details of induction from www.berkshireeagle
