Welcome to Our Church

It's a pleasure to welcome you to the Buford Presbyterian Church website. Whether member, friend, or visitor - we hope that this site reflects the friendly and open nature of our congregation. If you are searching for a church home, we'd like you to know that there's a special place here just for you.   Our Church is...

  • A Place for Worship. The primary reason we meet together is to focus our attention on God, giving Him our worship and receiving His blessing and inspiration. Each of these occasions is a special time of spiritual refreshment.
  • A Place for Learning. To us, studying the Bible is vital because it not only instructs us intellectually, but also guides us spiritually. We believe it and accept it as God's Word to us, a Book that is alive and relevant to life today. Learning its truths is a thrilling adventure.
  • A Place for Enrichment. For every person at every age level we offer a wealth of opportunities - special programs and ministries for children, youth, and adults which fill the church calendar. You can be sure that in this kaleidoscope of activities there's more than one place where you can be personally enriched.
  • A Place for Friendship. Nothing quite compares to the joy of Christian friendship. That's why we make it a priority to build lasting bonds between the members of our church family - bonds of concern and genuine commitment to one another.
  • A Place for Service. Just as Jesus Christ came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister..." we accept our responsibility to reach out in service to others. This applies both within the church family and outside our fellowship.

Best of all, this circle of care is ever-widening. We'd love it to include you too.

Inspiration for the Week

Some of us may know somebody who has not spoken to a brother or sister in years because of a dispute over their parents’ will. Maybe that person is you. Siblings hire lawyers, hunker down, and squabble for years over the terms of their parents’ will and in the end not having much left that was not given to their lawyers. We may think it sad or tragic that the goods that the parents accumulated over their lifetime have become, after their deaths, the reason for the disintegration of the family. The children do not remember their parents for their values, character, or love, but seemingly now only for their stuff and what they can get. 

An unnamed man comes to Jesus and asks him to tell his brother to give him a share of his inheritance. Jesus dismisses the man with a parable about the foolishness of stuff. Jesus is not here to discuss family wills, but to let people know that our hearts need to be set on something of greater value. Our goods cannot secure us indefinitely, but the love of God can. 

Maybe that is why we gather to worship. Not primarily to get something out of Jesus, but simply because we love him. Not to get investment tips for our portfolios, but we gather to be present to hear those words that are not always comfortable but are always welcome. 

So let us come into God’s presence. Let us worship and sing praises! 

Grace and Peace,
Rix 

Quote for the week
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
- Helen Keller 

Prayer for the Week
Almighty God, judge of us all, you have placed in our hands the wealth we call our own. Through your Spirit, give us wisdom, that our possessions may not be a cruse, but a means of blessing in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
- Book of Common Worship

Buford Presbyterian Church Warmly Welcomes to our new Pastor:
Rev. Dr. Corey Ingold

We are pleased and excited to welcome Rev. Corey Ingold as our new permanent Pastor (Head of Staff) on August 8, 2010. He comes to us after serving at Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, VA where he has been Pastor (Head of Staff) for eight years. Prior to that, he also served as Solo Pastor of Rocky River Pres. Church in Concord, NC and Associate Pastor of Steele Creek Pres. Church in Charlotte, NC. 

In addition to serving his church, he has served the community as a member of the Board of Trustees for Interfaith Outreach, a local ministry dealing with community needs, and for Westminster-Canterbury, a 500-bed senior care facility in Lynchburg. 

He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg NC, and a Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary here in Atlanta, and Doctor of Ministry from Union-PSCE in Richmond, VA.

One of the common themes that comes up when we speak about our church is the sense that we are a family. The Ingold’s will be a wonderful addition to our community of faith and we welcome them to our family in Buford!

We will officially welcome Corey, Nancy, Anna and Blair Ingold, on August 8th, with an informal reception following the 11:00 worship service. During Sunday school that morning (10:00 AM), we will formally introduce them and let Corey tell you more about himself. This will be his first Sunday with us, and he will preach that morning at both services. We will also welcome them with an old Southern housewarming custom of a "pounding," i.e. bringing the family "a pound of this and a pound of that" to stock their kitchen and house. We are asking families with the last names "A-N" to bring some staple food items and families with the last names "O-Z" to bring other household products (paper towels, garbage bags, cleaning supplies, etc.) on Sunday, August 8th. This will show them how grateful we are that they will be a part of our Buford Presbyterian Church family.

From the Minister's Desk

Ecclesiastes (and not Pete Seeger and The Byrds) says: “For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (3:1) 

August is always a time of transition. For parents and children, it is the time to move from those lazy days of summer, from days spent at the pool, with friends, on vacation, at camp, or a variety of other activities to getting ready and then beginning the school year. It is moving from sleeping in and lounging around to waking up early and doing homework. For those at work, summertime is sometimes quiet and slow because many people are gone on vacation or business becomes sluggish and then begins to pick up once again. 

August is also a time of transition for the church. The choir is back into the swing of things after a few weeks of deserved rest (with a special thanks to all of our soloists). Plans for fall Sunday school are already under way, and we begin preparing many of the congregational fellowship events for the year. We will have our annual Church Picnic at Bogan Park. Elder training begins and our new class of elders will be ordained/installed on Sunday, August 29th. Many of our other programs that ended in May will resume. What a great time in the life of the church. 

The biggest transition will be the coming of Corey Ingold to be our new pastor. Corey brings a wealth of energy, excitement, knowledge, and passion to our church family. He is enthused about this wonderful congregation and the ministry we will do together. Nancy, Anna, and Blair are also excited about this church and this area and cannot wait to meet and get to know all of you. 

We will formally welcome them on August 8th, and I ask you to do several things: 

Please keep them in your prayers during this transition. And continue to pray for this church. 

Continually remind them of who you are! We are a family of over five hundred, and they may not always remember your name. 

Come to the luncheon on August 8th and bring goods for the “pounding.” (see article above) 

I am ecstatic about this time in the life of our church. We have such a great church family, and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer! 

See you here at church!
RIX