Ottawa, Ont., RPC

Richard Ganz, pastor

On Sept. 1, Dr. Richard Ganz will retire after 39 fruitful years as pastor of the Ottawa RPC. We are thankful to God for sustaining him and for blessing the church with a faithful pastor.

In light of Dr. Ganz’s pending retirement, the Ottawa RPC is pleased that, on Feb. 25, Pastor Andrew Quigley indicated his acceptance of the call that the Ottawa RPC had made to him.

Pastor Quigley has served faithfully and fruitfully in the Airdrie, Scotland, RPC and the Scottish RP Church for 24 years. He has witnessed the revitalization of the church there into a community of five vibrant congregations, which also promote other ministries. Please be in prayer for him and his wife, Heather, and their family as they intend, God willing, to emigrate to Canada this summer.

Please also remember the Airdrie congregation in prayer, as they feel the loss of their beloved minister, as will the Scottish RP Church.

—Jane Fry, correspondent

Orlando, Fla., RPC

H.P. McCracken, pastor

An informal “Bonfire on the Lake” was hosted by Steve and Stephanie Garrow on Mar. 3. People enjoyed great food, fellowship, and fun roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and creating everyone’s favorite treat, s’mores.

A small group of soccer enthusiasts attended a soccer game at the sports stadium in Orlando on Mar. 10. The game was between the Orlando City Lions and Minnesota United. Minnesota won, 2–1.

We were pleased to host a small delegation of young men and women in mid-March from the Purdue Corps College Ministries of Lafayette, Ind. Accompanying the young folks were Pastor Keith Evans and Pastor Adam Niess. Pastor Evans was gracious in ministering the Lord’s Word to us as he preached from Psalm 1:1–6 on “The Righteous Man.”

A church work day was held Mar. 17. We moved our nursery from the annex building to the ground floor of our church building for security reasons as well as easier accessibility.

John McFarland presented an in-depth study of the East Asian mission work during our adult Sabbath school Mar. 18.

There is a man among us who not only oversees the RP Witness subscriptions but also eagerly volunteers his assistance in submitting prayer items. In the past, he has given of his time to serve in the pulpit as well. We are blessed to have him among us. He is indeed a “special agent” of God and we are truly thankful for him. He is planning a sabbatical in the not-too-distant future. He is our own dear brother in Christ, Jim Pennington.

—Louise Turmenne, correspondent

Rose Point (New Castle, Pa.) RPC

Charles Brown, pastor

Two of our families went on major trips during fall 2017. Ralph and Joday Joseph joined 17 Geneva College alumni and friends for a 10-day cruise from Baltimore to Halifax, N.S. Dan and Roseann Edmonds and their family journeyed to Colorado and Wyoming to view the eclipse of the sun and to visit friends.

Clair Miller was the oldest person in attendance when Laurel High School honored about 30 men who had served in the military from Slippery Rock Township, Pa. Clair was a Seabee in the Navy and was the only one from that branch of the service in attendance.

The three eldest sons of Guy and Joann Curran are serving in the military. Shane (Katie) is stationed at Fort Rucker, Ala., in Army helicopter training; Caleb (Lila) is stationed at the Portsmouth, Va., Coast Guard station; and Ethan (Lupe) is deployed in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army.

The annual Reformation Day psalm sing was held in the church Oct. 29 with about 90 in attendance. The theme for the evening was “Five Solas, Five Hundred Years.”

Members and friends of the congregation collected 48 food items for the New Castle City Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving basket distribution.

Thirty members of the church family gathered in the church basement on Feb. 23 for a night of playing board games.

Adam (Erica Youngman) Zajac is returning to the U.S. after a three-year tour of duty with the navy. Erica’s mother, Nola, was in Italy visiting the family in January.

Annie Brown played basketball for the Plants and Pillar junior high girls team this past winter. The team is made up of homeschoolers who compete in the Southwestern Christian Athletic Conference against schools such as Portersville Christian and Beaver County Christian.

—Ralph Joseph, correspondent