Our Mission

The Presbyterian Church of Chestertown is a community of believers who worship an ever-creating God, seek to follow Jesus of Nazareth as our model for living, and led by the Spirit, willingly partner with people everywhere who choose to live in peace.

  • Group of women celebrating indoors, raising their hands, standing on a stone fireplace in front of a brick wall with a floral wreath hanging above.

    Community

    We are quite different than one another; older and younger, leaning left and right, formal and casual, traditional and contemporary, life-longers and newbies, from-here’s and come-here’s. Despite our differences and diversities, we are one thanks to Christ.

  • Three people sitting at a wooden picnic table outdoors, reading and taking notes from books and notebooks on a sunny day with drinks nearby.

    Believers

    On our best days, we believe, trust, and know there is a God known best through Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. We also doubt, struggle, question, and wonder. Thankfully, it is Christ’s faith, Christi’s faithfulness on our behalf that truly makes the difference.

  • A congregation gathered in a church, standing and praying near the altar, with some seated in wooden pews. The church interior features stained glass windows and hanging light fixtures.

    Worship

    The first, highest priority is participating in communal worship together. Sure, we set aside private time for prayer and reflection, alone time in a comfy chair or out in nature. Those are precious God moments. They do not replace our commitment to worship God together beside one another.

  • Sunset over the ocean with colorful sky and clouds, and their reflection on wet sand.

    Ever-Creating God

    God’s creation didn’t stop at creation. It’s still happening. There is something about God’s creation that was created good, very good but has drifted due to the sin of humanity away from the vision and purpose of God’s beloved community. We confess we have been and still are a part of the problem. However, we come together to remember what God wants (Thy will be done) and to see again the vision of God’s creative efforts (Thy Kingdom come). Being the church means helping Kingdom come because when it does, that is the Good News for all people.

  • A young man with long dark hair and a beard winks and smiles while wearing a red, gray, navy, and white striped sweater. He stands outdoors with palm trees and a building in the background.

    Follow Jesus of Nazareth

    But how? How do we help God recreate God’s beloved community? Jesus is the way to that community, the truth about that community, and the life well lived, building and enjoying that community. The more our words and actions sound and look like his, the more we being to find our true lives.

  • Group of people around a campfire on the beach at sunset, some standing and some sitting, with the ocean in the background.

    Led by The Spirit

    There are many other paths we could walk. There are many other truths we could believe. As human beings, we have an inherited tradition of trusting the wrong sources and following the wrong leaders. However, when led by Holy Spirit, we find we might have just enough courage to follow Jesus’ example instead, even if all the world does not understand why we do so.

  • Group of people gathered outdoors during sunset on a dirt field, with open landscape and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

    Partner with People Everywhere

    Jesus was radically inclusive of relationships with people his religion usually cast out or considered not worthy. In following him, we too learn to build relationships with all people everywhere, regardless of their beliefs or religion, if they are equally interested in recreating God’s beloved community of wholeness and peace.

  • A utility box on a brick sidewalk with graffiti that says 'Be the Change' and a heart symbol, in an urban street scene with parked cars and residential buildings in the background.

    Choose to Live in Peace

    The Hebrew word is Shalom. We quickly translate it as peace, but it means so much more. It does mean inner peace, but it also means communal and universal peace. We cannot have the former without the latter. It also means wholeness and completeness. We look to be whole and true to ourselves, sure, the person God created us to be. But, we also seek the wholeness and completeness of God’s coming Kingdom into every corner of creation, and for every child of God. Until all children of God are whole, complete, at peace, we cannot have the fullness of individual peace.