Invite-a-Friend Sunday

PCMK, a familiar landmark on Route 133
March 20, 2009
by Hugh Sigmon

If you’ve just been waiting to be asked, we’re asking!

On Sunday, March 29, the Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, or PCMK, will sponsor “Invite a Friend Sunday.”  Neighbors from throughout the community are invited to visit, worship and get acquainted with the church and its programs Services begin at 10 a.m. and will be followed by refreshments. An informal talk, “Hospitality for the Alien,” will begin at about 11:45 am and will focus on immigration issues.

 

According to research conducted by the Hudson River Presbytery 43% of the people in our area are not affiliated with a community of faith. They may attend worship services occasionally, but are not officially connected.  The research goes on to suggest that each of us has on average seven friends who are not affiliated with a community of faith and may be searching for some sort of a connection. The congregation at PCMK will test this theory on March 29 by extending a warm invitation to all. 

Some people are ambivalent about religious affiliation. They attend services “for the children,” or to be part of a smaller supportive community than one’s city or town. Whatever the motivation, it can turn out to be great. When a friend told me that her family’s membership in our church was the result of an invitation from friends to join them one Sunday, I wanted to know how and why it had worked.

  “We’d never before given a thought to becoming Presbyterians,” she said, “but decided to accept the invitation. We came, with some trepidation. But we found that it was far easier to sit in a pew with friends than to wander into a church without knowing anybody. At coffee hour they introduced us to some of their church friends. We also discovered that we already knew some of the people who came here. We’d met them on the soccer fields or through school, and simply hadn’t realized that this was their church home.” 

A vibrant and growing community of faith

PCMK is a growing church with a heart and conscience for promoting social justice. We’re known for our volunteer spirit. Our already outstanding music program has been enhanced with the installation of a fantastic new pipe organ. In addition to the adult choir we now have a children’s choir, a youth hand bell choir, a growing youth group program, adult education programs and two new ministers who challenge us each and every Sunday with excellent preaching. 

PCMK has approximately 400 members, 50% of whom are residents of New Castle. You can read more about our ministries to members and the community by visiting our new website, www.pcmk.org. Come to PCMK on any Sunday and meet your friends. You are always welcome.

Sunday’s talk on immigration, public policy and faith

This workshop will be led by Eric Sigmon.  Immigration is a key issue in our area and in our country. Biblical scripture has much to say about how we treat our neighbors. But how do our concerns for our neighbors affect public policy? Can people of faith impact this issue? The workshop will discuss the intersection of faith and immigration politics. 

Eric Sigmon grew up in Chappaqua and at PCMK, taught English to the Hispanic community while at Horace Greeley High School and also worked as a summer intern for White Plains-based Westchester Hispanic Coalition.  Now based in Washington, D.C., he works as an advocate for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.  Prior to joining LIRS, Eric worked for two years at the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children, a program of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants where he interviewed and screened cases of unaccompanied minors in immigration removal proceedings. The workshop will last approximately one hour.

Hugh Sigmon, his wife Paula and their twin sons moved to Chappaqua in 1986 and joined the Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco. He has served as a deacon there and is in his second term as an elder. He also serves on the church’s Worship and the Arts as well as the Membership Committee, which is sponsoring the” Invite a Friend Sunday” event.