Welcome
to Montpelier Presbyterian Church

Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.

Join us for worship Sundays 11:00

Lord, guide us today with your wisdom and open our hearts to the joy in it.

About Us

Mission Statement: Montpelier Presbyterian Church is a loving family of God who welcomes everyone to join us as we worship our Lord Jesus Christ and celebrate his grace given to us all. We are learning together how to live out our faith by working to meet the needs of our community and our world.

We are a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA). We believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and God’s only begotten Son who died on the cross to save us by HIs grace and was raised from the dead to prove to us God’s power over sin and death. We believe the Bible to be the sacred Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Trinity of God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God in three persons. To find more about our beliefs please go to pcusa.org.

What you can expect on Sunday morning: You will be greeted at the front door and receive a warm welcome and a service bulletin. Coffee hour is before church at 10:30 in the church library right off the sanctuary.

Our worship service is traditional with

prayers,
both traditional and modern hymns,
scripture readings
a children’s sermon complete with coloring and puzzle pages
a sermon based on that day’s readings with an emphasis on living out our faith in our every day lives.

We do not take up an offering although there are plates available on our communion table in the front of the sanctuary..

Dress is casual and there’s even a rocking chair in the back of the sanctuary if one is needed.

You’ll find information on our Bible study and children’s Sunday School under Faith Development.

What our members say: “A great group of sweet folks who care and reach out whenever there’s a need…” Will M.

“I’ve been a member for 53 years. It’s home to me. Pastor Pat always finds ways to keep us engrossed in the Bible to strengthen our faith.” Debbie N.

“I’ve been a member for less than a year, but one of the things I like about it is the sense of intimacy.” Leigh-Ann M.

Our Pastor: The Rev. Dr. Patricia Ramsden is known to us all as Pastor Pat. She is in her fourth year as our part-time pastor and lives in Scotia Village in Laurinburg. She has been ordained for over 36 years and has always served small churches rediscovering who God was calling them to be. Among all her other duties at the church she also teaches our adult Bible study on Sunday mornings. She is single and loves her garden and HGTV as well as storytelling and acting. Before entering the ministry she was an Associate Professor of English and Drama and an academic dean in the University of Kentucky Community College system. She is the author of two books: The Power Of Their Voices and For Such A One As I.

Faith Development

Sunday Morning Bible Studies 9:30 You do not need to be a member of the church or attend worship to attend any of our classes. We welcome everyone to come and discover more about the faith The adult class meets in the church library and is a lively discussion mixed with a traditional Bible study, questions and answers. The teen/pre-teen class meets in the church meeting room across from the library for discussion and activities. The children's class meets in their room across from the kitchen by fellowship hall.

Women's Circle meets the second Wednesday at 2:00. We are studying Rachel Held Evan's book In Search of Sunday. It too is a lively discussion.

Sweet Talk meets the first Thursday of the month at 2:00 at the local ice cream parlor Kountry Cream. The entire community participates in this safe, non-judgmental conversation around life, love and faith.

Messy Un-Church is just that. It meets the second Sunday of the month at 2:00 and is designed for families of all types and sizes. We build a project to take home which can be anything from castles to barns to bracelets. Then we listen to a story and have snacks.

Just For Fun!

Men's Breakfast: Usually meets the first Saturday of the month at 8:00 in the church fellowship hall for a full breakfast and good conversation. While there is no charge a blessing basket is available to help cover the cost of food. Men from all over the community are invited to attend.

Golf MeetUp: Meets the second and fourth Monday's of the month depending on the weather at the Deercroft Pro Shop in Deercroft. The cost is $20 for nine holes and you do not need to be a member of the church or the golf course to attend. We normally tee off at 5:30 until daylight savings time when we move to 4:30. After the game we join together for the 19th hole for fellowship and fun.

Community Ministries

Blessing Pantry: Our blessing pantry box is located near the rear of the church building. It is open 24/7 and there are no forms to fill out, no questions asked. It operates on the principle of take what you need; leave what you can and is based on Jesus' teaching in MT 25.

Scholarship Fund: Founded in 2007, the estate of Johnsie Patterson McFadden from Wagram, NC set up a scholarship fund through Montpelier Presbyterian Church to be given to any Scotland County High School Graduate to further their education with preference given to those associated with the congregation. This year we gave 11 scholarships to deserving students. Contact the church for more information on this program and how to apply.

Partnership With Wagram Public Schools We reach out to students in need through an annual collection of gloves, scarves, hats, and socks as well as providing backpacks stuffed with needed school supplies. We serve as classroom readers as well. We show our support for teachers and staff throughout the year in a variety of ways.

Special Offerings Throughout the year we collect special denominational offerings such as the One Great Hour of Sharing, the Pentecost Offering and the Joy Gift Offering.

Spring Hill Cemetery Memorial Fund. “Blessed are thy who mourn for they shall be comforted. “. Mt 5:4 Our church, in partnership with the Spring Hill Baptist Church, owns and maintains the local cemetery. The Memorial Fund goes to support the upkeep. For more information on making a donation or buying a plot, please contact the church office.

Donations to the church may be mailed to P.O. Box 407 Wagram, NC 28396. If you’d like the donation to go to a particular cause, please note that on the memo line of your check.

News & Events

Monthly Events

Jan. 6 2:00 Epiphany White Elephant gift exchange

Jan. 8 1:00 Sweet Talk at Kountry Cream

Jan. 10 8:00am Community Men's Breakfast

Jan. 11 Baptism of the Lord

Jan. 12 6:00pm Golf 19th Hole

Jan. 14 2:00 Woman's Circle of Friends

Jan. 18 2:00 Messy Unchurch at Betsy Brown's

Jan. 21 4:30 - 6:00pm Soup Supper Fundraiser

Jan. 25 6:00pm Beat The Winter Blues Concert

Montpelier Messenger

Montpelier Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 407, Wagram, NC 28396 910-369-2259

Pastor: Rev. Dr. Patricia Ramsden 269-362-1332

Editor: Barbara Holloway 910-318-3757

(email) hollowaybarbara064@gmail.com

No. 1 Vol. 56 January 2026

Pastor’s Pen This year, I thought I would explore with you some of the questions and answers that usually come up when people ask about the Presbyterian Church USA and what we believe. (These questions also come up when Presbyterians get together. ) One of the resources I’ll be using is a book by Donald K. McKim called Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers but I’ll be using a variety of resouces including what I have studied over the years.

The first question is how the Presbyterian Church came to be. In the beginning there was the Roman Catholic Church and then the Eastern Orthodox Church. But in 1517 a monk named Martin Luther began a movement that questioned the theology and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This led to the formation of Protestant churches, so named because they were created out of this protest movement. When it became obvious that they would found a different denomination, Luther’s followers were named Lutherans.

But some theologians began to disagree with some of Luther’s theology and biblical interpretation. They were also called reformed churches because they were reforming Luther’s biblical interpretation. As Presbyterians we believe the church is reformed and always being reformed through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that our human understanding of “church” is not static.

See you in “church” then! Pastor Pat

Update on our coat collection: We collected about 40 coats for the children of Wagram Elementary School along with two white trash bags full to the brim with hats and gloves. The school was overwhelmed and very grateful for our demonstration of God’s love for these children and our desire to keep them warm this winter as they stood waiting in the cold at bus stops. Thank you so much!

Your Session: At its annual congregational meeting, you elected John Lewis and LeighAnn McKay as your new class of elders and they will serve a three year term. Your other elders are: Ben Ammons, Roger Ammons, Betsy Brown, and Debbie Neverve. The organizational meeting of session will be Jan. 8 at 9:30 am in the meeting room.

In the coming months, session will be moving ahead with rearranging pews in the sanctuary to make it more handicap accessible. This necessitates replacing the carpeting. We will also be replacing the cracked cuboard doors in the kitchen. We will be using money from various church fundraisers and the interest on money we have invested for the good of the church without touching the principle. We will also be replacing the flooring by the two outside side doors that lead into the sanctuary.

Undecorating: We will undecorate the church on Monday Jan. 5 at 10:00. Many hands make light work so come join us.

Jan. 6 is Epiphany the day we celebrate the arrival of the wisemen with their gifts for the Christ child. That is also the day of our White elephant exchange at 2:00 in fellowship hall. It’s a fun time when everyone brings a wrapped gift from home that they do not want. Everyone then draws a number and in the order of the number chooses a gift to unwrap. They can then decide to keep the gift they chose or “steal” someone else’s gift. It’s full of laughter and as an added bonus there will be snacks!

Epiphany is the celebration of the arrival of the wise men from the East and the revelation of Jesus to the entire world and not just to Israel. It also stands for a sudden, profound moment of insight, realization, or understanding—an "Aha!" moment where you suddenly see something old in a completely new way, often changing your perspective forever. It's like a lightbulb turning on, revealing a deep truth or a new direction in life. This is the epiphany that frequently happens when was meets Jesus in an entirely new way through the celebration of his birth.

Jan. 8 at 1:00 Sweet Talk will meet at Kountry Cream ice cream shop. This is not a BIble study. It’s a cionversation around faith, life, and love. This month Nate will lead us in a discussion on Quakerism. Come join us! Ice cream is on your own.

Jan. 10 at 8:00 will be the first community men’s breakfast of the new year at 8:00am.

Jan. 11 we will celebrate the Baptism of the Lord with Holy Communion.

The golf meet up is on winter hiatus but that doesn’t keep us from enjoying the 19th Hole. We will be enjoying ourselves Monday Jan. 12 at 6:00 at LeighAnn and Jeff McKay’s house! Everyone is invited. By the way, the golf meetup will start again in April!

Jan. 14 the Women’s Circle of Friends will meet at 2:00 to continue our study of Searching for Sunday. We are on Section 2. If you haven’t gotten a book yet, pick one up from Pastor Pat and come join us!

Jan. 17 will be the presbytery’s new officer training. from 9:30-1:30 at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen.

Jan. 18 at 2:00 is Messy Unchurch at Betsy Brown’s house. This fun event for all kids includes making a craft to take home, a Bible story and snacks. Invite a friend and come join us!

Jan. 21 from 4:00 -6:30pm we will have a soup supper fundraiser for building projects that will make our sanctuary more handicap accessible. A soup dinner will consist of a bowl of soup, a pimento cheese sandwich, a dessert and a drink. It will be $10. Soup will also be on sale for $5 a pint or $10 a quart. If you can provide soup or pimento cheese sandwiches or cupcakes for the dinner, please contact Betsy Brown or LeighAnn McKay. Also, please recycle any quart or pint size jars you may have from previous soup lunches by bringing them back to the church kitchen.

Jan. 25 at 6:00 will be our Beat the Blues Winter Concert! By the end of Jan. we all grow tired of the cold, dark nights of winter and can suffer the “blues” so what could be better than a joy filled concert of some of your favorite gospel tunes played by the upbeat group Kat’s Cool Cats! You may remember them from last year’s Beat The Blues concert. They are back by popular demand! Come hear them and bring a friend!

In January Pastor Pat will begin a four part sermon series on the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed was the first creed of the early church and is still the creed used most commonly by the vast majority of Christians throughout the world. It was written to resolve questions around the Holy Trinity and the understanding of Jesus Christ as both fully human and fully divine. Pastor Pat will explore what the creed teaches us today and how it helps us understand our faith.

Thank you so much for your generous Christmas gift! Pastor Pat

Don’t forget to share our Facebook entries! We hear from former members and members who have moved away as well as new friends ti the church all because you have shared a post!

Our blessing box of food is in need of help. We can tell that people are using it consistently but they are not abusing it. They obviously are taking only what they need or will use because the box is never totally emptied. But we have noticed they do not take things that require a great deal of cooking or preparation. If something is left in the box for around two months (for instance stuffing was not taken) we do donate it to Church Community Services which serves a wider audience, so nothing goes to waste. You’ll notice that a lot of the items that are most popular are quick and easy protein.

Our own supplies are running low. We need:

snack crackers like cheese and crackers

little debbie cakes as an occasional treat

sanitary napkins

Pop tops on cans make it much easier for them to use.

Some Interesting statistics:

80-84% of unchurched individuals say they would attend if invited by a friend.
70-85% of current churchgoers were first brought to church by a friend or relative.
Only about 2% of Christians regularly invite people to church

Our Gifts To God The Rev. Dr. Patricia Ramsden

Today we are celebrating Epiphany and the gifts the wise men brought to the new born king – gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were the first gifts given but they would not be the last. There is legend after legend of gifts brought to our King.

There is the story of the little drummer boy whose only gift was his drum, but as small a gift as it was it was welcomed by the Christ child who giggled and cooed as he kept time to its beat.

Then there is the story of the poor child in Mexico who longed to take a gift to Christmas mass in order to honor the birth of our Lord. All she could find though was a weed that was growing by the side of the road., but when she put that weed in front of the statue of the baby Jesus, it burst forth as a beautiful flower that we know today as the poinsettia.

One of the most popular of these stories is the one of the small boy who became an angel all too soon. When he was allowed to take one small remembrance of his home to heaven, he chose a small box of treasures: a sea shell from a trip to the ocean, a polished, gleaming stone, a collar and license of a beloved dog and a strand of the tail of a favorite kite. These treasures he offered to the Christ child, and God recognized them as among the greatest gifts of all, for they were the beloved gifts of one small boy to another.

In all these stories one thing rings true. The greatest gifts we can bring to Christ are gifts of the heart, gifts of love.

In addition to stories of the special gifts brought to Christ on this holy day, there are also stories of laughter as child after child brings his own interpretation of the famous gifts the wise men bring.

One such story happened during a recent Christmas pageant. One of the three kings spoke his carefully rehearsed line saying loudly and boldly, “We bring you precious gifts of gold, circumstance and mud.”

Perhaps that’s not so far off the mark as we may think. Perhaps they are among the precious gifts we can bring to the King.

Look first at the gift of gold. Too often our lives are centered on earning more and more gold. Our self worth is tied to a gold American Express card or a gold Visa. We want bigger houses, bigger salaries, bigger cars and trucks. We confuse wealth with happiness and we work to get more and more stuff. There’s even a bumper sticker that reads “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.”

We think that the next newest flashiest thing on the market will fill the hole in our hearts, but gold and the things it can buy cannot keep you warm on a cold winter’s night. Gold can not replace your child’s sudden hug.

It just doesn’t work. The hole we dig for ourselves just grows deeper and deeper month after month, year after year, until finally we begin to lose the things that really matter.

So perhaps it’s time we turn our gold over to Jesus and place our treasure in His hands, for He was clear that where our treasures are there our hearts are also. Let’s place our hearts in the palm of God’s hands and learn what love can do to heal our broken hearts. For in the end that is what matters most: love given and love received. In giving the gift of our treasure we find the gift of our hearts.

Next comes the gift of our circumstances whatever our circumstances might be. Perhaps your life is golden right now. You are married to the love of your life, your health couldn’t be better, and you are living out the American dream.

Give those circumstances to God. He loves our gifts of laughter as much as He loves the gift of our tears. We do not need to wait until we are desperate to turn our lives over to God and place Him in charge.

Yet if we are, in fact, desperate, God will not turn us away. He will give us the strength, the courage, the wisdom to do what must be done to change our circumstances of loss and despair or to find our ways through them.

Will this happen suddenly in one fell stroke? Will God make our bills suddenly disappear or our illnesses be miraculously healed? Perhaps, but probably not. Often God works within our circumstances to bring about our sense of peace.

What does this mean for you and me? Well one thing it means is we do not need to feel “less than” when a miracle does not suddenly appear. Some people would tell us that if we only have enough faith our circumstances will magically and dramatically change.

But God can not always undo the damage and pain of an abusive parent and make a childhood suddenly perfect. He does not make the grief over the death of a loved one suddenly disappear as if it never happened. He can not change the past. But he can and does change the now.

For in the now He is with us, walking through life with us, so we will no longer be alone. That certain knowledge will help us turn our circumstances over to Him, trusting Him to make a difference in our future.

And finally we must give to God the “mud” of our lives – all of those dirty little pieces we are most ashamed of – our jealousy, our hatred, our short tempers. We must leave even these at the foot of the Christ child.

Just as he changed common weeds into a beautiful Christmas bouquet ,so He will take the “weeds” of our lives and create something good out of them. God will not forsake us because of things we have done. Indeed He reminds us that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord.

That certainty is what we are celebrating here this morning as we turn from our gifts to God to His gift to us. For no gift that we can bring the Lord Jesus will outshine the gift of the Christmas star, for God has given us the gift of Himself to set us free from sin and despair.

He came even as a babe to grow into a man who would die for our sins. It is that miracle of miracles we remember and celebrate today. So take a few moments of silence to give to the Christ child your gifts not of gold, frankincense. and myrhh, but our gifts aof gold, circumstance, and mud.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but so the world would be saved through Him. John 3: 16-17

See You In Worship as we celebrate
God's love together
Sundays 11:00

San Pedro

Never forget how much God loves you!

Welcome to Montpelier Presbyterian Church