Londonderry group changes
its name to Orchard Christian
The Layman, August 28, 2008
Most of the members of the congregation that constituted Londonderry Presbyterian Church in Londonderry, N.H., will hold their final worship service in the church building on Sunday. They will leave the building on Sept. 1 with a new name and temporary quarters.
Londonderry Church in New Hampshire The majority of the members in Londonderry is now Orchard Christian Fellowship and is affiliated with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Their first worship service outside Londonderry Presbyterian Church will be on Sept. 7 at Matthew Thornton Elementary School.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation will keep the name Londonderry Presbyterian Church and use the church’s facilities. The terms of the agreement between the members who decided to leave the PCUSA and those who chose to remain in the mainline denomination included awarding a 15-acre tract to the new EPC congregation. The congregation voted 200-86 to leave the denomination. Before the division, Londonderry had 446 members.
“We are excited to move forward with our new name and to resume our full focus on the good work that Jesus has called us to do, both here in Londonderry and beyond,” said the Rev. Kenneth Glasier, pastor of Orchard Christian Fellowship. “We are blessed to have Matthew Thornton as our temporary home, and will wait on the Lord to reveal His ultimate plans for our permanent worship location. In the meantime, we will continue with our many ministries and community events, revealing Christ’s love to all through fellowship and Scripture-based teachings.”
Orchard Christian Fellowship describes itself as a “Christ-centered, Biblically-based church, dedicated to the spiritual growth of the whole congregation through inspired worship, life-changing Christian education, committed service to others and active evangelism, with rich fellowship of love and caring for each member of our church family.”
The congregation has launched a new Web site.
The Rev Dr. John Mokkosian, pastor of the Londonderry congregation, also spoke optimistically about the future.
In a statement posted on the Londonderry Web site, he said, “Despite the fact that our church family is experiencing the traumatic reality of a schism, we have become a growing community of faith witnessing to the power of the resurrection and the joy of being a family of faith. You can’t help but to sense the excitement and love of our members as we worship together and walk the path of life before us.”