Two New Presbyterian Ministers

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ First United Presbyterian Church in Pinckneyville and First Presbyterian Church USA in Murphysboro welcomed a new pastor, Charles Walden, in April.

The two churches began sharing a pastor under Rev. Tom Hobson in 2001. When Rev. Hobson left, Rev. Kerry Bean served as interim pastor. When Rev. Bean left, the churches utilized supply preachers until a permanent pastor was found.

"The search committee for a new pastor is the only joint committee for the two churches," Walden said. "They both have their own Sessions."

Sessions are the governing body of individual Presbyterian churches. The regional governing body is the Southeast Illinois Presbytery.

"I hope to have more joint activities for the two churches and more shared special worship services," he said. Pinckneyville has a congregation of about 65 people and Murphysboro has bout 90 people.

"I'm committed to spiritual and numerical growth," he said. "Everyone is welcome."

Pastor Walden spends half of his time in Pinckneyville and half in Murphysboro. His office hours at in Pinckneyville are from 12 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays.

"I can be reached anytime by phone," Rev. Walden said. "Just call the church at 357-8017 to get me."

Messages may be left with either church secretary Sharon Higgerson or on the answering machine.

Rev. Walden conducts services at 9 a.m. on Sunday then heads to Murphysboro for services at 10:45 a.m. Church Elder Chuck Dobrinick conducts Sunday School at 10 a.m.

The Pinckneyville church is woven into the daily life of The Friendly Little City. It serves as a polling place, hosts a regular Girl Scout meeting, had a Gold team in the Perry County Relay for Life event and works with a local food pantry.

Rev. Walden chose to live in Murphysboro, allowing the Manse to be rented to Dr. Salva Bilal and her family. Dr. Bilal will begin work at Family Medical Center in August.

Prior to relocating to the Pinckneyville/Murphysboro area in April, Rev. Walden worked at secular non-profit recreational co-op in Georgia and did supply preaching on the side. The co-op sold sporting equipment and offered guided tours.

"Hiking and camping, mountain biking, snow skiing- I enjoy it all," Rev. Walden said. "Until recently I owned a canoe."

Rev. Walden is originally from Decatur, Georgia and attended the University of Georgia in Athens. When he was there, students were required to take five physical education courses.

"I enjoyed it. That's where I learned to snow ski," he said.

After graduating college with a Bachelor of Arts in History/Political Science, Rev. Walden moved around a bit. He taught at a public school in Montana and at a private school in the Washington-Idaho area. He also earned a Masters in Education.

It was in Montana that he joined the Presbyterian Church. He felt at home in the Missoula church that was featured in the book and movie "A River Runs Through It."

"I was already a committed Christian and was looking for a new church," he said. "It was a good fit."

While working in Washington-Idaho near the Snake River, he was called to the Seminary. He left the northwest and relocated to Louisville, Kentucky.

After graduating the seminary with a Master of Divinity degree, his first posting was near Huntsville, Alabama. He was there for several years before moving back to Georgia.

Rev. Walden is divorced and has two children- Olivia, 12, and Benjamin, 8. The children split their time between Georgia and Illinois.

New Du Quoin Pastor

Sunday attendance at the First Presbyterian Church of Du Quoin has almost doubled since Pastor Tim Scroggins was commissioned as lay pastor to the church earlier this year.

"I grew up in Royalton and have lived in Christopher for the past 12 years," said Pastor Scroggins, who has been helping with a Presbyterian summer camp at Little Grassy this week.

Scroggins, 47, has two sons--one in Zeigler and the other in Christopher.

He was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Benton on a temporary basis and is working on his masters degree in philosophy at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

He attended the Lincoln Trails Synod and in January 2010 will be working in Du Quoin half the week and spending the other half at the Presbyterian seminary in Louisville,Ky. with an eye toward full ordination in the Presbyterian Church.

As lay pastor, he is commissioned to perform many of the rights of the church. He received that commission in 2005.

Pastor Scroggins said he sees his mission in the church as holistic, meaning his goal is a completeness of the Presbyterian teachings in the reformed tradition.

"I hope to be in Du Quoin for many years to come," he said.

Members say Pastor Scroggins is well-prepared and provides the weekly teaching citations and materials to be able to study along with the substance of the sermons.

Attendance is growing and the church is stable after having had a vacancy for several months.

The First Presbyterian Church on North Washington is an historic church in Du Quoin.

It was founded on this idea:

"We rear this house for thee, O God,

A house for prayer and praise,

A house in which to worship thee,

And learn thy holy ways."

Those lines are from a hymn written by Rev. T.E. Spilman and sung at the cornerstone laying of the church in Du Quoin on Sept. 9, 1890--one of three houses of God all on the same site.

The church was organized only three years after the town's founding, the result of a meeting on September 14, 1856.

(John H. Croessman contributed to this story.)