A PC(USA) church serving Jesus Christ & our neighbors in Portsmouth, OH since 1875
WORSHIP
Worship with us on Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
- in the building,
- by listening to the service on WIOI (92.1FM 1010AM),
- or by watching the live stream on our YouTube channel (search for Second Presbyterian Church Portsmouth, OH).
The time we spend in worship feels utterly unlike any other time in our week - peaceful, calming, nonanxious. Our beautiful old sanctuary brings us deep peace; the traditional hymns, choir, and organ keep us connected to our roots; and thoughtful sermons provoke us to think about things like faith and life and service from a new perspective. We leave feeling like we've drawn closer to God.
Following worship, we enjoy a light coffee hour together in the parlor (10:30 a.m.-ish) and then a multigenerational discussion group Sunday School class where we talk about everything from the sermon to current events in the world to current events in our lives (11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.-ish). (Usually this is a sermon post-mortem.)
In addition, bulletins can be mailed or emailed to any who would like to have a copy in their hands. (We normally drop them off at the post office by noon on Thursday.) Please call (740-353-4159) or email (secondpres@yahoo.com) to be added to our list!
If you're looking for a place to worship, there's a place for you with us.
(Thanks to friend of Second Pres Jon Burton for the photo of the sanctuary.)
God's Pantry
God’s Pantry (our 40+ year-old choice-based food pantry) is open on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Wednesdays of each month from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (One visit per month.)
Ours is a choice-based pantry where our neighbors can shop for items using points determined by household size.
Emergency food available is available through the church office on days when the Pantry is closed. (Emergency food counts as that month's visit.)
Please contact the church office at 740-353-4159 if you have questions, are interested in donating, or would like to know about volunteer opportunities.
Partners in the Pantry - Socks & Shoes
Pastor Thayer Wallace and our friends from Central Church Portsmouth are distributing (new) socks and (new and gently used) shoes to our neighbors in need when God's Pantry is open.
If you have questions, please call the Central Church office at 740-353-5846.
Social Media
LIKE & FOLLOW us to keep up with what God is doing at Second Pres!
Facebook: Second Presbyterian Church – Portsmouth, OH
Instagram: @secondpresportsmouthoh
YouTube: Second Presbyterian Church Portsmouth, OH a
(livestreamed worship services and concerts)
Send us an email to be added to our weekly Constant Contact newsletter:
Making Beauty While the World is Burning
We’ve been talking about making beauty while the world - or our individual world - feels like it's on fire for a couple of weeks.
(First sermon in the series is here: https://youtube.com/live/kk32w29lc6o?feature=share)
Now, are you ready to make something beautiful together?
We need 2 kinds of help for this community art project: 1) Creative people to help pull the project together, and 2) Donations of forgotten or useless items from your favorite junk drawer so we can make something beautiful out of leftover and forgotten things. BUT we don't know what the finished project is going to be - it all depends on what you donate!
Drop your donations in the big jar (in the picture) in the parlor. (We got our first long-distance box of junk drawer items!)
(We are off to a weird and wonderful start!)
Fall Fest
Sun, Oct 5 4-6 p.m.
Join us for a FALL FEST featuring chili, potato soup, hot dogs, corn bread, cookies, and dessert!
Includes a BAKE SALE, CAKE WALK, A GOODIE BAG RAFFLE, and A SWEET & SAVORY AUCTION!
$8 for adults
$5 for children under 12
(This is a fundraiser for our Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols held every December for 30+ years.)
PEANUT BUTTER and Pantry
During July, God’s Pantry asked for donations of 16 oz jars of peanut butter (any brand).
At the end of July, we had collected 169 jars. THEN we received 17 MORE, bringing the total to 186! And you kept giving. (Or maybe it's the Peanut Butter Fairy.)
It's now the end of beginning of August, and we've collected 249 jars of peanut butter for the shelves of God's Pantry - you knock our socks off!
(We normally order food through the Freestore Foodbank where we can usually get reduced prices, but not right now.)
Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic
What a day we had on Wednesday!
The Pantry was open, the Nooners were meeting, and the halls were ringing with barks and meows as we hosted the Animal Welfare League and the R.A.S.C.A.L. Unit (Columbus) mobile spay/neuter clinic.
The surgeries take place in the R.A.S.C.A.L. truck, and the animals wait and recover in the church building. This is our second mobile/spay clinic of the year.
Serving so many of our neighbors by sharing our space with them is a beautiful witness to God’s presence and kindness here in Portsmouth.
Welcome back, choir!
To welcome the choir back from the summer hiatus, the Session provided a spaghetti dinner, especially to welcome new and returning Shaween State University Choral Scholars!
(Session liked it so much, they think they're going to do it again!)
Back-to-School Sunday
Sun, Sept 7 was Back-to-School Sunday, aadministratorsnd we were glad to remind all the students, parents, and teachers/professors/administrators/school nurses that when it feels like the world is falling apart, God (like a GIANT paperclip) holds all things together. (Each paperclip has a tag attached quoting Colossians 1:17.)
The FINAL FIFTY buckets
Now is the push to pack and deliver the FINAL FIFTY BUCKETS for our 150th Anniversary service project!
Join us after worship on Sun, Sept 21 during coffee hour to pack a bucket or two!
(There's something special happening at coffee hour that day, so you'll want to stick around!)
Healing & Wholeness Service
On Sun, Sept 28, we will celebrate a Healing and Wholeness service in worship.
As we have in the past, there will be opportunities to pray in the pews or in your chairs at home. There will also be opportunities to come forward to prayer stations in the front of the sanctuary and for someone to pray with and for you. I'll also be anointing people - you or for someone you're praying for.
The sermon of the day will also dive deep into a healing story from the Bible in a way you may have never experienced before.
Afternoon tea and an evening showing of "Downtown Abbey"
Celebrating 150 years - Appreciate the past, celebrate the present, anticipate the future
Anniversary Service Project
We have officially packed 100 emergency clean-up bucket (of our 150 bucket goal) for our 150th Anniversary service project goal!
100 down, 50 to go!
Anniversary Service Project UPDATE
On Mon, Sept 8, the first 100 buckets were delivered to the Church World Service warehouse managed by Jackson Area Ministries in Jackson, OH!
round 2 - 150th Anniversary festivities (june 5-8, 2025)
Coffee & Conversation
The Coffee & Conversation group (folks from Second and other churches) meets at 10 a.m. on Mondays at Tim Hortons (1130 Chillicothe St) for coffee and conversation about life, faith, and current events.
There’s a chair for you around the table!
God's Pantry
Can you help our choice-based food pantry that’s been in operation for 40+ years?
Choose us as your Kroger Community Rewards organization, and when you shop with your rewards card, the people we serve benefit!
Our NPO (Non-Profit Organization) number is BB589 – “GOD’S PANTRY SECOND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.”
And make sure you say, “Please round that up!” when you check out!