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SALISBURY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH is a large church of 500+ member families, located in Midlothian, a beautiful suburban neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. We are blessed with faith-driven pastors supported by strong lay leadership,  thriving ministries, and the spirit of service and cooperation of the entire congregation. COME JOIN US as we seek to carry out OUR  MISSION  to LEARN about Christ, to LIVE like Christ, and to SERVE like Christ, in keeping with OUR VISION to  KNOW that We Are CALLED TO FOLLOW CHRIST. Check us out on this website by clicking on the buttons in the Navigation Bar above. Then come share in our fellowship, worship, learning and service :-)!

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OUR MISSION AND OUR VISION

Our Mission as a congregation is:

To LEARN about Christ

To LIVE as Christ

To SERVE like Christ

Our Vision as a congregation is to KNOW that:

WE ARE CALLED TO FOLLOW CHRIST!

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OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Every day, our church will provide ...

A Place for Friendship

Nothing quite compares to the joy of Christian friendship. That's why we make it a priority to build lasting bonds between the members of our church family - bonds of concern and genuine commitment to one another. Best of all, this circle of care is ever widening. We'd love for it to include you, too. 

A Place for Learning

To us, studying the Bible is vital because it not only instructs us intellectually, but also guides us spiritually. We believe it and accept it as God's Word to us, a Book that is alive and relevant to life today. Learning its truths is a thrilling adventure.   Therefore, TRUTH MATTERS to us!  THEOLOGY MATTERS to us!  We are called to learn.

A Place for Enrichment

For every person at every age level we offer a wealth of opportunities - special programs and ministries for children, youth and adults which fill the church calendar. You can be sure that in this kaleidoscope of activities there's more than one place where you can be personally enriched. 

A Place for Service

Just as Jesus Christ came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister...," we accept our responsibility to reach out in service to others. This applies both within the church family and outside our fellowship. 

A Place for Worship

The primary reason we meet together is to focus our attention on God, giving Him our worship and receiving His blessing and inspiration. Each of these occasions is a special time of spiritual refreshment

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OUR CORE MINISTRIES

Discipleship

Educate and help people of all ages to grow spiritually
in order to serve others in the name of Jesus Christ

Pastoral Care and Congregational Life

Build relationships that help the congregation
grow as a family in Jesus Christ

Music and the Arts

Provide ways to express our faith
through music and the arts

Preschool

Provide a place of learning
for preschool age children in our community

Servant Leadership

Focus on ministering, supporting, and training
people of all ages for the mission of the church

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• CLICK HERE to view images of the various aspects of THE SEAL OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, USA, with the explanation of each aspect of these firm Presbyterian Beliefs and exactly what they represent.

• THE APOSTLE'S CREED (Traditional) CLICK HERE for Dr. Chottiner's Sermons on THE APOSTLES' CREED

  
  "I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH,
  
  AND IN JESUS CHRIST HIS ONLY SON OUR LORD; WHO WAS CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST, BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY, SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, WAS CRUCIFIED DEAD, AND BURIED.  HE DESCENDED INTO HELL;  THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD; HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, AND SITTETH ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY. FROM THENCE HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD.
  
  I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST, THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH,  THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE EVERLASTING.  AMEN"
  
  
  

• AFFIRMATION OF FAITH (1 Corinthians 15)
  
  "This is the good news we have received, in which we stand, and by which we are saved, if we hold it fast: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, and that he appeared first to the women, then to Peter, and to the Twelve, and then to many faithful witnesses. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end; he is our Lord and our God. Amen"
  
  
  

• A BRIEF STATEMENT OF FAITH (1983 - From the PCUSA Book of Confessions)
  
  In 1983, two branches of the Presbyterian Church separated by the Civil War were reunited. Integral to the reunion was the preparation of a statement of faith. This Brief Statement of Faith sought to articulate the church's common identity. The creed is arranged in a Trinitarian framework and was written to be used in worship. The creed alwlays begins with "in the life and death we belong to God" and always ends with "nothing of life nor death can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord." A Brief Statement of Faith concludes by our saying or our singing "The Gloria Patri".

"In life and in death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
We trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
Whom alone we worship and serve.

We trust in Jesus Christ,fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
Preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives,
Teaching by word and deed and blessing children,
Healing the sick and binding up the broken hearted,
Eating with outcasts,forgiving sinners,
And calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,suffering the depths of human pain
And giving his life for the sins of the world.
God raised this Jesus from the dead, vindicating his sinless life,
Breaking the power of sin and evil,delivering us from death to life eternal.

We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
Everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
Sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
And binds us together with all believers,
In the one body of Christ, the church.

The same Spirit, who inspired the prophets and apostles
Rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
Engages us through the Word proclaimed,
Claims us in the waters of baptism,
Feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
And calls women and men to all ministries of the church.

With believers in every time and place,
We rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."


Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end.
Amen. Amen

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SOME OF OUR HISTORICAL FORMS OF WORSHIP

TENEBRAE SERVICE ON GOOD FRIDAY

On Good Friday, the members of SPC will have the opportunity to participate in one of the oldest forms of worship service in Christendom. The service is an adaptation of the ancient office of Tenebrae, a devotion originally used in parishes on Wednesday through Friday of Holy Week. Our service will be a series of scripture readings, prayers and hymns designated to call our attention to the fact that we have been accomplices to the sufferings of Christ and yet have received His abundant love and mercy.

Tenebrae (pronounced ten-e-brae) means "shadows". The service begins with a fully lighted table and church. As the Good Friday story unfolds, the darkness increases, and light by light is extinguished. The darkness symbolized the awful consequences of human sin, the flight of the disciples, and the darkness of Calvary. ("It was about the sixth hour and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.")

Each stage of the fearsome history will be marked by the progressive extinguishing of lights. With the death of our Lord, only one candle is left burning; the light of God's love. For a little time, this one light will be carried out of the church, and the complete darkness will symbolize the darkness of Christ's three days in the tomb. But, like God's love, this light is never put out. It is returned to the room during the Apostles' Creed, symbolizing our anticipation of Easter Day and the Lord's joyous resurrection from the dead.

After the benediction, the pulpit Bible will be closed. The noise of the closing signifies that the meaning of the Cross is fulfilled and that the Tenebrae Service is concluded. Following this, the congregation will be requested to leave the sanctuary in silence