Eastminster Presbyterian celebrates 50 years

Sep. 4—EAST COBB — Chuck and Reta Frew visited four Presbyterian churches before choosing Eastminster. They recalled that when they joined the church during its first full year, in May 1973, it was in a small building on Johnson Ferry Road.

"It couldn't have been better," Reta Frew said. "Even though it was in a school building, it wasn't a church like the others. We decided that's where we belonged because everyone was like family, it just absorbed us, so it was wonderful."

The church held its first service on October 1, 1972, at Mt. Bethel Methodist Church on Lower Roswell Road. The Frews were two of the 49 signatories of Eastminster's charter a year later, after it had moved to its then-new home on Johnson Ferry.

This October, Eastminster, led by senior pastor Aaron Moore and counting over 600 people as members, or "covenant partners," will celebrate its 50th anniversary at its campus on the corner of Sewell Mill and Old Canton roads.

Festivities for the celebration include a catered, invitation-only dinner on Saturday, Oct. 8, that will include a presentation about the church and a single Sunday service for the entire church community and former pastors of Eastminster, with Moore's direct predecessor, Tim McConnell, set to deliver remarks. Afterwards, the church's men will cook lunch for the congregation.

"It's kind of all hands on deck, everyone pulling together to make this celebration happen," Moore said.

Moore, ordained as the church's leader in June 2017, said the anniversary celebration will feel unique for different members of Eastminster, from those who have been with the church for decades to others who have only recently joined. However, he added, the celebration returns to a fundamental aspect of the Eastminster community.

"Ultimately, what it comes back to is relationships," Moore said. "We're celebrating each other and the way that God has formed a community of believers right here in east Cobb."

Chuck Frew said his first memories of Eastminster were potluck dinners at its Johnson Ferry building, when the church was "so poor we only had a couple of six-foot-long folding tables, and they were solid wood and metal and heavy as all get out."

Gail Sorrells, another of Eastminster's charter members, said Eastminster was originally known as the Ministry to East Cobb, or MINTEC. Sorrells left the church for a period but returned when McConnell led the congregation and the church had joined ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians after leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA).

"That was one of the reasons that I felt good about coming back," Sorrells said. "The church, then, was all about Jesus, and I saw that. I saw that the Holy Spirit was here, and after many conversations with the pastor, I joined."

Rick and Ann Cooper felt something similar when they joined Eastminster last year. In fact, they switched denominations after their previous church, Powers Ferry Methodist, closed in late 2019.

"We had visited around, we came here one time" in March 2020, Rick Cooper said. "The pandemic hit, and that was the end of that for the time being, but we came back later again, and everybody was just very welcoming."

Ann Cooper, whose mother's family was Presbyterian, said she and Rick Cooper were the first people from Powers Ferry Methodist to join Eastminster, though others have followed after them.

Moore stressed the importance of the church's focus on mission and tradition in celebrating its anniversary. The church is involved in projects to fight human trafficking and assist young people with mental illness. It runs missions in Kenya, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Egypt — 10% of its annual budget goes toward mission work.

Eastminster's Scottish roots also play prominently in its story, and The Kirkin' O' the Tartan, an annual celebration of Scottish traditions, sees the church awash in bagpipe music, congregants in kilts, and the presentation of tartans, or banners of the Scottish cloth, by church families in honor of their lineages.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Eastminster is thriving: Reta Frew has brought back the tradition of the church cookbook after 21 years, generous donors provided funds for updates to the Eastminster's sound and video systems and to pay off the church's mortgage last year and new members, like the Coopers, continue to join.

For Chuck Frew, it does not matter if a fellow covenant member was alongside him at the signing of the charter or if the congregant joined yesterday.

"They're just as welcome and appreciated. Jesus will give them the same reward, so really, being here 50 years is nice, but it's not all that important. We've received a lot more than given."