Cross

 

 









 


Meet Our Pastor

In August of 2024, we welcomed Rev. Benjamin D. Giffone, PhD as our Transitional Pastor to lead Redeemer into the next stage of our corporate Christian Spiritual Formation, as a church and as the people of God.

Pastor Benj has served as a missionary, a music director, a seminary and university professor, and a pastor. He currently and continues to serve as a member of the faculty at a graduate seminary in Chennai, India.

He received his undergraduate and seminary degrees from Cairn University in the Philadephia suburb of Langhorne, PA, and his MTh and PhD in Old Testament from Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

His wife, Corrie, is a music teacher, and they have two children, Daniel and Elizabeth. Prior to moving to Western Pennsylvania, they served for six years at LCC International University in Klaipeda, Lithuania, supported as missionaries by individuals and local congregations.

Pastor Benj enjoys reading and writing about the Old Testament, playing sports and board games with his kids, and cooking.

Please click here to read Pastor Benj’s “Letter of Introduction” to our congregation.

If you wish to contact Pastor Benj, please telephone or text him at: 724-221-2595, or please click here to send him a message via email.

Note: Clicking on this link will launch your computer’s default email application. However, if you normally connect to your email-box over the web by webmail—such as AOL or gmail—and do not use a dedicated email application on your computer, you will need to launch your webmail and send your email to “pastor@rpcerie.org”



Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How may we contact you?

    You may contact us by sending an e-mail to: info@rpcerie.org. We will make every effort to respond as promptly as possible to any questions you may have.

    2. Note: Clicking on this link will launch your computer’s default email application. However, if you normally connect to your emailbox over the web by webmail—such as AOL or gmail—and do not use a dedicated email application on your computer, you will need to launch your webmail and send your email to the following email address: info@rpcerie.org


  2. Do you have a Mission Statement?

    Our Mission Statement:

    As part of the global church of Jesus Christ, Redeemer Presbyterian Church exists to draw people into a life-long transforming relationship with Him by:
    Exalting God thoughtfully and joyfully

    Knowing God intimately

    Serving others wholeheartedly

    Sharing God’s love locally and globally

    Based on this Mission Statement, we have developed a statement of our “Core Values and Elements of Our Strategic Plan,” which you may read by clicking here.


  3. What is Redeemer Presbyterian Church, what do you believe, and who are you as a people?

    Redeemer Presbyterian Church started as a group of people who originally began worshipping together on September 11, 2011, with the desire to worship in a setting that promotes peace and unity with a strong emphasis on the authority of God’s written Word and a missional approach to ministry. This group began because they wished to retain a sense of oneness in Christ—and with each other—by continuing to worship in a setting where obedience to Christ holds the first place and all other concerns are relegated to a much lower level of priority.

    Redeemer Presbyterian Church continues the wishes of the original founding members and desires to provide a place for healing and restoration; a place where worshippers can come apart from the world and focus only on worshipping and serving God.

    On August 16, 2012, the Executive Committee of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church voted to affirm our beginning the process to work toward achieving “Mission Church” status for Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

    On April 26, 2013, at a meeting of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church—held at Hudson Presbyterian Church in Hudson, Ohio—Redeemer Presbyterian Church was commissioned as a “Mission Church” of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. A five-member Commission, consisting of four Teaching Elders (pastors) and one Ruling Elder, was named to work with our local leadership in order to proceed with the further orderly development of Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

    On April 29, 2017, at the 23rd Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church—held at Bay Presbyterian Church in Bay Village, Ohio—Redeemer Presbyterian Church (EPC) was welcomed as a Local Church, with all the rights and privileges appropriate thereto.

    The people of Redeemer Presbyterian Church represent various denominational backgrounds and traditions. While “labels” do not hold a significant importance for us, we could be accurately described as orthodox and Reformed in our Christian beliefs—following the beliefs expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith and in the historical creeds, such as the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed—evangelical in our expressions of faith, and traditional/authentic in our style of worship.

    Recognizing that the Body of Christ—the church—has experienced many divisions over the centuries which have left people heartbroken over lost relationships and sorrowful over impediments to the effectiveness of serving Christ and His Kingdom, we have determined to follow these three key principles:

    In Essentials.................Unity  
    In Non-Essentials...........Liberty
    In All Things..................Charity

    In concert with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church,
    we believe the following:

    All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God's redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation we affirm these additional Seven Essentials of our faith:

    1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever!

    2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.

    3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.

    4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God's free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.

    5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord.

    6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth-personally, visibly, and bodily-to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20)

    7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)


    The Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.


  4. May anyone attend your worship service?

    We welcome anyone who wishes to worship with us to join us for worship. We gladly welcome newcomers and do our best to make them feel at home. We have a time of informal fellowship following each worship service.



  5. What are your services like?

    Our one-hour-long worship service consists of a
    semi-liturgical presentation of hymns, songs of praise, prayers, Scripture readings, and a sermon. We have a sense of informality carefully tempered by a quest to do all things “decently and in order.”



  6. Do you welcome children in your service?

    We welcome children of all ages in our Worship Service. Parents, please do not be concerned if your young child cries. We believe that the cries of children signal that the church is alive, well, and destined to continue for generations to come.



  7. Who serves on the staff of Redeemer Presbyterian Church?

    The staff of the church consists of the following individuals:

    • Rev. Benjamin D. Giffone, PhD, Pastor and Moderator of Session

    • C. Thomas Brooks, Minister of Music and Worship

    • Shirley W. Wilson, Music Associate/Accompanist and Children



  8. Who governs Redeemer Presbyterian Church?

    Incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and in accordance with the approved ByLaws of the Corporation, the day-to-day operations of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (EPC) are managed by a Session consisting of three Ruling Elders elected by the members of the church and the Pastor serving as Moderator of Session.

    The current Session consists of the following Ruling Elders, serving from April 1, 2024 through March 31st of their end of term year noted below:

    • Robert LeSuer (Class of 2026)
    • James Stahl (Class of 2025)
    • Amy Stearns (Class of 2027)

    Also serving from April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025, the Session has elected the following officers:

    • James Stahl, President of the Corporation.
    • Laurel LeSuer, Clerk of Session and Secretary of the Corporation.
    • Marykay Stahl, Treasurer.

    The following individuals chair committees:

    • Robert LeSuer, Chair of the Christian Formation Committee

    • Martha Ruggiero, Chair of the Fellowship Committee

    • James Stahl, Chair of the Missions Committee

    • Thomas Brooks, Chair of the Music and Worship Committee

    • Susan Brooks, Chair of the Sanctuary Guild

    • Shirley Wilson, Chair of the Women’s Ministry Committee

    Every person who attends Redeemer Presbyterian Church is always welcome to offer advice and counsel regarding the decisions made concerning all aspects of what we do.

    The Session governs the day-to-day operations of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (EPC) with full transparency in all areas: spiritual, financial, and organizational. While we respect personal privacy in confidential life issues, in only the rarest of instances is such confidentiality deemed necessary.

    We encourage a collegial atmosphere among our members, recognizing that in the Kingdom of God there is no preferential position and no preferential treatment.

    We hold our leaders to the highest standards of spiritual maturity, integrity, and accountability. And, we hold each other accountable to the teachings of God’s written Word with the expectation that the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us along a pathway that He has laid out for us.

    Thus, we create a climate of stability and tranquility within which we can focus our minds and hearts on worshipping God and serving Him.



_____________