A Word from the Pastors

1989-2015 | A word from the Pastors

Reflecting Back and Looking Forward

Rev. Dr. Wesley Avram,

SENIOR PASTOR

Let us declare with scripture, “What a wonderful thing God has done!” (Luke 9:39)

We hear stories of members who remember lifting chairs from a car’s trunk to set up Sunday mornings, lively talks about just what kind of church God was calling them to shape, folks signing the charter and singing for joy, watching five acres become twenty, building plans, first shouts of preschool kids, first strains of two extraordinary pipe organs, grand harmonies, turning outward in mission, sending children off into lives of discipleship, mourning deaths of cherished friends, the first ordination into professional ministry of one of our own, welcoming and sending, and all the human stuff that goes into all the Godly stuff.

At 25, we might be the oldest congregation in the area, but in God’s view we’re still so very young. We’ve got future, hope, and work yet to do. And isn’t that great!

To Valley Presbyterian Church, the Presbytery of the Grand Canyon, our founding pastor Larry Corbett and his wife, Meredyth, all the early members, every elder and deacon, every Sunday School teacher, choir member, youth leader, mission volunteer, sacrificial giver, praying lover of the church, and more: Thanks!! And to God, to whom we are blessed to say, “What a wonderful thing you are still doing!”

Happy 25th, Pinnacle!

Rev. Dr. Lawrence Corbett,

FOUNDING PASTOR, PASTOR EMERITUS

In 1989 residents of the Pinnacle area didn’t realize that they needed a church, but they would perceive that need soon enough. Wealthy people, like anyone, could not flourish without the light of the Word - and a church to radiate it. I knew that living behind guarded-gate communities amid magnificent golf courses with architectural-magazine-cover homes didn’t give them immunity from encountering family problems, death, despair, disease, and dysfunction. Gate transponders don’t keep sin, suffering, and darkness out of one’s life; indeed, the gates often seem to lock in frustration and loneliness.

Though the sun was bright in Arizona in the spring of 1989, and though the budding North Scottsdale community enjoyed a high quality of life, still this community needed the Gospel. They needed the Word of hope and meaning. They weren’t going to find enduring happiness in a world of consumer-driven, leisure-time activities. I was filled with a passion for success, and my achievement-driven type-A personality would propel this project forward. People’s lives would be stronger, more informed, transformed, and balanced - by the living light of the Gospel.