When is worship and what are services like?
We gather for worship every Sunday morning at 10 a.m., in person and online. Each service includes shared liturgy found in our weekly bulletin with elements of prayer, confession, assurance of pardon, affirmation of faith, offering of tithes and offerings, and the Lord's Prayer. Our music is drawn from our hymnal, accompanied by the organ, piano, and our Chancel Choir. All scripture readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary and the sermon is based on these scriptures. We periodically share in the Sacrament of Communion by intinction or passed trays. In every pew is a friendship pad, which we ask all in attendance to sign. Please sign the friendship pad in your pew. First‑time guests will find a gift waiting at the back of the sanctuary—we’d love to greet you and learn how we can welcome you into our community.
What happens for children during worship?
Children of all ages are welcome in worship each week! Services typically include a short children’s moment where all the children meet at the steps of the chancel. The younger ones may then leave the sanctuary and go to the nursery, or they may stay with their family. Children in Kindergarten and older remain in the service to share in the common life of their church family. We provide nursery care for preschool children under the age of 5 during services. We encourage school-age children to sit with their families. We have age-appropriate books in the narthex for them to read or look at during the service and children’s bulletins for them to draw in and color.
What accessibility accommodations are available?
Shelby Presbyterian Church is wheelchair accessible. There are handicapped parking spaces along Harris Street next to the church as well as in the city parking lot adjacent to the church. The sidewalks there are wheelchair accessible to gain entrance to the side of the church on Harris Street (Ellis Hall) and the main entrance (Sanctuary) on East Graham Street. There are handicap-accessible restrooms on the hall near the back of the sanctuary. Access to the second floor is by the elevator located behind the sanctuary. Please see the church map for the locations of the restrooms and the elevator.
Shelby Presbyterian Church has recently added a loop system that works with the antenna (T-coil) found in most modern hearing aids to dramatically improve the listening experience. This is the first such system in Cleveland County. Hearing induction loop systems transmit sound wirelessly to the T-coil embedded in the hearing aid. The loop induction amplifier is connected to a copper wire (Loop) which is installed in the floor of a church or other facility. The sound source travels within the loop and the T coil in a hearing aid receives the electromagnetic sound signal and changes back to clear amplified sound with the digital hearing aid circuitry.
The Loop is like “WiFi” wirelessly broadcasting and received by the hearing aids making the hearing aids a personal wireless headphone system. The Hearing Loop effectively takes the hearing aid microphone and links it directly to the church’s sound system turning your hearing aid into a personal wireless amplified speaker. A T-coil is an option on most hearing aids and is generally in all cochlear implant processors. With a T-coil installed in the hearing aid, the user simply pushes the button or switch for the “T” setting – no additional headsets or receivers are necessary to hear clearly in the induction loop. The T-coil in the hearing aid is programmed by your audiologist while you listen to music or speech in quiet and background noise.
What is your minister like?
Prior to answering God’s call to ministry, Pastor Drew Mangione enjoyed successful careers in communication, working in newspaper journalism, state government, and nonprofit development, all in New York State. Urged to consider the ministry by a Presbyterian Pastor, Drew had not been a part of our tradition before going to Princeton Theological Seminary. Born and raised a Christian, his journey has taken him through multiple traditions. Born in a faith-filled, biblically literate Roman Catholic home, he was acclimated to scripture, church history and theology at a very young age. After meeting his now wife, he began attending her nondenominational church with Baptist and Pentecostal roots, and after they were married, he was elected deacon, serving on the church’s council. He has been involved in ministries with several other churches.
In seminary, he focused his studies on church history and building stronger bonds between Christian denominations. His wife Claire is a Western North Carolina native with a background in journalism, education and civic engagement. They have two young children.You can expect Drew’s sermons to be grounded in scripture with a love for Greek, Hebrew and the historic faith of the church. He works to communicate scripture as the story of creation and redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is God’s Word made flesh, and who reveals the full identity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Drew loves to proclaim the Good News or Gospel that ‘God is with us.’ Indeed, because God is with us, we know that we are loved by God and that God wants us to repent, meaning to turn toward God.Drew is the church’s lead pastor and teacher, overseeing pastoral care for individuals and equipping members to be knowledgeable, faithful, and active in the church. He leads new member classes and is active in all ministries for children, youth, and adults, as well as working with our church staff and church officers. He welcomes your questions or suggestions and desires your prayers as we seek to serve Christ together. Drew may be contacted by calling the church office at 704-487-8503 or emailing the church.