Deborah Hansen

Located in the college town of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, a near suburb of Philadelphia, Swarthmore Presbyterian Church (SPC) has been an integral part of the community since the town’s earliest days. Throughout the church’s 120 years, the congregation has been blessed with bold vision for mission and ministry, responsible leadership, and a quickness to serve the community. We all come from different backgrounds, bringing different gifts. We are called to be Christ’s body, here and now, ready to serve. Swarthmore Presbyterian Church is a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Philadelphia Presbytery. Called to be missional and relational in all that we do We believe in being missional. Christ gave the church its mission: to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth and to work for the kingdom of God. This “missional” orientation makes a difference in everything we do, in our choices about how we spend our time, our money, our space, and our efforts. We also believe in being relational. We deeply believe that building relationships is the way the Spirit works. Moving from heart to heart and hand to hand, the Spirit generates new ideas, abundant resources, and invaluable relationships. With our neighbors and mission partners, we can add to each other’s strengths for the good of God’s kingdom. Our relationships are local and global. They are long established and newly formed. They are inter-religious and ecumenical. They begin in conversation and take shape in cooperation.