Ray-Thomas Memorial Presbyterian Church

Come to a musical choir rehearsal for a glimpse of Ray-Thomas Memorial Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia. Enter the room of about 30 musicians and you’ll hear laughter and see people hugging each other. If you listen closely, you will realize you’re hearing many accents and a language you may not know. In the corner, people are sharing with each other how something is said in Portuguese and then in Korean and then in English. Some are dark skinned, others are light skinned; jet black hair leans close against reds and blondes. The choir stops periodically to practice pronunciation; some ask what the words mean. There are twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings, forty-somethings and fifty-somethings, and even a few somethings who are older or younger. We pray together, voice after voice, praying about serving God, about immigration issues, about jobs that are needed, about families near and far; praying in thanksgiving for the many ways God has blessed us and called us. Sometimes as we pray we have to wipe tears from our eyes. Then we linger after rehearsals to talk, share and hug some more.  We are family. 

Come on a Sunday and you will see five language-specific worship services; you will also see us worship together, singing songs in three or more languages. Afterwards you will see people learning English as a second language (ESL) together. You may see a team planning ways to teach Portuguese, Spanish and Korean. You will hear people talking about Saturday’s soccer game, or the multicultural women’s group, or where the home groups will be held this week or what youth are doing on Wednesday nights. Enter the church on any given day and you will get the scents of Kim chi, Brazilian barbecue and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  ou may catch another ESL class or a Bible study class or a Leadership class. You’ll likely see pre-school children. You may also see people in need throughout the community coming to the food pantry or people coordinating meals for the local homeless shelter. And you will see people of prayer in prayer.  These are all glimpses of Ray-Thomas Memorial.And we believe God has just begun God’s mighty work with, in and through us.

Read a Presbyterian News Service article about Ray-Thomas Memorial Presbyterian Church.