Baldwin church welcomes new pastor

First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin introduces the Rev. Susan Joseph Rack

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As pandemic restrictions lift, the First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin on St. Luke’s Place is resuming in-person services with a new face in the pulpit.

The congregation welcomed a new pastor, the Rev. Susan E. Joseph Rack, on October 1.

Joseph Rack is known to engage in creative worship, offering services that “engage all the senses and the whole person” using visual arts, music and movement, according to a news release.

She is also called to social justice, saying she looks forward to “learning what in our society breaks your hearts open to flow with Christ’s compassion,” including climate change, institutional racism and domestic poverty.

She has been a student and practitioner of Non-violent Communication and is trained as a domestic violence responder in addition to holding a Master of Divinity and Master of Theology in Old Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary.

“I enjoy the freedom the small church affords,” Joseph Rack said. “I get a real charge out of the small church having outsized dreams and accomplishing something thought impossible.”

Joseph Rack, who says she “accidentally became a Presbyterian,” moved to Baldwin from Martinsville, N.J., where she ministered for 17 years. She has also lived in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and additionally travelled to several other countries.

She was formally installed in her new position by the Long Island Presbytery at a special service on Nov. 1.

The First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin is located off of Grand Avenue, at 717 St. Luke’s Place, and holds weekly worship services every Sunday at 10 a.m., socially distanced in the sanctuary and simultaneously virtually via Zoom.

For details about worship or the church’s many activities, see the church’s website  at firstpresbyterianbaldwin.org, Facebook page @1stPresbyterianChurchBaldwin or call the church office at (516) 223-2112.