Welcome to the Pastor’s Corner, and welcome to the website of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenlawn! We hope that you will find here helpful resources for your spiritual journey.
That early Christians were called the “people of the way” is a reminder to us that we have not yet reached our destination, but continue to make our way along the path of discipleship. What is true of our lives as Christians is also true of this page and site. It, like us, is “a work in progress.”

And “may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”
(2 Cor. 3:14)

A Message from
Pastor
Ann Van Cleef,
January 2025

My Beloved Church Family,

    My Beloved Church Family,
I had a very interesting Christmas this past year.
On Christmas Eve morning, I walked into my garage to find water cascading from ceiling to floor. I called my plumber, left a message on the answering machine, and prayed that he would call back.
He did call back within ten minutes and instructed me to turn off the water to the house. Then he gave me the bad news. He was recovering from surgery and would not be able to help me. But he gave me the name of a colleague who, unfortunately, never returned my call.
What to do? It was Christmas Eve. I had a 4:00 Candlelight Service scheduled and had planned to leave the house by noon. I still had presents to wrap, guests coming to the house for Christmas, and had not yet found time to put up my Christmas tree.
“Help me, Lord Jesus.” “Come, Holy Spirit, Come.” “Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah!”
Knowing that I would not be able to get a plumber until after Christmas, I called the Marriott Residence Inn in Riverhead. Fortunately, there was room at the inn! I threw some clothing into a suitcase, grabbed the unwrapped presents (along with wrapping paper and Scotch tape), emptied the refrigerator into two picnic hampers, and took off for Greenlawn. And eventually, Riverhead.
It ended up being a pretty good Christmas after all. I didn’t have to decorate (I had grabbed an 18-inch Christmas tree that I had on my desk as I ran out the door), and I didn’t have to clean. My guests didn’t have to travel to Greenport; Riverhead was 40 minutes closer for them. And no one had any expectations about having a great Christmas dinner; we enjoyed chicken pot pies that had been in my freezer. I ended up spending six nights at the hotel and treated it like a mini-vacation.
As I sat with my feet up one of those nights, sipping a glass of wine, a line from Don Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote came to mind. “There’s a remedy for everything except death.” Then I remembered – there IS a remedy for death, in Jesus Christ, who came to Earth, God in human form, to save humankind from death. He opened the gates of Heaven so that we might enjoy Eternal Life.
All my prayers were answered. The burst pipe got fixed, we had a good Christmas, and I had a relaxing six nights away from the chores of home. I have a friend who keeps telling me, “We have a God of surprises.” God is indeed good.
Maybe I’ll book a room at the inn again next year. Minus the burst pipe, of course!

With love and blessings,
Pastor Ann

Pastor Rev. Dr. Ann VanCleef

Sunday Worship –
Questions and Answers
By Pastor Ann

Zoom Worship

How are we going to worship on Sundays?    
     We will be continuing our Sunday worship using a video conferencing system called Zoom.  You may log on as early as 10:00 a.m. for coffee and conversation.  Worship begins promptly at 10:30, followed by a virtual coffee hour until noon.  The easiest way to do Zoom is to download the Zoom App from the App Store.  Zoom will work on a computer, a laptop, an I-Pad, or a Smartphone.  

What are the Meeting IDs?
     Please check your weekly email for ID's and Passcodes for each service.

Will I get a reminder about logging on to these services?
     If you are on the church e-mail list, you will get a weekly e-mail with the Zoom link.

I don’t have a camera on my computer, but I do have a Smartphone.
Zoom will work on your Smartphone. 

I don’t have a computer or a Smartphone.  What can I do?
     You may telephone the following number: 
1-646-558-8656
     You will be asked for a meeting ID.  The meeting IDs are outlined in paragraph 2.
     You won’t be able to see us, but you can still hear what’s going on.

Please note:
     Out here on the North Fork, where I live, the Internet has been a bit “iffy” lately.  There is a chance that I will suddenly “disappear” from your screen.  If that happens, just hang in there. 
I will log back on with my iPhone.