Engines of praise
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — The tractors will be returning Mt. Nebo Presbyterian Church, 1236 Prospect Road, on Sunday.
The church will be hosting its sixth annual Drive Your Tractor to Church event, when members of the church drive their farm machines to church before a 9:30 a.m. outdoor service.
Many of the church's 40-member congregation are farmers, said church member Sandy Cox.
“We're asking members to bring their tractors just to share our heritage,” she said. “We are a country church. It shows our agricultural background.”
Interim pastor Dave Fox said members should drive their tractor to church between 8 and 9:30 a.m. Sunday, with the outdoor service scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in the picnic shelter.
The service is open to anyone who would like to attend.
Fox said, “We are planning to have the service outside, so please dress accordingly.”He said coffee, doughnuts and juice will be available before the service. Because of limited seating in the shelter, visitors are asked to bring a lawn chair.Church member and farmer Dave Cox said the tractor Sunday service is usually scheduled for some weekend in July and August “because we try to get it done early, because everybody has weekends booked.”He added the church tries to schedule the event between the Big Butler Fair and the Butler Farm Show.Last year's Drive Your Tractor to Church Sunday drew 18 tractors, two all-terrain vehicles and three pedal tractors.Sandy Cox said she got the idea for the tractor service five years ago when she saw a show on the RFD-TV cable channel about tractor Sundays being staged in the West.Fox said Mt. Nebo Presbyterian Church was founded in 1805 on the 5F values: faithfulness, family, farms, food and fun.“It is important for us as busy people to set aside Sunday as a day of rest to rest, knowing God cares for us,” he said. He added a special prayer for farmers will be added to Sunday's service.“You don't have to bring a tractor. Just come and check them out,” he said.
