LAKE ALFRED, Florida-December 22, 2002 - FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH LAUNCHES WEB SITE

The First Presbyterian Church of Lake Alfred, Florida, announces the launch of its new web site which will go online Sunday, December 22nd. The web site is the first foray into cyberspace for this church, a 150 member affiliate of the Presbyterian Church USA.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH LAUNCHES WEB SITE

LAKE ALFRED, Florida-December 22, 2002 - The First Presbyterian Church of Lake Alfred, Florida, announces the launch of its new web site which will go online Sunday, December 22nd. The web site is the first foray into cyberspace for this church, a 150 member affiliate of the Presbyterian Church USA.

According to Warren Castro, chair of the church's web site committee, there were several reasons for the decision to develop a web site. The most obvious was to invite people to visit and perhaps eventually join the church. But another was to give visibility to and create more interest in the missions supported by the church.

"Our congregation is largely people near or past retirement age," explains Castro. "We are blessed with a lot of people who have lived long, varied, and interesting lives. They are at that point where it is especially important to give back, to support, to care for and to help other people. The web site, we hope, will attract others who might have an interest in the organizations we try to support."

Accordingly, the web site was designed both to inform and to display. There is information about the community of Lake Alfred, a history of the church, and information about the congregation. Links take site visitors to the Presbytery of Tampa Bay's web site and to the main site for the Presbyterian Church USA in Louisville. The church's monthly newsletter, The Link, also is reproduced each month on the web site. "This allows our seasonal members to keep up with us while they are gone over the summer," Castro says. There are also maps and directions to the church on the web site.

"What we are really excited about, though, is the Link Extra portion of the web site," says Castro. "This was the brainchild of our web master, Michael Jackson of MGJ Design, and I think it makes our web site different form most church web sites. It is like an online magazine with articles of interest to our church family and to our community. The Link Extra will change completely about every four to six weeks and will showcase two or three topics in each edition. In this edition there is the first of what will be a series of articles written by our pastor describing the Jimmy Carter Habitat for Humanity build in Durban, South Africa in which he and his wife were participants. Our church actively supports Habitat for Humanity through the East Polk County chapter and through Presbytat, an affiliation of eight Presbyterian churches in East Polk County, which is how we wound up being involved with the South Africa build." Hyperlinks on the Link Extra page take site visitors to the web sites for Habitat for Humanity and the East Polk County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

There is also a story about Mr. Wesley Downs, a fifteen year old young man in Alabama whose faith in God has seen him through extraordinarily tough times. A hyperlink allows visitors to view Wesley's site.

Future articles will include a series on Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, the founding father and first President of Zambia. Dr. Kaunda has graciously filled the pulpit at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Alfred on several occasions and is actively involved through the United Nations in trying to curb the rampages of AIDS in Africa.

The new web site will give an on-going picture of the people, missions, and activities of the church. First Presbyterian Church of Lake Alfred welcomes visitors from all religious backgrounds and invites them to participate fully in the life of the church.

CONTACT:
Warren Castro, Chair, Web Site Committee
863-293-1234 days
863-325-9008 evenings
863-293-4007 fax
Email: press@1stpresla.org
Alternate e-mail: wcastro1@tampabay.rr.com
Web site: www.1stpresla.org