Cumberland Welcomes New Pastor

The congregation of the Olney Cumberland Presbyterian Church marked a new season in the life of their church as the late afternoon sun filtered through the stained-glass windows and worship melodies filled the sanctuary on Sunday.

The church formally installed the Rev. Toby Davis as its new pastor during a Service of Installation at 6 p.m. on Oct. 4, welcoming Rev. Davis, his wife, Janet, and their three daughters to their new church home and to Olney.

Rev. Davis succeeds longtime pastor the Rev. David Carpenter, who retired last summer.

Lori Penn Cox provided piano music for the service, which was presided over by the Rev. Wes Johnson, Stated Clerk of Red River Presbytery, and the Rev. Terra Sisco of Marlow Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Olney Cumberland Presbyterian Elder Dike Hamilton and Elder Debra Bryant also participated in the installation.

Rev. Johnson delivered the sermon, drawing from the Apostle Paul’s final words in 2 Timothy and reminding the new pastor that ministry will bring both fruitful and difficult seasons.

“Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season,” Rev. Johnson told him. “There will be seasons of plenty and seasons of want.” But Rev. Johnson also reminded Rev. Davis that his arrival in Olney was itself part of a particular season in the life of the church.

“God has called you here for this season,” he said. “Fulfill your ministry.”

During the installation, Rev. Davis vowed to assume the responsibilities of pastor — “to preach and teach the word of God, to care for the sick, the troubled, the dying, and the bereaved, and to lead this church in its witness and ministry, as God gives you wisdom and strength.”

The congregation, in turn, accepted its responsibilities to its new pastor and his family.

For Elder Hamilton, the installation carried particular meaning as the congregation looked toward its future following Rev. Carpenter’s retirement.

He welcomed Rev. Davis, Janet, and their daughters to Olney and offered a prayer of thanksgiving for the family’s arrival.

“Thank you, dear God, for sending them to Olney Cumberland Church,” Mr. Hamilton said.

He also spoke candidly about the importance of finding a pastor who could help lead the congregation into its next chapter.

“A dying church was not an option that anyone wanted,” he said.

Rev. Davis and his family came to Olney from a church in the Lubbock area. His formal installation Sunday made official the relationship between pastor and congregation and offered both an opportunity to make promises about the ministry they will now undertake together.

Those promises seemed especially poignant in a sanctuary that has witnessed generations of Olney families worship, celebrate, mourn, and begin again.

Following the service, church members and guests gathered in the fellowship hall for a reception honoring Rev. Davis and his family — and celebrating the beginning of a new season for Olney Cumberland Presbyterian Church.