Pickens Mayor David Owens presents award to Pastor Rev. Nath Briley, officers and members of Pickens Presbyterian Church.

PICKENS — The members of Pickens Presbyterian Church were recently recognized for their many outreach activities and services that help to Fan The Flame in the area.

“PPC is a Christian community coming together committed to the glory of God and the service of people,” said Rev. Nath Briley, church pastor. “We worship God, nurture one another, enjoy fellowship together, and provide significant outreach to the greater Pickens community and to the world.”

Established in 1878, PPC has been serving the Pickens area for 135 years. The current sanctuary was built in 1923 with the addition of a classroom wing in 1956 and an education building in 1979. The west wing was constructed in 1992 providing church offices and a fellowship hall that is widely used by the congregation and the greater Pickens community. The new PPC Child Development Center, with capacity of 140 children, was completed in 2006.

Pickens Presbyterian Church was recognized for its numerous outreach activities and services it provides the community. It has established the Jane B. Morris Service Fund for year-round financial assistance to local people in need. The PPC Food Pantry provides local assistance for the needy. Begun in 2003, the Winter Warmth clothing giveaway, now joined by other Pickens Ministerial Association churches, benefits hundreds each December. The church’s Advent Giving Tree at Christmas provides gifts for the PPC Child Development Center’s children, for Parenting Place families, and Pickens County LEC prisoners. Members of PPC started the annual Martin Luther King Unity Walk in 2008 and, subsequently, the annual Unity Picnic with Griffin Ebenezer Church.

Its top-rated Child Development Center, opened in 1980, provides a Christian environment for children of working parents where youth can develop socially, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. PPC provides scholarships for children to attend based on need – accepting ABC vouchers as well as “special needs” children.

It has also been an eager participant in many community projects such as building a Habitat for Humanity house with the Pickens Ministerial Association in 2012 and housing volunteers for local Habitat builds in 2012 and 2013. Through its CROP Walk, the church raises funds each year for the Pickens Food Pantry. It provides an office for the Feed-A-Hungry-Child project in the church’s Education Building. Additionally, PPC provides financial and other local support for Samaritan Health Clinic, Meals-on-Wheels, Gleaning House, MARYS House, and the United Christian Ministries. It also hosts a reception for viewers of the Pickens Christmas Parade.

“We Fan The Flame” recognizes group contributions that make Pickens a better place to live. It is presented by the Pickens Revitalization Association and the city of Pickens. The award program is open to any civic, school, charitable, religious, cultural, non-profit, business, senior youth, association or similar organization. Entries should be submitted to the PRA by the 15th of each month and will be considered throughout the year. Entry forms are available at www.historicpickens.com.