We believe that the Bible teaches Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom to elders to rule his church. Their authority is, however, derivative and not original. That means that the elders of the church may only rule according to the constitution – the Bible – given them by their Lord. In our church the authority resides with what we call the session. The session is made up of the church’s minister and it’s ruling elders. Ministers are called and ordained to preach the Word and administer the sacraments while ruling elders are called and ordained lay people who assist the ministers in the government of the church. We also have deacons who are responsible for taking the physical and mercy ministry needs off the shoulders of the session members and show the love and compassion of Christ to those in need.
Our Pastor
On January 4, 2003, Bennett B. Wethered, under care of the Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic, began his labors as an intern at Dayspring Orthodox Presbyterian Church, serving under Pastor George W. Hall, Jr. He was licensed at the May meeting of Presbytery. During the fall Bennett underwent his ordination exams in the OPC, completing them at the winter meeting of the Presbytery. On January 31, 2004, he was ordained and installed as pastor at Dayspring OPC. Pastor Wethered and his wife Heidi have two children, Hannah and Rebecca.
Bennett was born in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up there. He was raised attending an Episcopal Church, was a ‘choir boy,’ enjoyed worship, and grew up thinking of Sundays as “good, sunny days.” Yet he now knows that he was not then truly a Christian. In his late 20s, he came to saving faith in reading a book, Knowing God, by J.I. Packer, recommended to him by a friend. He then realized his need to find a church which truly taught the gospel, and started attending and then joined a PCA church north of Baltimore, serving as a Deacon there. During this time he came to more and more rejoice in the full and rich understanding of God, His Word, and salvation through Christ given through the Reformed Faith, especially expressed through the Westminster Standards. He married his wife, Heidi, in June of 1989. He finished his college degree (History) at Towson State University, and attended seminary at Chesapeake Theological Seminary, in Linthicum, Maryland, graduating in late 2000.
He has labored at the Better Business Bureau, lived as a house counselor with adults with developmental disabilities and later became a supervisor for such homes. He has also sold office furniture, and worked at Johns Hopkins in the home health care field. He enjoys reading (theology, history, and politics, especially) and traveling (especially to historic sites) with his family.