Memories

Beginnings

A New Jersey native, our founding pastor, Richard Brihn, graduated from Rutgers University in 1966 and New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 1969. He then served for some 18 years as pastor of the Community Church of High Falls, NY, a congregation of the Reformed Church in America (RCA):

Founding Pastor Richard

Meanwhile, during that late '60s time period, IBM had opened a major new development and manufacturing location in Research Triangle Park (RTP), between the cities of Raleigh and Durham, and quite convenient to a sleepy little town called Cary. Over the years, IBM and other companies transferred many of their employees to RTP. The entire area grew significantly, and Cary became a much larger place while establishing a reputation as a great place to live. A lot of those who moved to the Cary area to follow their IBM jobs had been Reformed church members in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York. They soon realized they missed their Reformed roots and asked the RCA to consider establishing a church here.

In January 1978 the RCA appointed Pastor Brihn to explore possibilities for starting a new congregation in Cary. When that congregation became the First Reformed Church of Cary, October 28, 1979, with Richard as its pastor, it was the only congregation of the denomination between NJ and FL. Under his guidance, the fledgling group grew steadily. From just 5 or 6 families, meeting first in their homes then at rented space in the Masonic Lodge on SE Maynard Rd, it soon included many other families from varied geographic and denominational backgrounds. Richard's leadership continued through the building and enjoyment of a brand new facility at 700 Old Apex Rd:

Our 1st building, at 700 Old Apex

Transition

In early 1999, Pastor Richard joined the Interim Ministry Program with an initial assignment in Kingston, NY. That left us looking for an interim pastor of our own. We soon found local Raleigh minister, Dr. Robert E. Fields, Jr., to fill that position, and thoroughly enjoyed his tenure and guidance during the transition period. He and his wife Charlene served us well, then went on to Maui (!) for Pastor Bob's next assignment.

New Beginnings

While being tended to by Pastor Fields, our search for a new full time pastor eventually led us to our 2nd full time pastor, the Reverend Dr. Chuck Wiessner, in August 2000. Pastor Chuck served us until his retirement in 2016.

Pastor Chuck, 2000

At the time, Pastor Wiessner, a Michigan native, was serving as pastor of an RCA congregation in Mahwah, NJ. He has educated us on many aspects of our faith and shepherded the congregation through acquisition of our current facilities and numerous other trials. Click on the Our Pastor link to read more about Pastor Chuck, and click the Our Building link to see our current "digs."

Sadness . . . and Joy

Our church was deeply saddened at the loss of Pastor Chuck's wife, and our dear friend, Dr. Colleen Wiessner, who died suddenly on August 5th 2009. Hers was a highly intelligent and beautiful spirit. Her wise counsel, enthusiasm for life, cheerful demeanor and wonderful smile made us all feel better about ourselves and are missed intensely.

Yet we are joyful that we were privileged to know her and grateful for her innumerable contributions to the church, especially its education programs. A wonderful memorial service to celebrate Colleen's life was held in the sanctuary on Sunday evening, August 16th 2009. Click here to read more about Colleen and the Wiessner family.

Intern Pastor

In the Fall of 2010 the church hired theology student Nola Boezeman as an Intern Pastor. She served as an able assistant to the pastor until June 2012, before moving on. While with us she assisted in or led many Sunday services, prayer groups and classes on such things as "Devotional Classics." She gave many fine sermons. A highlight of her tenure was arranging for a U2Charist service here, open to the local community and to raise funds for the Dorcas Shop.

This page is out of date, a new FRCC History Page will be here shortly!