REV. ADRIAN J. PRATT B.D.
Adrian was born and raised in a coastal town on the Wirral Peninsular called Moreton, situated on the opposite side of the River Mersey to Liverpool, England. Whilst his earliest days saw only fleeting involvement with church life, in his later teens he became involved with the life of a Welsh Presbyterian Church that was at the end of the road where his family resided.
It was also at the Moreton Presbyterian Church that Adrian met, fell in love with and married his wife Yvonne, in July 1978. They have two children, Helen born in 1984 and Matthew born in 1986.
Through that church’s ministry he was led to a place of Christian commitment. This eventually led to sensing a call to full-time Christian work and after negotiating several hurdles found himself as a candidate for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Wales.
He attended Aberystwyth Theological College (an affiliated college with the University of Wales) in 1979, emerging with a Bachelor of Divinity degree and a Certificate in Pastoral Studies. Shortly afterwards he was ordained as a minister within the Presbyterian Church of Wales. His first calling, in 1984, was to a dual church pastorate in the rural market towns of Ruthin and Denbigh in North Wales.
After three and half years he received a Call to inner city ministry in Clubmoor, Liverpool. During this time he also served a smaller chapel in Orrell, and for a year as a part-time chaplain at Alder Hey, one of Europe’s largest Children’s Hospitals. At the start of 1990 he left the city and began a tri-church ministry at Beaumaris, Menai Bridge and Castle Square (Caernarfon) Churches in a historic area of North Wales.
During his time with the Presbyterian Church of Wales he served in numerous positions at Presbytery, Association (PCW equivalent of Synod) and General Assembly level. He was ecumenically involved with Christians across the denominational spectrum through “Cytun” (British Council of Churches) and “Enfys” (Welsh Commission of Covenanted Churches).
Following a pastoral exchange visit to Red Wing, Minnesota, he began to explore the possibility of accepting a call to a Presbyterian Church in this country. That call came through Fayetteville Presbyterian Church, West Virginia. He was received in 1996 as a minister within the Presbytery of West Virginia and enjoyed eight fruitful years serving the Fayetteville congregation. In 2004 he accepted a Call to be Senior Pastor at the Beckley Presbyterian Church, also in West Virginia, where he served until March 2009.
During his time as a minister within the Presbytery of West Virginia he was active within numerous areas of the Presbytery’s life, including youth work, elders training and Christian nurture events in the Presbytery and beyond. During 2008 he was privileged to serve as a Commissioner to General Assembly in San Jose.
In April 2009 he began his ministry at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, New York. He is enjoying getting to know the community that call FPC Baldwin their spiritual home and prays that God will continue to guide and bless the journey of faith that they are making together.
