Rev. Dr. Carter Lester

Carter retired in June 2022 as co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Pottstown, where he served for 28 years with his wife, Rev. Kerry Pidcock-Lester. Earlier, Carter served as Associate Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia for 4 years, and as an attorney in Baltimore for five years. He has degrees from Duke University, University of Virginia Law School, Union Presbyterian Seminary (M.Div.), and McCormick Theological Seminary (D. Min.). Pastor Carter has been teaching elective courses in McCormick Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry program for about 20 years. Away from work, Carter enjoys traveling, reading, gardening, walking, and bicycling. After a bad knee made him give up first basketball and then tennis, he is now discovering pickleball. Carter and Kerry have three adult daughters: Kate is a Presbyterian Minister serving on the Duke Chapel staff, Molly is an architectural historian and preservation planner living in Philadelphia, and Elizabeth is an attorney living in Bucks County. Carter and Kerry also have two sons-in-law, one of whom is also a Presbyterian minister, and one of whom is equally beloved despite being a Carolina Tarheel fan, and they have two very adorable grandchildren, age 6 and 4.

Don’t you just love Pentecost?  How many of you have Pentecost circled on your calendars?  Raise your hands if you like to… Gather around the piano and sing Pentecost carols? Bake Pentecost cookies, put up a Pentecost tree or put up a yard sign with a Pentecostal flame? Exchange cards, or gifts, or open Pentecost […]

Have you heard the one about the three animals approaching St. Peter seated on his chair at the heavenly gate?  The first animal was a Rottweiler.  St. Peter asked her what she had done to be deserving of entering heaven and the Rottweiler replied: “I was an excellent guard dog for the family who owned […]

Scriptures: Acts 8:26-40, Isaiah 53:7-9 “Look, here is water.” The observation by the unnamed Ethiopian here in Acts 8 seems like a fairly ordinary statement.  Except that it comes at an extraordinary point in this meeting between the Ethiopian and the apostle Philip – and there is not supposed to be any water nearby. Why […]

I do not know a lot about sheep. I am a suburban-bon kid after all, who has never lived on, or near, a farm. A number of years ago, right after Kerry and I finished school and before we started our first permanent jobs, we had a great opportunity to travel across England and Scotland […]

What is your favorite movie rescue scene?  What about the scene in Star Wars when Hans Solo comes out of nowhere to save the day just when it seems that Darth Vader and his forces would prevail?  What about in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King when the army of Rohan shows […]

For Maundy Thursday, Pastor Carter continued our Lenten sermon series “Wandering Heart” with a special meditation entitled “Streams of Mercy”.

There are two things to quickly note about this passage in Matthew 18.  First, Peter is still there.  Last week, if you were here, we heard Peter rebuke Jesus in Matthew 16.  Far from getting kicked out for insubordination, Peter remains in Jesus’ inner circle.  Jesus is a patient and persistent teacher, prepared for his […]

A minister colleague in another church was leading a faith formation gathering with young children when one boy in the group produced a bag of crackers and proceeded munching.  When the minister realized that the boy had no intention of sharing his crackers with any of the other children, she said something to him.  At […]

Do you ever wonder about miracles – whether they still happen today? Maybe Jesus was walking on a hidden sandbar, and not on water, some have suggested.  Do you wonder why there are not more miracles, or how God decides when to let a miracle happen and when not? When it comes to miracles, I have found […]

This Lent we will be doing a series called “Wandering Hearts,” taken from the lyrics of the traditional gospel song, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” In this series, we will explore discipleship with Simon, whom Jesus later renamed Peter. Sales people know the feeling.  The feeling that comes from making call after call on […]

 I have a colleague, an Episcopalian minister, who had a chaplain internship at a Connecticut mental health institution when he was in seminary at Yale Divinity School.  Part of Campbell’s responsibilities included leading a Sunday chapel service each week along with a volunteer who played the piano for hymns.  The small group of residents who […]

Today, we are hearing the story of Jonah in two parts, the first two chapters that Taylor just shared with the children – I hope you were listening closely. And in a moment, I will read what comes next. But before I do that, I want to say a word about the book of Jonah […]