When Oakland Presbyterian Church in Springfield closed in the fall of 2012 its community theater ceased operations as well. Enter Clifton United Presbyterian Church. As an expansion of its community outreach dinner, which began earlier that year with funding from a Northminster Fund grant, the session authorized a payment of $1,200.00 for a year's rental of a vacant schoolroom in the Village of Clifton. Thus was born the Shoebox Theater.

The building, not in use as a school since 1959, had been used over the years as a seed warehouse, a "village catchall," the home of the Old Timers Club, and an art studio. But housing the Shoebox Theater proved to be a major undertaking. With a grant from the Springfield Foundation and help from the Clark County OIC (Opportunities for Individual Change, on whose board at the time sat presbytery member Derrick Weston) the church's outreach committee undertook the renovation of the restrooms. While restoration continues, the Shoebox Theater is up and running.

This congregation's community development in cooperation with the Village of Clifton, in their own words, is "intended to provide a welcoming spirit and pleasant experience "for all who pass our way. Singing, and acting in a way that gives witness to the concern of God for his creation, as we honor and glorify Jesus Christ, in our great and tiny village."

Please pray for the continuing witness and ministry of Clifton United Presbyterian Church, Arby Conn, pastor.