Panther Valley Ecumenical Church Hackettstown NJ

WELCOME TO PVEC

Panther Valley Ecumenical Church is located at 1490 Route 517, Hackettstown, NJ 07840. The church office is located in the rear of the building. Office hours are Monday thru Friday, 9:00am to 2:00pm.

We invite you to join us for our Sunday worship service. The service begins at 10:30am and is followed by a coffee hour.

We celebrate the sacrament of Communion on the second Sunday of every month.

Sunday School is at 10:30am in the classrooms. Please drop-off your child by 10:25am in Fellowship Hall. Babysitting services are also available

 

Download Panther Valley Ecumenical Church vCard with Service Times

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Download Pastor Ninabeth Metcalf vCard

Click here to contact Ninabeth Metcalf  

 

http://www.panthervalleychurch.org/  

 

 

Take I-80 to exit 19 (Andover - Hackettstown) at the end of exit ramp make a left onto Route 517 south. Proceed 1.6 miles to the church on the left.  

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History of the Panther Valley Ecumenical Church

The Panther Valley Ecumenical Church was created to meet the spiritual needs of residents moving into Panther Valley, a development begun in the late 1960's in Allamuchy, NJ. As there were no churches in Allamuchy, the developer, Philip Bowers1 2nd, himself a Roman Catholic, thought that one church instead of several would provide a place nearby where the residents of Panther Valley could worship. The New Jersey Council of Churches was consulted and the concept of an ecumenical church was born. Representatives of the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and the Presbyterian Church, USA, formed a committee to explore the concept of a community church which would accommodate the needs of a variety of denominations.

The members of the committee realized that a church encompassing four denominations served by one minister would need a dynamic and committed leader. They found that person in the Rev. Dr. William McGregor, a graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. McGregor and his wife Marilyn along with their six children moved into Panther Valley after only a few homes had been built, and on November 1, 1969 he began calling on families in the development.

The first service of worship was celebrated on December 21, 1969 in the Conference Center of the Panther Valley Mall. Through the courtesy of Panther Valley, Inc. a Church office was also provided. After much preparation, the Panther Valley Ecumenical Church was officially accepted and incorporated by the four denominations on May 4, 1975. Realizing that down the line the Conference Center space would have to be vacated, in 1973 five acres of land were purchased so that a church building site would be available when needed. After 8 1/2 years we were notified that we would have to move out of the Conference Center. As the church building was not yet ready for occupancy, we rented the Seventh Day Adventist Church for nine months.

Finally, on Easter Sunday in April of 1979, the first service was held in the sanctuary of their church. The lights hadn't been turned on yet and the parking lot hadn't been paved but they had over 300 people at that service. With the building, in many ways the life of the church changed. We could now plan our own activities without regard for someone else’s calendar. We increased our program's and the congregation grew. Although the church was originally intended to serve the needs of Panther Valley, it has attracted members from Warren, Sussex, Hunterdon, and Morris counties. This can be attributed to a concerted effort to not limit membership to Panther Valley by purchasing land and building the church outside the gate of Panther Valley. In 1985 an attached education wing was added to provide rooms for church school classes and to meet other needs. In 1988, after 19 years of service, Dr. McGregor resigned from Panther Valley Ecumenical Church.

As had been decided at the time of incorporation, the next minister would be from the United Methodist denomination and the Rev. Emil Augustine was appointed by the United Methodist Bishop to be the new minister. Rev. Augustine, a graduate of Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary and Drew University, came with his wife Cosette and their two children Jill and Scott.

The church has continued to grow. There is an active church program in place including family fellowships, adult education programs, youth fellowships, choral choirs, a prayer group, mission projects and two active Bell Ringer choirs. All denominational patterns are honored bearing witness to their ecumenicity. As we gathered to celebrate a successful 25 years of ecumenism it was hoped that throughout the world a similar spirit would enable peoples of all religious traditions to live, work, and worship together in cooperation, harmony and peace so that Christ’s wish might be fulfilled that “We May All Be One.”

In 2001 Rev. Augustine retired and the Rev. Keith Jones, a United Church of Christ minister and a Harvard Theological Seminary graduate came to PVEC as an Interim Minister. A Search Committee is in place at the present time to seek and present to the congregation, according to the By Laws, a United Church of Christ minister to continue the work in this community.

In 2001 Rev. Augustine retired and the Rev. Keith Jones, a United Church of Christ minister and a Harvard Theological Seminary graduate, came to PVEC as an Interim Minister. A Search Committee was appointed to seek and present to the congregation, according to the By Laws, a United Church of Christ minister to continue the work in this community. During Lent, 2002, Dr. McGregor was invited to lead a two-weekend retreat for the entire PVEC congregation. “After 33 Years What Now?” was the prevailing subject about which workshops were centered. It was exciting to ascertain the goals and objectives for different areas of the ministry as seen by the congregation.

The Rev. Dr. Harry Taylor, a United Church of Christ minister, came in 2002 as an Interim Minister. Dr. Taylor, who has a BA from the University, an M. Div. from Union Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary led the congregation until the Search Committee and the congregation voted to call Dr. Howson.

The Rev. Dr. Mary Lou Howson, with her husband Jim, arrived as the new minister on Sunday July 4, 2004. With a BA from Mount Holyoke College, M.Ed. from Wesleyan University, an M. Div. From Yale Divinity School, a Doctor in Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary (PCUSA) plus over twenty years in the ministry she is well qualified to lead this congregation.