LV Church Sees Future, Keeps History Intact

Mergers, buy-outs, acquisitions–these are all terms usually used in the business world.

But what happens when religion–and tradition–gets involved? 

For the first time in the history of the Presbytery, three local churches came together to become one, fighting off potential closure of the individual organizations.

This May, the , located on Heath Lane, will celebrate its third year of being, after Schooley’s Mountain, Pleasant Grove, and Beattystown Presbyterian Churches joined to become one.

Individually, the churches were having a hard time sustaining their congregations–and buildings–because of a lack of finances and decline in members, according to congregant Anna Knudsen.

Knudsen, whose family spans generations in Long Valley, was a member of Schooley’s Mountain Presbyterian Church her entire life, says the change, for many members, wasn’t as simple as going to a new supermarket.

“My grandmother played piano (at Schooley’s Mountain Presbyterian); my family has been going here for generations,” Knudsen said. “It’s not that simple for church members who have that kind of history in their congregation to all of a sudden change.”

About two-thirds of the three churches’ congregations have come together to make Highlands Presbyterian Church their new house of worship, Knudsen said.

Prior to the official merger in 2009, the congregations went through three years of discernment, Knudsen said, to figure out how to best make the change work.

After considering the Beattystown church as the new location, sitting on Rt. 57 just across the street from the end of Kings Highway in Washington Township, the group of church leaders decided the building on Heath Lane would best suit the new congregation.

The group then decided on a mission statement, considered arguably the most important piece of the puzzle, saying, in part, to be a “Visible presence of God’s love to the community.”

Members then made another incredibly important decision–who would lead the new church?

Schooley’s Mountain Presbyterian Church associate pastor Amy Lincoln was called on to become the new church’s reverend, which was welcomed with open arms.

“It was a unique opportunity,” Lincoln said. “We’re trying to rethink everything about church and invigorate creativity with our members.”

Saving the sanctuary

“We wanted a safe, welcoming home base for the ministry,” said Lincoln when the group was choosing a church building to call home.

Safe was the operative word, though.

Members of the church learned the building’s sill–a portion of the building’s foundation–was missing major gaps and had been breaking down over the years.

“There were parts of the sill I could put my entire hand through,” said Bill Beck, a church member of Schooley’s Mountain Presbyterian since the 1970s.

Beck is also the owner of Beck Design and Build, the construction company that won the bid to fix the sill and make renovations to other parts of the building.

Repairing the sill took the better part of three months, Beck said, which began in March of 2011. In addition the sill work, new siding and a new roof were installed as well as new windows in the basement along with paint, and new carpeting in the sanctuary.

The building, which was constructed in 1870, boasts the highest steeple in all of Washington Township, according to Knudsen. But, with that history comes some rules and regulations.

Sitting inside the township’s historical section, some of the exterior renovations were subject to approval from the Historic Preservation Commission, Beck said, and took about three months to apply for–and receive–proper authorization from the group.

“But the church never missed a beat throughout all of it,” Beck said.

And that beat, drummed by more than 80 members, will continue onward in a new age of churches, Lincoln says.

“We want to stay true to our mission statement,” Lincoln said. “And that’s what’s most important.”