Pennington Presbyterian Church

PENNINGTON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

“Surely the Lord is in this place!”

~ An official document first mentioned a group of Christians in 1709. The document was part of the first records of the General Presbytery, which began in 1706 and was succeeded in 1714 by the Presbytery of Philadelphia.

~ Our first church meeting house was built just south of the present building in 1724. Measuring 30 by 34 feet, it had a heavy frame of squared timbers and was covered on its roof and walls by cedar shingles.

~ Measuring 45 by 64 feet, the new meeting house of 1765 featured a bell in a steeple, a pulpit that looked like a huge wineglass, box pews, second floor “galleries” and flooring of squaring bricks.

~ The original 1724 meeting house was carefully disassembled and the timbers and shingles transported to the church’s parsonage farm for the construction of a barn.

~ Pennington Area Presbyterians found out about the Revolutionary War directly. According to local tradition, soldiers exercised their horses by jumping them over the cemetery wall. A British Lighthorse troop occupied our brick meeting house.

~ The congregation built a Gothic style two-story building with a 160 foot spire in 1847.

~In 1874 a major crisis and challenge faced the congregation. On Sunday, January 25, just as people returned home after worship, the church bell rang and rang. Before most of the congregation could even return, the Gothic church building had burned.

~ Inspired by Rev. Foster’s gift of half his year’s salary the church leaders sought pledges and just one year later all the necessary funds to rebuild – $27,200 – had been collected.

~ That red brick church, our present one, was built in 1875.

~The 48 year-old educational/office wing, Magner Hall, was recently razed in the year 2000 following much discussion and planning with our Long Range Committee, Session and local building code officials.

The following statement was presented:

Our Vision for the Future is to provide a church facility for worship, Christian education and for community activities that can accommodate our current needs and enable future growth in membership and programs.

We seek to:

. Provide space for Christian education classes that is adequate and appropriate for all ages.

. Improve accessibility throughout the building for all members of our community,
especially young children, seniors and the disabled.

. Create space for the music program that is accessible to all members and provides adequate room for rehearsals and storage of instruments, music and robes.

. Expand and reconfigure administrative space to improve the day-to-day business operations of our church.

. Present a warm and welcoming facility that's also up to date with current building standards.

. Increase our commitment to mission within our Presbytery.

~ Currently the new Magner Hall is enjoyed by all with an elevator connecting the various church floors.

~~~~~~~~

In our church today we have a hallway display of photographs taken throughout the years. Included in the wall collage, called “We are Heirs of a Great Heritage”, is a unique photograph of the ruins of the church in 1874.

Chronological List of Pastors of Pennington Presbyterian Church:

Rev. Robert Orr

Rev. Moses Dickinson

Rev. Joseph Morgan

Rev. John Guild

Rev. Joseph Rue

Rev. Benjamin Ogden

Rev. George Hale

Rev. Daniel Foster

Rev. David Wills

Rev. William Allen, Jr.

Rev. George Bucher

Rev. A. Kenneth Magner

Rev. Walter Coats

Rev. William McQuoid

Rev. Nancy Mikoski

Assistant Pastors:

Rev. Walter Owensby

Rev. Charles Dryer

Rev. James Handley

Associate Pastors:

Rev. Donald Thiel

Rev. Jean Pinto

Rev. Fred Lyon

Rev. Susan Fall

Interim Pastors:

Rev. Steven McArthur

Rev. Ron Apgar

Rev. Paul Rhebergen

We have celebrated our 300^th anniversary! (1709-2009)

Copyright © 2000 - 2008, Pennington Presbyterian Church