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Rooted in the Past, Reaching for the Future
Beginnings
 The West Hunterdon Parish was instituted in 1999 by the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. It consists of 8 churches within the newly created Raritan Valley District. The United Methodist churches of Bloomsbury, Everittstown, Finesville, Frenchtown, Kingwood, Pattenburg, Quakertown, and West Portal are located in southern Warren County and western Hunterdon county, primarily south of Interstate Highway 78. Spread out in an area of about 300 square miles, it is a picturesque landscape of rolling hills and sparkling streams. Socially and economically, this area is in transition. Historically, this has been an agricultural region, with small towns that supported farming and light industry. Today, many farms are giving way to new houses, whose residents commute to the economic centers surrounding New York City and Philadelphia.
Organizational Structure
The West Hunterdon Parish is administered by a council consisting of appointed representatives from each of the 8 churches. Pastoral leadership is provided by an excellent team of trained United Methodist ministers appointed by the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference to the 8 local churches. In turn, they work with the administrative council of their appointed churches. Unlike some cooperative parishes where several small churches are clustered around a dominant large church, the West Hunterdon Parish is an entity of true cooperation among equals. As such mutual support and accountability are clearly evident in the administration and ministry of the parish.
Ministry
Opportunities (back to top)
Vacation Bible School 2007
at one of the parish churches
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Opportunities
for mutual encouragement and support are occurring across
all types of relationships in our parish. Aside from working
together as a parish for specific projects such as giving
gifts to the children of inmates of the Edna Mahan Correctional
Facility last Christmas or travelling together on a bus trip
to a Gaither concert, our local congregations have also banded
together to assist and support each other in their church
suppers and other fund raising efforts. The sharing of human
resources (kitchen helpers) between churches and even closely
guarded cooking recipes have been deeply encouraging. |
T
he parish supports the work of local food pantries in meeting the needs of others in these tough economic times.
Communications (back
to top)
The parish website not only serves as a platform to highlight innovative parish activities but it takes on the added role of enabling our parish programs to be accessible to all who browse the world wide web. In fact, the parish is working at implementing online registration for its workshops in the near future. It is our hope that this parish website will serve as a bridge for our eight churches to keep ties with many of their youths in our area who are college-bound. At the same time, we are hoping that this website will enable net-savvy residents who have yet to experience the warmth of Christian fellowship to know of our presence here in the West Hunterdon area of New Jersey and to avail themselves to our ministry of love and empowerment.
Not neglecting the spiritual aspect of our being, the parish is establishing a prayer network within our churches. It is our hope that this prayer network will further bind us together as God’s people charged with the call of Christ to love another and to minister to all who seek God’s comforting love.
Evangelism
(back to top)
One of the reasons for establishing the West Hunterdon Parish
was to enable our local churches to grow. Early on, we recognized
the unspoken need of our congregations to have a sense of Christ’s
call for empowered faithful living in their own lives. At the
same time, we saw the need of equipping them with the necessary
skills to live their lives as a community of witnesses of God’s
love. In view of these needs, a church ministry workshop program
was initiated.
Scheduled
bi-monthly, the workshops seek to provide basic skills for church members for ministry within the community
and the church. Courses that have been held include the various
aspects of church administration and church leadership, ministry
of healing and visitation, developing and nurturing personal
spiritual life and even learning about economic resources
available for residents in the counties of Hunterdon and Warren.
It
is our hope that in time to come, we will be able to establish
outreach teams in each church boldly reaching out to the rapidly
changing neighborhood in our area. At the same time, it is our
hope to have our churches and their leaders develop a passion
in making their place of worship a welcoming home for all who
seek the Lord Jesus.
Community:
Local and Beyond (back to
top)
From sending Christmas shoe boxes to the giving of gifts to the children of inmates in a local New Jersey
correctional facility, the parish has always sought to minister
to the community that our churches are located in and beyond.
Aside from meeting the physical needs of our community, the parish
churches have also tried to meet the social needs of our community.
Being an entity of mutual cooperation, our parish’s effort
for outreach is most visible in the outreach ministry of our local
churches. From the inter-generational bible study of Frenchtown
UMC to the Vacation Bible schools of Kingwood, Quakertown and Everittstown-Pattenburg
UMC, our churches have heeded Christ’s call to share the love of God with everyone.
Future Directions (back
to top)
There is great potential for the West Hunterdon Cooperative
Parish to be an instrument of God’s amazing love in this
part of New Jersey. We would like to invite you to be a partner
to our parish ministry. Pray with and for us, co-labor with us
and together we may see the realm of our loving God established
in this western corner of New Jersey, healing and transforming
all who would call upon the name of Christ our Lord.
The space for this web site has been provided courtesy of the
General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church .
The content of these home pages is the responsibility of the local church.
To
God be the glory!
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