Two Centuries on Raritan Road
Willow Grove Presbyterian Church stands on Raritan Road in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, opposite a quiet residential block and looking out across the green expanse of the Shackamaxon Country Club. The congregation's roots reach back nearly two hundred years. In 1826, Susan Aymar began a Sunday school in the local schoolhouse - a gathering that would eventually grow into today's church. In 1887, area farmers built a small fieldstone chapel on land donated by John Lambert, owner of a nearby grist and cider mill. That chapel, the Lambert Stone Chapel, still stands at the front of the property and its 1887 bell still rings on Sunday mornings.
The Presbyterian congregation itself was formally established in 1952 and 1953, when Willow Grove Community Chapel was incorporated as a new church development of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It grew out of a mission started by the Presbyterian Church in Westfield, and its first pastor, Julian Alexander - then a Princeton Seminary student - preached on Sundays while finishing his studies. Alexander retired in 1982 and was honored as Pastor Emeritus; the church's multi-purpose room, Alexander Hall, still carries his name in tribute to his and his wife Betty's ministry. Today the church is part of the Presbytery of Elizabeth, within the Synod of the Northeast of the PCUSA.
Sunday Morning at Ten
Worship is held every Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in the main sanctuary. The service is designed for all ages: a nursery is available downstairs for children under five, and Sunday School for children and youth begins right after the children's message. On the first Sunday of every month, the congregation gathers for "Food on the First," a Communion service paired with a non-perishable food collection that goes to a local food pantry.
The church practices a blended worship style, mixing traditional hymns with contemporary songs - a direction that grew under interim pastor Rev. George Betz and has continued in the years since. Music is led by Director of Music Paul DiDario, a Juilliard-trained pianist and teacher who has served the congregation for twenty years, and by soprano Rebecca Pacella, the church's soloist since 2016, who also directs the New Key children's music program. Services are livestreamed on YouTube and shared on Facebook, with recordings available afterward for those who cannot be present.
Two Sacraments, an Open Table
Like all Presbyterians, Willow Grove recognizes two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is celebrated for both infants and adults, marking the person as belonging to God and as part of the covenant family of the church. The congregation does not re-baptize anyone who has already been baptized in another Christian tradition.
The Lord's Supper is an open table. Any baptized Christian who wishes to participate is welcome, and Communion is normally celebrated on the first Sunday of each month and on other special occasions throughout the church year. The church teaches that Christ is truly present in the bread and cup in a spiritual way, made real to the believer who receives the meal in faith. Worshipers prepare by confessing sin, seeking reconciliation with God and neighbor, and trusting in Christ for cleansing and renewal.
Confirmation, while not a sacrament, plays an important role. Around the age of thirteen, young people who were baptized as infants are mentored, taught, and given the chance to claim the Christian faith as their own.
Faith for Every Age
Christian formation at Willow Grove centers on a one-room Sunday School that has worked for many years with the "Feasting on the Word" curriculum published by the Presbyterian Church (USA). The class reads, discusses, and engages actively with the lectionary texts, and the group even managed to stay connected through Zoom during the pandemic.
Middle and high school students meet once a month on Sunday evenings for the Youth Group, sharing a meal, studying scripture, and planning local mission projects together. Adult education takes several forms: a Thursday morning Bible Study meets weekly in person and online, currently working through a series on the Book of Judges called "Faithful in an Unfaithful World," and an Adult Forum convenes throughout the year on a range of themes, led by members and guest teachers. Sister Circle gathers on the third Friday of each month, currently over Zoom, for an evening of informal conversation and mutual support.
The Stone Chapel and Its Bell
At the front of the 1.1-acre property sits the Lambert Stone Chapel, built in 1887 by local farmers from fieldstones and recently renovated with new lighting and air conditioning. Its original bell, donated by Dr. J. Ackerman Coles, still calls people to worship on Sunday mornings. A stained-glass memorial window honoring the Lambert family has been professionally restored, and the chapel, which seats about fifty, is now available for weddings, memorial services, small concerts, and community events.
For generations the chapel also served as a church-run nursery school. Today it stands as a reminder of Willow Grove's roots as a community Sunday school long before it became a Presbyterian congregation. A memorial window in the chapel was given by Rachel DeCamp in memory of her parents, Simeon and Freelove Lambert, the family that donated the land.
A Building Full of Neighbors
Willow Grove's building is in use seven days a week by community groups alongside the congregation itself. The air-conditioned Alexander Hall and spacious Ryno Hall host meetings, performances, and receptions. The Harvest Quilters of Central New Jersey meets there the first Monday of each month, sharing traditional and contemporary needle arts across generations. The Chinese American Music Ensemble, a children's and adult chorus founded in 1994, holds biweekly rehearsals and has performed concerts in the sanctuary.
Two church plants also call Willow Grove home. Triumphant Judah Praise Ministries, founded in 2021 by Pastor Bernard F. Johnson III, holds a Sunday service at 11:45 a.m. and a midweek Bible study, both livestreamed on Facebook. Enciende Una Luz (Be the Light), a Spanish-language Pentecostal mission started in 2024 by Pastors Marvin and Fiorella Menjivar, meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m., offering a Spanish-speaking church family for neighbors in the area.
The church's parking lot also hosts a year-round book donation bin in partnership with New Legacy Books, with used hardcover, paperback, and textbook volumes resold to support fundraising while keeping books out of landfills.
Mission Beyond the Walls
Mission is woven into the congregation's identity. The church's motto, "Reflecting God's love, we love and serve all neighbors," is taken seriously in practice. Each first Sunday, the food collected during worship is delivered to El Centro Hispanoamericano in Plainfield. Members regularly make sandwiches for the food pantry at St. Joseph Social Services in Elizabeth, and they participate in Souper Bowl Sunday and One Great Hour of Sharing, the PCUSA's disaster relief and hunger offering.
In 1986, Willow Grove was a founding member of the Union County Interfaith Hospitality Network, which later grew into Family Promise, a national organization serving families experiencing homelessness. The congregation also helped launch Refugee Assistance Partners of New Jersey (RAP), an ecumenical group that welcomes and aids refugees arriving in Union County. Each fall, members walk in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood CROP Walk to raise money against hunger and for clean water worldwide. The church's 2026 mission focus also includes supporting the local Crop Walk and continuing work with Family Promise.
What Presbyterians Believe
Willow Grove is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the branch of the Reformed tradition that traces its roots to the Protestant Reformation and the teachings of John Calvin and John Knox. The church is governed jointly by ministers and elected elders, who together form the Session that guides its ministry. The Session currently oversees Administration, Clerk, Legal and Finance, Mission, Spiritual Growth, Worship, and Congregational Life. A Pastoral Team, reinstated in 2019, assists the pastor with visitations, offering home communion, and calling members who cannot easily attend.
Reformed theology holds that the Bible is the unique and authoritative witness to God's self-revelation, and that salvation is by grace alone. Presbyterians emphasize that God reaches toward us in love before we are able to love God in return - which is why the church baptizes infants and why confirmation is offered later as a chance for young people to claim that grace for themselves.
Non-members are welcome to participate fully in the life of the church, with two exceptions: only members may vote in congregational meetings or hold church office. Everyone is welcome at worship, in classes, in mission, in fellowship, and around the Table during the Lord's Supper.
Meeting the Pastor and the Staff
Rev. Se Hyuk Park became the congregation's called pastor in July 2023. Born into a Presbyterian minister's family in Korea, he came to the United States in 2004, earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology in Atlanta with a focus on American Christian history, and served Korean American congregations in California and Washington State before coming to New Jersey. He is also a professional translator with more than thirty published books to his credit. He and his wife Eun Kyoung, married since 2004, have three children.
Pastor Park's office hours are 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Thursdays, and appointments can be arranged at other times by contacting the church office. The church secretary keeps the office open Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Audio and video for worship services, including the live stream, is managed by Ed Pacella, who began filming services during the early days of the pandemic and has developed the church's streaming system since.
A weekly online prayer meeting gathers on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. over Zoom, open to anyone who would like to join. The congregation's life together runs from Sunday school for the youngest children through Sister Circle and Adult Forum for older members, with the Stone Chapel - a building older than the church itself - still calling people to worship every Sunday morning.