Sister Congregations Coming Together
Ewing Presbyterian Church and Covenant Presbyterian Church were located less than 3 miles apart. Members of the two congregations were neighbors. Beginning in the 1990’s, the two congregations interacted with each other more closely. As mentioned, the youth groups of the two congregations participated jointly in activities, including mission trips. The two congregations held joint worship services when one congregation’s pastor was on vacation or study leave. Members of the two congregations formed a single bell choir that would perform at each church on the same Sunday (made possible because of the different start times of the two worship services). From time to time, the vocal choirs from the two congregations also joined one another. Mission work was often done in coordination between the two congregations.
Ewing Church was actively defining what its future would be, and it had begun embarking on its new path forward. In 2018, the Futures Team (later renamed Visioning Team) was formed to prepare a Mission Study as the first step of moving toward forming a Pastor Nominating Committee.
In 2018, Covenant Church had contacted several local congregations regarding its interest in sharing space. However, only Ewing Church and West Trenton Presbyterian Church indicated an interest in pursuing this possibility. The Covenant congregation was split between joining with Ewing Church and joining with West Trenton Church. Later in the summer of 2018, Covenant proposed that it would like to jointly worship with Ewing Church, but that it would locate its office to West Trenton Church. A joint Ewing-Covenant Task Force was established to investigate the possible impact of the differences and similarities between the two congregations. After vacating the worship space in the cottage in November 2018, Covenant began to worship jointly with Ewing Church.
At a congregational meeting on March 31, 2019, the following recommendations made by the Covenant Presbyterian Church Session were presented for affirmation by the congregation: If the way be clear, (1) that the Ewing and Covenant Sessions request that the Presbytery of New Brunswick form an Administrative Commission to assist in the blending of the two congregations in a way that is the most efficient to share resources (i.e., blending of officers, committees, and financial assets); and (2) that the blended congregation will require one full time transitional pastor and one part time pastor for pastoral care. Both motions were eventually approved by unanimous vote by both congregations.
As would be expected, there were significant differences in culture and practices between the two congregations, but the relationship between members of the two congregations continued to develop in a positive manner. The jointly-worshipping congregations took on the name Ewing-Covenant Worshiping Community.
On June 28, 2020, the members of Covenant Church formally voted to dissolve the corporation, and Ewing Church members voted to accept the members and assets of the former Covenant Church. They select Ewing-Covenant Presbyterian Church as the temporary name for the blended congregation. It should be noted that the dissolution of Covenant Church and the creation of Ewing-Covenant Presbyterian Church took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, when worship services were entirely remote. Thus, members celebrated and grieved in solitude via Zoom.
The subsequent eighteen months were devoted to details of renaming and merging bank accounts and restarting the process of preparing a Mission Study. To this purpose, the former Futures Team was reactivated and expanded to include members from the former Covenant Church. The team was renamed as the Visioning Team to indicate that it was a new team with a new purpose. After a series of congregational dialogues, the Visioning Team developed a new Vision Statement and Mission Statement; these each were approved by Session and supported by the congregation.
The Transitional Pastor retired on July 31, 2021 and his replacement resigned in January 2022. In consultation with the Committee on Ministry and the Stated Clerk of the Presbytery, the Session of Ewing-Covenant Church decided to proceed with the completion of its Mission Study and form a Pastor Nominating Committee. An appointed Moderator of Session and a series of pulpit supply preachers would support the congregation until a new pastor was called. In March 2022, after a long discernment process that included input from the members of the congregation, the Session voted to select Ewing Covenant Presbyterian Church (no hyphen) as the permanent new name for the congregation. On September 11, 2022, the congregation voted in the 7-member slate recommended by Session to serve on the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC). The PNC represents the whole congregation and is elected by the congregation, having the ultimate responsibility for nominating a minister to the congregation for election as the next pastor.
The blended congregations support programs that benefit the community. These include multiple Twelve-Step groups and office space for Signs of Sobriety. We also support a quoits league in its specially-constructed Quoits Hut, and remains one of the few active quoits venues in the region. Finally, in addition to our own Senior Citizens program, we hosted ROAM (Regional Older Adult Ministries) and provided office space to ECHO (Energetic Citizens Helping Others) until they shut down in mid-2022.
We look forward with joy to continuing our united history into the future!