Our purpose is to be a loving
community,
finding its greatest joy learning to live God’s way.
Our Goal
We strive to be a diverse and LOVING community
gladly REACHING out to the world in Jesus’ name
as we discover the great joy of LIVING God’s way.
Our Core Values
Loving God, one another, and God’s children of all ages and kinds, we
Lift our hearts to pray and praise and worship God,
Offer encouragement to one another,
Value our children and youth, and
Extend God’s love and grace to others.Reaching beyond our walls and our comfort zones, we
Respect differences,
Eagerly share the joy we’ve found in Jesus,
Accept the wisdom others offer us,
Care about needs in our neighborhood and around the world, and
Have a welcoming heart.Living our faith in the church and world
with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love, we
Let the wind of the Spirit fill our sails,
Imagine what God can do through us,
Visualize others through Jesus’ eyes, and
Eagerly seek to learn, love, live and serve.
We understand and believe that…
- God loves us. God intends for us to reflect the love we have received
by loving one another as God has loved us.- God intends all people and all things to work together for good.
We all have gifts and roles that should be used for the common good.Therefore, God calls us…
- to love and respect one another
- to use holy manners
- to work together for good
- to use conflict constructively
- to let the light of God shine in dark places
- to bear the fruits of the Spirit
- to forgive
- to pray
- to grow
- to encourage
- to strive for excellence
This is the preamble from the biblically-based covenant that guides our life together at Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church. To read the entire covenant, click here
Covenant for Christian Life at Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church
Our leadership style
Pastor Laurel is the minister to the congregation, but the leadership comes from the people of the church. The congregation elects “elders” who they trust will listen for God’s voice and lead the church in God’s way to serve on the session, which makes the major decisions for the church. They also elect “deacons” who have shown gifts of caring, compassion, and service. The Deacons minister to those who are in need or distress within or beyond this community of faith. “Trustees” with skills and knowledge about buildings, property, grounds, and finance are elected to oversee the practical needs of this church. Many others lead the church through their work in non-elected roles.
Our Church Leaders
These are our elected leaders.
Elders: Tom Agosta (on sabbatical) Ian Cairl Facilitator Ed Dicker Worship & Christian Education Jean Reiff Mission Robin Stier Evangelism Trish Wartluft Clerk, Small Groups
Deacons: Dawn Blazier Secretary Robin Cairl Coffee Hour/Treasurer Marge Garrison Moderator Doug Lehnert Transportation Carol Negri Cards/Caring Table Karen Ruck Flowers/Food Pantry Amanda Ruck Youth Jackie Spit Crisis meals/Prayer Chain
Trustees: Bill Campbell Financials Dave Christy Stewardship Rich Hyer Clerk/Building Gill Lawrence Grounds/Equipment Kyle Miller Stewardship Jeff Wartluft Moderator/Neighborhood
Our Pastor: the Rev. Laurel Underwood Brundage
When Pastor Laurel U. Brundage was ordained into ministry, she promised to serve God’s people with “energy, intelligence, imagination and love.” She pours her energy into providing living and lively service to God’s people, boldly sharing the joyful gospel news while sharing a vital faith that richly blends her heart and mind. She is committed to biblical, theological and spiritual growth in her own life and the lives of the people she serves. The spirit feeds her imagination with dreams and visions of what God might have planned for this church. She believes the love of Jesus should be visible through the people of this church and through her and that we all should have an open-hearted compassion for one another, for the community, and for the world around us.
Pastor Laurel was a musician long before she was a pastor, and she still enjoys using these gifts when the opportunities arise. She and her husband, Steve (both second career Ministers) attended Princeton Theological Seminary together, graduating in the mid 90’s. They served two churches as co-pastors before Laurel came to Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church in 2002. Steve is serving as an interim Pastor in the area. They have three adult children: Bonnie (married to Tim) is a nurse, James is a computer programmer and entrepreneur and Amy is studying economics.
With the nest empty at home, Pastor Laurel is glad to have found a wonderful home at PVPC. She feels blessed to be a part of a Family of God in which love abounds and is received with grace and given with generosity.
Pleasant Valley Presbyterian Church began in April of 1991 with the dream of a few people. The core group had grown to about sixty people by September 8, when the first worship service was held at the West End Fire Hall. About half were “baby boomers;” the rest were West-Enders of all ages who were looking for a church closer to their residences. The Rev. Jeffrey Arnold was called as the founding pastor.
It soon became apparent that the space required for our worship services, Sunday School, and other activities would quickly outgrow the capacity of the Fire Hall. First Presbyterian Church of Stroudsburg, which saw the need for a Presbyterian church in the fast growing West End of Monroe County, purchased land on Rt. 209 for a new church location. Although that lot proved unbuildable, it enabled us to purchase a 26-acre farm on Rt. 115 across from the Pleasant Valley Middle School. After reserving plenty of land for our immediate and future use, we sold the extra land. That financed the building of our church home, even after we “tithed” one lot, giving it to the Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network.
Ground was broken for the new church after worship in May 1992. Our congregation did most of the building with our own hands, working as co-builders with Rich Buchert (a church member and builder) and his two sons. The first worship service in the new building was held with an overflow crowd on December 6, 1992. Smiles of happiness mingled with tears of joy that Christmas when we sang carols in a candle-lit circle around a huge Christmas tree in the spacious narthex which today is our sanctuary space.
Important priorities from the beginning were mission, small group ministries, and “bridge building.” Bridge building is our outreach to the community, often in the form of free gifts that reflect God’s love freely given. Members lead small groups that vary in content (including Bible study, service, support and fellowship). Our mission history includes a special relationship with Romania, where we’ve supported an orphanage ministry, established a thrift shop, and now have a church to church partnership with a Hungarian Reformed Church congregation in Erczentkirály. PVPC members traveled to Romania as far back as 1994 and as recently as 2003. Other church members have traveled to Honduras at their own expense to rebuild homes destroyed by a devastating hurricane and more recently in service with Youth for Christ.
In August of 1997, Jeff Arnold left PVPC to accept a call to another Presbyterian Church. Since then, David Ross served as interim pastor until Robert Stier came in September of ‘98 and stayed until January 2001. Harry Clark was the part-time interim minister until October, 2002, when the congregation elected our current pastor, the Rev. Laurel Brundage.
We are blessed with a building that is fully paid for, a small but flexible space that serves both us and the community. Our church is surrounded by lovely “green space” that includes a memorial garden and a field used by the Little League and the West End Soccer League. We have room to host community picnics and room to grow.
Our people are our most precious resource. They are active and committed, each person contributing whatever they can of their time, their talents, and their finances to the work of Jesus Christ through this church.
These days, we are feeling again the need for more space to accommodate our worship, Christian education, and activities. Through times of struggle and in periods of growth and prosperity, PVPC has been faithful to God. Our deepest desire is to be true to the plan that God has for us. Through it all, we have been a fellowship of Christians who are not afraid to show our love for God and for each other with hugs, service, consideration, and love as stated in the purpose of our church:Our purpose is to be a loving community,
finding its greatest joy learning to live God’s way.
