FPCN Celebrates Installation of Rev. Dr. Anette Westermark as Pastor on Sun. Mar. 15

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 4, 2015
CONTACT: First Presbyterian Church of Newtown (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 718-639-3126)

(ELMHURST, N.Y.) The First Presbyterian Church of Newtown (FPCN), the fourth oldest Presbyterian church in the United States and the oldest Presbyterian church in New York City, will celebrate the installation of the Rev. Dr. Anette Inger Westermark as its 31st pastor in a special service in the church's historic sanctuary on Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 4:00 PM.

The Rev. Dr. Anette Westermark will be our church's 31st pastor. Right-click on the image above for a high-resolution photo. (Photo: Mindy Pastrovich)

The Rev. Krystin Granberg, moderator of the Presbytery of New York City, will preach the sermon at the installation service. Ministers and elders of several ethnicities from all five boroughs of New York City will also participate in the service, reflecting the diversity of both the congregation and the presbytery. The presbytery is the local governing body of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

"I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful congregation. I look forward to continuing God’s work in the lively community of Elmhurst," said Pastor Anette.

"The Presbytery of New York City welcomes this articulate, passionate clergywoman to lead a witness long established in Queens that brings hope to people from across the globe," said the Rev. Dr. Robert Foltz-Morrison, executive presbyter of the Presbytery of New York City.

"Pastor Anette spreads her joy to everyone around her. Her ecumenical background and personal experience as an immigrant will strengthen our spiritual work in our diverse neighborhood," said Elder Bobson Wong, chair of FPCN's Pastoral Nominating Committee, which conducted an extensive national search for the congregation's new pastor.

Pastor Anette will also lead FPCN's Sunday morning worship service at 10:45 AM in the sanctuary on March 15.

About Pastor Anette

Pastor Anette was most recently a temporary supply pastor for the First Presbyterian Church in Litchfield, Illinois.  She was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Cobden, Illinois, a small-town church of about 80 members, for nine years. She was director of pastoral care at the 300-member Sunrise Presbyterian Church in Miami, Florida. Before being ordained in 2004 as a Presbyterian minister, Pastor Anette did her pastoral internship at the First Presbyterian Church of Miami, Florida. She has experience in lay ministry as well, having served as a missionary in Cyprus for five years.

Pastor Anette has associate's degrees in social studies and human resources (Stockholm, Sweden) and pastoral ministry (New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Miami, Florida). She has a bachelor's degree in Biblical studies from Trinity International University (Miami, Florida), a master of divinity from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (Columbia, South Carolina), and a doctor of ministry degree from the Florida Center of Theological Studies in Miami, Florida. In addition, Pastor Anette has four units of clinical pastoral education from Jackson Memorial Hospital (Miami, Florida).

An immigrant herself (having moved here from her native Sweden in 1993), Pastor Anette understands firsthand the challenges that many people in Elmhurst face. She has a diverse ecumenical background. She is proficient in Swedish, English, modern Greek, Spanish, French, Hebrew, and Norwegian. She has worked with other denominations with whom the PC(USA) is in full communion, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church. Last year, Pastor Anette completed six weeks of continuing education at the personal invitation of the Bishop of the Stockholm City Synod of the Swedish Church.

Pastor Anette and her husband Kaj, have a son, Clint.

About the Search Process

FPCN's search for a new pastor began with the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Louis L. Knowles as its interim pastor in 2012. Under the direction of the congregation's session (board of ruling elders and ministers), FPCN wrote a mission study to determine its needs. In 2013, the congregation elected a Pastoral Nominating Committee consisting of seven church members to conduct an extensive national search based on the criteria specified by the congregation.

The search process culminated with a special meeting in November 2014 in which the congregation voted to call Pastor Anette as its next pastor.

About the Church

The First Presbyterian Church of Newtown is one of the oldest and most ethnically diverse congregations in the United States. It traces its origins to the town church set up by English settlers who in 1652 founded a village which for most of its existence, became known as Newtown. They bought all the land of western Queens from native Americans in installments over two years. The church's first pastor, the Rev. John Moore, was an ancestor of Clement Clark Moore, who wrote "’Twas the Night Before Christmas."

FPCN was an early advocate of religious and political freedom. In 1681, church members petitioned the state government to be exempt from the tax leveled on all to pay a minister's salary since it wasn't fair to people who did not agree with the minister's preaching. Under the English Governor Edward Hyde (Lord Cornbury), the church's pastor was driven out and replaced by an Anglican pastor who could only come once a month. When church members asked Presbyterian ministers Rev. Francis Makemie and John Hampton to preach twice a month, Cornbury imprisoned them. Rev. Makemie later went on to become a founder of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. During the Revolutionary War, church members supported the American cause even though the British took over the church building and used it as a prison and guard house before tearing it down.

FPCN has been Presbyterian since 1715, when it received a charter from the Presbytery of Philadelphia and became the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown. (This year, the church will celebrate the 300th anniversary of its joining the Presbyterian Church. FPCN still owns the church record book that dates from 1715.)

The church's current brown stone sanctuary, FPCN’s fifth church building, dates from 1895. It features stained glass by Benjamin Sellers and William Ashley, both artisans from Tiffany & Co. brought from England. The building was moved south 100 feet in 1924 in order to widen Queens Boulevard. The church is listed on both the Presbyterian National Historical Sites and the National Register of Historic Places.

Under the leadership of the Rev. Charles L. Sorg, who served from 1965 to 1992, FPCN became the spiritual home of people from over 40 nations as Elmhurst became one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the country. Today, the church continues to celebrate its history and diversity.

FPCN is located at 54-05 Seabury Street, on the corner of Queens Boulevard and 54th Avenue in Elmhurst. More information about FPCN is available on the church web site: http://fpcn.org .

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