ENGLISHTOWN – The Rev. Dean Overholser, the new pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Englishtown, 50 Main St., will take the opportunity to meet and greet the community at large at the Autumn in Englishtown Family Festival to be held in Sanford Park on Oct. 6.
Previously, Overholser, 66, was the pastor of the North Riverside Community Presbyterian Church, North Riverside, Ill. He was formally installed as the permanent pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in June. He succeeded the Rev. Diedre Thomson who served as interim pastor for three years.
“The people in the congregation have been very friendly here and I hope to meet more people from the community at the fair,” said Overholser. “I think this area is very rich in history and is centrally located to be near the ocean, the mountains and the cities, such as New York.”
Overholser becomes the 21st minister of the church that was organized in 1860 and had its building completed in 1865. The first regular service was held in December 1876. At present, the congregation has about 75 members.
Overholser, who is a native of Chicago, said increasing the number of congregants, especially the youth, will be on his agenda.
“Also, I would like to have a social outreach and have educational programs open to the congregation and the public,” he said. “We would like to part of the community as a historic church in a historic community.”
Overholser, an avid sports fan, said he is loyal to his home teams.
“While I like the local teams,” he said, “my heart is with the Chicago Bears, Bulls and White Sox.”
At the Autumn in Englishtown Family Festival, the First Presbyterian Church will have a table and provide information about its activities. Handmade prayer shawls will be displayed for sale.
“These are knitted or crocheted shawls that the makers say prayers or make good intentions as they are making the stitches,” said Judi Thompson, who has been making the shawls for about four years. “You can buy them and give them to people who are sick or in need of encouragement.”
Thompson, who is an elder on the church’s administrative Session Committee and a member of the pastor nominating committee, has been a member of the congregation since 1988.
“I am happy to have our own pastor now,” she said. “It’s hard to have a guest pastors. A permanent pastor will give stability to the church.”
Some scheduled upcoming events at the church, Thompson said, include a pot luck supper with an offering to help end world hunger, the annual community turkey supper and a Blue Christmas service for people suffering grief from the loss of a loved one during the holiday season.
For more information about the activities and services at the First Presbyterian Church of Englishtown, call (732) 446- 9506.
– Patricia Yoczis