History

The Juniata Valley Shared Ministry came into existence in 2016. 5 Churches which were either without pastoral leadership, were about to be without it, or were being served in a part time capacity, met with the Presbytery of Carlisle at Highland United to discuss ways to move forward.

From that initial meeting, 3 of the 5 continued discussions to envision what a Shared Ministry might look like. The three, the Presbyterian Church of Perry Valley, Westminster United Presbyterian Church, and Highland United Presbyterian Church found a path forward. PCPV was being served by a bi-vocational pastor, who decided to take a chance. Rev. McClure retired from her teaching position at Greenwood School District to focus the last chapter of her ministry on The Juniata Valley Shared Ministry.

A Steering Committee was formed of Members of each of the three Sessions to guide and liaison with the Churches as we began to become 3 churches, but one family. Joint worship services, meals together, joint bible study, a new photo directory, a joint choir, handbells playing in all three churches, and assisting each other with projects which had previously been run by one church only helped us to get to know each other better.

The JVSM was off and running!

Eventually, our friends of Perry Valley came to the realization that they, despite the advantages of the Shared Ministry, were not able to sustain a ministry. Their Legacy Path celebrated the history of the church and because of the Shared Ministry, made moving memberships to either Highland United or Westminster United easier because we knew each other. PCPV closed.

Now, HUPC and WUPC continue on. At the top of this page, click on the down arrow beside HISTORY for more history of each.