A Community of Faith Since 1875
Mission and Vision
We are a caring, inclusive community that reflects God’s unconditional love by putting our faith into action.
Out of gratitude for all God’s Blessings: We aim to encourage openness and curiosity so people of all ages can explore and grow, wherever they are on their faith journey.
We seek to love our neighbors as ourselves by building relationships so all can experience God’s boundless love, acceptance, justice, and peace.
Our Story
Founded in 1875 as the First Presbyterian Church of Wyoming, our congregation began as a welcoming sanctuary for commuters and their families on the outskirts of New York City — and has been a beacon of light in Millburn for 150 years since.
Resilience defines our story. We weathered a decade without a regular pastor and nearly a year without a permanent home in our earliest days; rebuilt after a 1956 fire that spared only the steeple, earning us the name "The Church of the Lighted Tower"; mourned a member lost on 9/11, memorialized today in our church playground; and never missed a service through the COVID-19 pandemic, worshipping online and on the front lawn.
Mission outreach has been central to our identity since our founding, evolving with the needs of each era: aiding servicemen and refugees during WWII and Korea; joining the civil rights movement in the 1960s, when our pastors marched in Montgomery; serving seniors and literacy programs in the '70s and '80s; and since the '90s, a sustained focus on homelessness and food insecurity through bag lunches and Thanksgiving meals with House of Mercy Mission, sheltering families through Family Promise, and advocacy against slave labor and human trafficking through PC(USA) overtures.
The Pumpkin Patch, launched in 2002 to fund our mission work, became a beloved local tradition and even a symbol of hope during the pandemic, earning us our nickname, "the pumpkin church."
Today, Wyoming Church is a theologically progressive congregation known for hospitality and generosity, continuing to live out our faith in Jesus Christ by serving others, carrying forward a 150-year identity built on faith put into action for the vulnerable. We believe that we are called by Jesus Christ to live out our faith through the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. We strive to be a sanctuary where Christ’s love is felt, searching outwards and inwards to serve our brothers and sisters just as Jesus modeled servant leadership. We welcome the Word to transform our hearts as we foster education and discussion around social justice. Following the example of Jesus’ compassion, we seek to lessen the suffering of our neighbors experiencing food insecurity and homelessness through active collaboration with our mission partners.
Our Team
Rev. Beverly Friedlander
Rev. Beverly Friedlander (Ostrowski) comes to Wyoming Presbyterian Church having served seven churches as an interim pastor, two as temporary supply, and one as an associate pastor. She has also served as a healthcare chaplain and hospice bereavement services manager. Through these avenues, coping with change and grief have become aspects her ministry in offering her gifts of teaching, faith and knowledge. Beverly graduated from the University of Georgia and Columbia Theological Seminary.
Office Hours: 9:30 – 1:00 Tuesday – Friday and by appointment (for office or home visits)
bfriedlander@wyomingpresbyterian.org
Interim Pastor
Matt graduated from Muhlenberg College with a degree in neuroscience and in music, focusing on organ performance. He earned a master’s degrees in mathematics and in education and is currently studying in a philosophy program on ethics, epistemology, and mind.
If you are interested in becoming part of the amazing music ministry of the church, from voice to handbells to instruments, let Matt know! mattbalaban@wyomingpresbyterian.org
Director, Music MinistryMatt Balaban
Alethea Randazza
Alethea Randazza is the Director of Open Door Nursery School, a not-for-profit program established in 1973 by Wyoming Presbyterian Church. For over 50 years, Open Door has provided a positive, enriching experience for young children in our community.The school offers a variety of classes for 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds, with both half-day and full-day options.
To schedule a visit and see the school in action, please call 973-367-9303.For more information, visit our website at www.opendoornurseryschool.com
Director, Open Door Nursery School
Ebony Wiggins is the general music teacher/choral director at South Mountain Elementary School in South Orange. She is also the director/music director of the yearly school musicals there and hopes that all her experiences at South Mountain will help to enhance and enrich the spiritual lives of our children through music. To reach Ebony, email ewiggins@wyomingpresbyterian.org
Director, Children's MusicEbony Wiggins
Office Hours 9am – 1pm – Monday-Friday
For questions regarding Worship, current church activities, Stewardship, accounts payable, and Missions, please contact the office at 973-376-3066 ext 2 or by email at admin@wyomingpresbyterian.org
Office ManagerAnna Alaerts
SextonKevin Feron
Office Hours: Monday, Thursday & Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Sunday 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm
sextonwpc@gmail.com
What is a Presbyterian?
We affirm three things:
1. There is only one God, maker of heaven and earth;
2. Jesus Christ is Lord, by whom and through whom and for whom all things are created;
3. The Holy Spirit is eternally God in Christ at work in the world bringing about new creation.
We believe:
Jesus is the promised savior. His title is “Messiah,” or “Christ.” Christ was promised first to the people of God we know as Jews. We believe in the same God of Abraham, who is the forefather of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
We cannot buy or earn God’s saving grace. God simply loves and redeems us from sin and death. The churchy phrase is that we are justified by faith through grace. That is though we may do wrong, God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy make things, and us, right again.
We believe God is our only sovereign,
that God chooses people for salvation and service,
those people live in covenant with one another as God lives in covenant with us and all creation,
that evil and sin exist and cannot be ignored
therefore the covenant people are meant to care for the earth and all creatures, to seek justice, to seek peace.
Learn more at Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)