Church History

 

History of Saint Andrew Lutheran Church

Founded in 1965 as a "mission" congregation, Saint Andrew Lutheran Church initially worshiped in the gymnasium at Whippany School on Highland Avenue in Whippany.  By September 1968, the fledgling congregation broke ground, under the leadership of its first pastor, Rev. George Niedermayer, at its current location which once sat between woods and farmland. As the community of Parsippany-Troy Hills has grown, Saint Andrew has grown with it.

 

In 1994, Saint Andrew expanded by opening a state-of-the-art Christian Day Care Center,  Children's Circle. In 2005, we expanded the day care center and opened our new worship space.

 

The New Jersey Synod of the ELCA has rated Saint Andrew as a strong congregation.

 

Saint Andrew Lutheran Church is constantly looking to find ways to meet the worship and life needs of a community where social and economic pressures compete with the spiritual needs of a society under stress.

 

In 2015, St. Andrew will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. We are doing (at least) 50 projects to "Share Our Blessings" during this upcoming year.  Join us as we celebrate!

 

Previous Pastors

We honor our previous pastors and remember their contributions to Saint Andrew.

 
Rev. Patricia Olausen, July 1988 - June 2006

Pastor Pat served as Pastor of St. Andrew from July 1988 through June 2006.  Pastor Olausen resigned from St. Andrew after 18 years of exciting growth and development of congregational ministry and facilities.

 

During her tenure as pastor of St. Andrew, the church undertook to build and develop one of the area's first Christian day care centers, Children's Circle, which opened its doors in December 1994 and is highly regarded as a quality child care center in Morris County.  Under her leadership, the congregation also completed an expansion of the day care center and the construction of a new sanctuary in 2005.

 

Pastor Pat has a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from West Chester University in Pennsylvania.  She served on the Synod Council for the NJ Synod of the ELCA and its Outreach Mission Team.  She served two, three-year terms on the board of the Martin Luther Camp Corporation (Koinonia) and two, three-year terms on the Commission for Financial Support of the NJ Synod, plus one additional year as the Commission's Chair.  She served three years as the Central Mission Cluster Counselor for the NJ Synod.

 

She served as a leader for Girl Scout Troop 417 of the Morris Area Girl Scout Council for 11 years.  Prior to seminary, she served as the Director of Adult Services for the Monmouth County Girl Scout Council.

 

Rev. Patrick Magalee, April 1974 - October 1975

In April 1974, Rev. Magalee, a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church in Guyana, was elected to the staff of St. Andrew as "assistant to the pastor."  An Enlightener article in November 1975 notes his passing.

 
Rev. Richard Horn,  July 1971 - October 1987

The Board of American Missions sent Rev. Richard Horn to serve St. Andrew in July 1971 as a Board Missionary.  Rev. Horn had previously served as pastor in a 2-point parish, as an associate in an urban church, and in a 3-point parish (each in Pennsylvania) in the seven years prior to his arrival at St. Andrew.   A pastor's letter in an 1978 article of the church's newsletter, The Enlightener, he notes that the congregation had finally become an established and self-supporting congregation of the Lutheran Church in America.  Pastor Horn also served as a Parsippany Fire Chaplain.

 

Rev. George Niedermayer, May 1965 - Summer 1970

When the Lutheran Church in America's Board of Missions sought to plant a church in the Parsippany-East Hanover area, they sent mission developer Rev. George Niedermayer to get the ball rolling.  Pastor Niedermayer received pre-theological training at Wagner College and a Bachelor of Divinity from Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1964.

 

For a history of the ELCA  go to our What is the ELCA page >>

 

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