About Us

Who we are...

Parkside Community Church (formerly known as the Westwood Reformed Church) has been an integral part of the Westwood community since first opening its doors in 1868. We are a member of the Reformed Church in America (http://rca.org) which is the oldest protestant denomination in the United States. As old as our roots may be, however, Parkside Community Church is anything but old fashioned! We are a small but tight-knit community of believers who are committed to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, studying his powerful word and enjoying the fellowship of coming together in dynamic worship each week. Our services are meant to inspire, comfort, challenge and awaken us to the many possibilities that exist when we make God the center of our lives.

Meet the Pastor

Hi and thank you for checking out our Website. My name is Rodney Haveman and I have been the pastor of Parkside Community Church since August, 2001.

My wife Jennifer (we call her Jen) and I moved here from Grand Rapids, Michigan shortly after I graduated from Western Theological Seminary. We have since had two children, Ethan and Grace.

Since coming to New Jersey, I have been active in the Westwood Clergy Council as well as serving in leadership positions in our local RCA Classis.

Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am a huge sports fan and that I am especially passionate about baseball (Go Tigers)! I also love reading, writing and seeing great movies that stimulate great conversation.

I believe that faith is a journey. It is a pilgrimage with God and the people of God to our Home. Our Home is with God, in the Kingdom of God. As pilgrims we are gathered and cared for by God, united on that journey, always looking with the eyes of faith for Home, the Kingdom of God. As such, our faith, that journey, may call us within the walls of the church, but that is not Home. The church is not the goal. Home is. And Home is the Kingdom of God.

So, what is the Kingdom of God? A simple answer: “the Kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit breaking into the world with the grace and love of God through Jesus Christ.” We see this happening in church, and that is why the journey takes us there, but we also see it in our homes, and our neighborhoods, our places of employment and our schools. And our faith journey takes us to all these places looking for glimpses of Home, serving and loving so that our Home with God may flourish in the world.

I invite you to come to our church, not to “find God” but draw closer to the Kingdom through a profound relationship with Jesus Christ. In the meantime, please feel free to drop me an email if you have questions about our church or would like more information. I can be reached at pccwestwood@gmail.com.

Grace and Peace in Christ, Pastor Rodney

The Consistory

The three offices of minister of Word and sacrament, elder, and deacon are brought together in the consistory.

As the liturgy states, by gathering the three offices, “the consistory continues the full ministry of Christ in our day.”

This gathering of officers is the governing body of the congregation and is chosen periodically from the membership of the congregation.

It is responsible for all the spiritual and practical day-to-day affairs of the church.

The minister is always the president of the consistory.

While it usually meets together, the consistory is divided into two orders. One order is that of the elders. Elders are responsible for sound teaching and discipline within the church and for the spiritual well being of the congregation. The elders are to make sure that members are nurtured through Scripture, worship, the sacraments, and prayer.

The other order in the consistory is that of the deacons.

Deacons play a key role in moving their churches into missions of justice, mercy, and compassion. They focus on six key areas of concern: