The First Presbyterian Church of Levittown, located on Wantagh Avenue, will mark 50 years of dedicated service to the community with an all-day series of events Sunday Nov. 7.

The Reverend Roy F. Sharrett, pastor, said the celebration will begin with an 11 a.m. worship service in the church, followed by a display of pictures highlighting the church's history, an afternoon dinner for members and remarks by former pastors.

Members of the church, past and present, have been asked to send pictures to the church before Nov. 7. "We expect to line the walls of Fellowship Hall," Reverend Sharrett said. "We want to show how early members used their own hands to help build our facilities, and how, from the beginning, the church has been a significant factor, particularly with young people, in the civic life of the community."

The First Prebyterian Church has a long and rich history. In 1949 a petition to organize a church in South Levittown was signed by 369 people. The congregation met in the Old Jerusalem Road school house. Sunday school was taught in the teachers' homes.

The next milestone in the church's history was the purchase of the Rowell Farm at the present site on Wantagh Avenue. The property then consisted of a farmhouse and a market barn. While the barn was being converted into the church sanctuary, Sunday services were held at the Gardiner's Avenue School. The Reverend O. Thomas Miles became the first pastor the following year. Today that first sanctuary is a fellowship meeting place called Miles Hall.

By the end of 1951, the Sunday School enrollment had swelled to 150 to 350 and classes were still held at the Gardiner's Avenue School. The public schools were closed the following year to religious services and the new "barn" was insufficient to accommodate these classes. Church services and church school were placed on double sessions and every corner of the new sanctuary and old farmhouse was utilized. The Sunday School was placed on triple sessions by 1952.

The following year, the congregation resolved to prepare plans for a new building sufficient for the swelling number of members and children. By that time the congregation numbered 512 and the Sunday School roster listed 688.

In 1956 the new sanctuary was completed and Reverend John Callander was called as an assistant pastor. To provide adequate facilities for the church school and fellowship activities, a second building fund was begun to connect the new sanctuary to Miles Hall.

Members devoted many hours of hard work during the construction of the sanctuary, filling in where they could to assist the professionals doing such jobs as waxing and polishing the structural beams for the interior before they were put in place and installing wood panels in the chancel. This enormous participation by the members created a very strong and dedicated congregation, a spirit which lives on today.

Reverend Miles accepted another call the following year, and Reverend John Hendrickson came to the church in 1958 and was joined by Reverend Kermit Jones two years later.

The 1960s saw a decline in the birth rate and a leveling off of growth in the Levittown area. Upon completion of the education wing connecting the two existing structures to form a "U", it was no longer necessary to utilize the old farmhouse and it was razed. The space is occupied today as a playground for the weekday Nursery School.

Since 1965, the church has run a Nursery School whose purpose is to provide opportunities for the development of physical, emotional and spiritual growth of preschool age children. It was designed to be a community service and no religious curriculum is taught. Primary emphasis is furthering brotherhood, cooperation, becoming a good neighbor and teaching children to get along with each other.

The school began modestly in the home of one of the members, twice a week with four teachers. Soon the enrollment grew large enough to move to the basement of the sanctuary, where they utilized two rooms and had an enrollment of 35 children. Today the school occupies five rooms with an enrollment of around 200 children and 21 teachers who hold 14 classes a week. The school is one of the few that conduct hearing, speech and eye exams.

Reverend Jon Williams came to the congregation in 1964 after the previous minister had moved on. Two years later, Reverend Williams left to pursue his interest in psychology and Reverend Robert Wieman was chosen to replace him. The following year Reverend Murray Blackadar came to the church as an assistant pastor and later became the associate pastor. Reverend Wieman was the congregation's spiritual leader for 24 years until his retirement.

During the early years there were many issues that threatened to divide the community such as the Vietnam War, teachers' strikes, school budget problems, segregation, narcotics abuse, the nuclear freeze, etc. The members held a seminar on conflict handling. The church tried to provide forums so both sides of an issue could be heard. To this day the church opens its door to a variety of non-profit organizations such as 17 different Alcoholics Anonymous groups as well as Gamblers and Overeaters Anonymous, basketball and volleyball groups, and counseling center. The congregation has also had a longstanding relationship with its Boy Scout Troop.

Over the years the members have been active in many community service projects such as "Fish" program, the Levittown Interfaith Community Council, teen walk-in center, blood banks and housing for runaway/castaway teens.

Under the leadership of the associate pastor at the time, a group of members opened their homes to runaway and castaway teens. This eventually led to the establishment of "Walkabout," a home for boys with a clean record and no place to stay. Some of the congregation's members were active in the establishment of this project as well as in local youth programs and phone "hotlines." There was a Sunday night youth program at the church to which the young members were free to invite their friends from their neighborhoods.

Several of the congregation's young people have chosen to follow careers in the ministry or other social service fields.

The First Presbyterian Church of Levittown now has over 200 active members and 70 Sunday School students.

The church is proud of its accomplishments and will culminate its anniversary celebration on Nov. 7 with a special morning worship service, followed by a dinner to which every former member and former pastor will be invited. Meanwhile, the church has scheduled former pastors to be with them, each for a Sunday, during which they will lead the worship and be feted with a luncheon following services.