HEALING SPIRITS. NURTURING CHILDREN. SERVING COMMUNITIES. SINCE 1877.
ABOUT US
The Presbyterian Factor
Although the Presbyterian Children's Village was founded by a group of Presbyterian women, it is not an agency of the Presbyterian Church USA, nor does it receive direct financial support from Presbyterian Church USA. The Village is supported by public and private funds, including gifts from individuals, foundations, corporations, and many area congregations.
Healing through Spiritual Guidance and Ministry
The Village serves clients without regard to religious affiliation and without a proselytizing mission; nevertheless, there is an attitude of Christian mission in the delivery of services. The Village employs a full-time chaplain who works alongside case workers and professional staff to meet the needs of many troubled youth and their families. Chaplain Eric Martens likes to remind our youth that they are not alone. He incorporates chapel services, music, videos, and individual and group counseling into his chaplaincy, linking the children to the home faith community of their choice. Children participating in this ministry do so voluntarily. (No public funds support the chaplaincy.)
Meet Chaplain Eric Martens - Chaplain Eric Martens is originally from upstate New York. He received his BA (cum laude) in religion from Houghton College in 2003 and his Masters of Divinity from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 2008. He previously worked as a resident chaplain at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
In his work with teens in the residential program, he provides spiritual assessment, voluntary spiritual counseling, values groups, and worship services sensitive to all religious affiliations. He also provides support for families who receive other services, including those in foster care and those considering becoming foster or adoptive parents. Additionally, he provides community outreach, available to speak to churches, organizations, and others, in regards to the organization’s mission, the needs of children, and opportunities to partner with PCV.
Chaplain Martens can be contacted at 610-520-1418 or emartens@pcv.org.
These chapel windows were originally in the Village facility when it was at 58th and Kingsessing streets in Southwest Philadelphia from the 1880s until 1960. They were carefully transferred to the Rosemont campus at that time for installation in the new chapel. The windows were originally donated by Catherine L. Haddock, the first President of the Village, 1878-1898. They are made of American Opalescent glass, which was invented in the mid-1800's by John LaFarge. This glass became popular in the late 19th century when Louis Tiffany of the famed Tiffany Studios in New York began using it extensively.
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