Middlebush Reformed Church
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Middlebush Reformed Church, known as "the church with the red doors", is located at 1 South Middlebush Road at the corner of Amwell Road in the Middlebush section of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.[1][2] It is the fourth oldest church in Franklin Township.[3][4] It was organized in 1834,[5][6][7] and the New York Times noted their first church was built in Colonial times and was one of the landmarks of the region.[8] The church is a contributing property of the Middlebush Village Historic District that was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 24, 2007.[9]
The church is a part of the Reformed Church in America.
History
It was organized by Dutch settlers on March 19, 1834 in the Colonial Farms area of what is now Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey.[10] The initial three member committee included the first Reverend of the church Jacob Schultz.[11] The settlers had "migrated from Manhattan Island seeking more tillable land".[12] Residents were previously traveling to Reformed churches in Hillsborough, New Jersey; Franklin Park, New Jersey; or New Brunswick.[13] The few Dutch families initially met in a barn "in what is now O'Connor's Beef 'N Chowder House on Amwell Road" owned by the Voorhees family.[10] One descendant, Mary Amanda Voorhees, "Miss Amanda", later served as the church's organist for forty-five years.[7] "[S]ervices continued there until 1835, when the white frame church was completed".[10] Jacob I. Schultz (1792-1852), the pastor at Whitehouse Station, New Jersey and Lebanon, New Jersey was contacted. The new church building was dedicated on February 19, 1835.[14] The final cost was $3,989.[3] Schultz was formally installed as pastor on December 30, 1835.
Lightning destroyed the church building on July 2, 1917,[10] the New York Times noted part of the furniture was saved and the loss was estimated at $50,000.[8] Congregation members who lived nearby rescued furniture and the church membership book. A kerosene lamp was saved, and is currently hanging in the church.[10][13] Planning for the new building at the same site started immediately but construction was delayed by World War I.[7] The Gothic revival building was rebuilt using stone from the Martinsville, New Jersey quarry.[7][13] The church was rededicated in 1919.[7]
In 1972 the church set up a "mini" school.[15]
In 2003 the church started a living nativity which includes four readings from the Bible and ends with the adoration of the magi.[16][17] The annual Christmastime event includes "costumed characters, live animals and carollers".[16]
The church celebrated their 175th anniversary in 2009.[13] They buried and sealed a time capsule to be opened at the congregation's 200th anniversary in 2034, 25 years later.[5]
Pastors
Pastors have included the following:[4]
- Jacob I. Schultz (1792-1852), 1834-1837[11][18]
- John Addison Van Doren, 1838-1865[11][18][19]
- George Swain (pastor), 1866-1868[11]
- Stephen L. Mershon, 1869–1874
- James Le Fevre, 1875-1902[20]
- John A. Thomson (pastor), 1902-1920 [18][21][22]
- Frank A. Langwith, 1921-1926[23]
- Harold W. Nelson, 1926-1928[18][24]
- Russell W. Shepherd, 1928-1930[18]
- Marinus Den Herder, 1931-1932[18]
- Cornelius Van Leeuwen, 1934-1937[18]
- Frank A. Langwith, 1937–1948
- David W. Jenks, student, 1949-1952 [18][25]
- Vernon L. Dethmers, 1952-1960[18]
- Charles B. Bridgman, 1961-1973[18]
- Ronald L. VanderBeek, 1974-1986[18][26]
- John J. Arnone, assistant, 1981–1982
- Gerald L. Vermilye, interim, 1986
- Taylor Holbrook, 1986-1998[18][27][28]
- Ross Rettig, 1999-2001[18][29]
- George Montanari, 2002-current [18][30]
Notes
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- ↑ Directory of churches in New Jersey, Volumes 14-21, New Jersey Historical Records Survey Project, 1941.
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b "Lightning Destroys Historical Church", New York Times, 4 July 1917.
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- ↑ a b c d Richard Holloway Steele, Historical discourse delivered at the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Reformed Dutch Church, New Brunswick, N.J., October 1, 1867, pp. 27, Published by the Consistory, 1867.
- ↑ Words from Wes: Through Tradition into Mission at Middlebush Reformed Church Reformed Church Press, 23 March 2009.
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b "Church in Franklin to host annual living Nativity"Script error: No such module "Unsubst"., Mary Ann Bourbeau, MyCentralJersey.com (combined website of Home News Tribune and Courier News), 4 December 2009.
- ↑ "Living Nativity being staged in Somerset", MyCentralJersey.com (combined website of Home News Tribune and Courier News), 5 December 2008.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ Rossiter Johnson, John Howard Brown, The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Volume 6, The Biographical Society, 1904.
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Further reading
- Centennial historical account of the Middlebush Reformed Church, Middlebush, N.J., 1834-1934. Middlebush Reformed Church (N.J.), 1934.
- Historical discourse delivered at the semi-centennial anniversary of the Reformed Church of Middlebush, N.J. James Le Ferve, Daily and Weekly Home News Printing House, 1884.
- Favorite recipes of the Middlebush Reformed Church, Middlebush Reformed Church (N.J.), Cookbook Publishers, 1978.
- Writings on American history: Volume 38 of Carnegie Institution of Washington publication Annual report (American Historical Association), KTO Press, 1938.
- The Churches speak on--women's ordination: official statements from religious bodies and ecumenical organizations, J. Gordon Melton, Gary L. Ward, The Churches speak series, Gale Research, 1991, 0810376474, 9780810376472.
- Historical discourse delivered at the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Reformed Church of Middlebush, N.J., John A. Thomson, Published by the Consistory, 1909.
- Historical discourse on occasion of the centennial anniversary of the Reformed Dutch Church of Millstone, Edward Tanjore Corwin, J.J. Reed, Printer, 1866.
- Pre-revolutionary Dutch houses and families in northern New Jersey and southern New York, Rosalie Fellows Bailey, Holland Society of New York, Dover Publications, 1968.
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Churches in Somerset County, New Jersey
- Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
- Reformed Church in America churches in New Jersey
- Religious organizations established in 1834
- Gothic Revival church buildings in New Jersey
- Historic district contributing properties in New Jersey
- 1834 establishments in New Jersey
- National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey
- 20th-century Reformed Church in America church buildings
- Stone churches in New Jersey
- Churches completed in 1919