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Cedar Grove
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 History
of Community Church In the early winter of
1947, a small group of Cedar Grove residents met one Sunday morning at the home of Mrs.
Mary Mitchell MacEvoy to hold a worship service. As a result of this first meeting, we now
have the Cedar Grove Community Church.
The Church organized on November 2, 1947 and charter
membership closed November 7, 1948 when 173 people became members of the Congregational
Christian denomination. The first church services were held in the Chambers of the
Municipal Building until a house and land on the present site were purchased. The house
was subsequently moved to the rear of the property, where church services and activities
were held until our present sanctuary was built and dedicated on November 2, 1952. In
1958, Frazier Hall was completed.
Our denomination, The United Church of Christ, was formed
by a merger of the Congregational Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed
Church. Community Church is an open parish proceeding out of the Reformed wing of the
Protestant Reformation. The church has a strong history of community service and welcomes
all to its 10:00 am Sunday service. The present membership of this church is 347.
About Us
We are a member of the New Jersey Association and the Central
Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ.
The
Sunday School welcomes all children from babies through the eighth grade. They meet during
the 10:00 service in Frazier Hall and its surrounding classrooms. The teachers provide a
good curriculum, music, art and fellowship. They close each school year with a Church
School Sunday and Confirmation of our eighth grade class so that the adults can learn what
the children have been studying throughout the year.
Our worship and activities are open to all who are desirous
of following the teachings of Jesus Christ. We welcome all who worship with us and
cordially invite them to enjoy a fellowship hour in Frazier Hall immediately following
each Sunday worship service. It is a good place to meet old friends and find new ones.
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Groundbreaking Planned for Tonight
September 1, 1951
Today we will look at the time period from September 1, 1951 until March 24,
1952 when the Sanctuary Cornerstone was placed. Let’s step back to September
1, 1951. Construction of the Community church of Cedar Grove will be
launched with Community Spirit when Church members and town’s people join in
ground breaking ceremonies tonight at 7:00 PM. The church will be built on
property at the rear of the “Old Dusenberry House” at 65 Bowden, road, where
the congregation has met since its organization three years ago. The
Building was designed by Adams & Woodbridge, architects, of New York City.
The church is designed with simple lines. The rectangular edifice has an
exterior of brick and facing stone. Laminated beams and arches are unusual
architectural features of the interior. In addition to the church proper, it
will include four classrooms and a basement classroom. There will be a
balcony in the nave of the; Church and pews for 260 Worshipers with
additional room for a choir of 40. The building contract has been awarded to
Schoulder Construction Co, Newark. According to Rev. Donald L. Frazier,
pastor, the structure will be completed by early April. Five photographs
taken by Arthur Taylor are shown below. Left to right, the church with the
framing almost completed, Church office lower left Nostrum room on right,
and the back wall for the upper two class rooms. The room for the organ
pipes is not shown at this time. The middle picture shows the front of the
church, no roof, no steeple, and the Old Dusenberry House not ready to move.
The picture on the right is the back of the church showing the vestibule
with an entrance to the church office (classroom then) and steps down to the
furnace room and back rest room. Another rest room was located in the front
of the church down in the basement .class room. The bottom two pictures show
the Sanctuary Cornerstone getting ready to be placed on March 24, 1952 and
the church members looking on from the Old Dusenberry House (First Church).
Note the picture on the right with a person holding the metal box to go into
the corner stone while two others wait to place envelops into the box.
On March 24, 1952 The Sanctuary Cornerstone
was placed.
Nelson Woomer
Church Historian
Information From: The Verona Cedar Grove Times September 1, 1951, Record of
Progress 1947 to 1959 Compiled and Written by Margaret C, Anderson and
pictures by Arthur Taylor
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