Second Reformed Church Hackensack

Summary

The Second Reformed Church of Hackensack is a church in Hackensack, New Jersey, located at the intersections of Anderson, Union and Ward Streets. The church is a member of the Reformed Church in America.[1][2][3] Some of Louis Comfort Tiffany's favorite stained glass windows are at the church. Tiffany would bring clients to the church to help them select from the church's broad designs. There are 10 Tiffany windows ranging in design from realistic styles to impressionistic styles.[4]

Second Reformed Church Hackensack
Map
General information
Address436 Union St
Town or cityHackensack
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°53′31″N 74°02′28″W / 40.891869°N 74.041042°W / 40.891869; -74.041042
GroundbreakingJune 21, 1908
OwnerReformed Church in America

History edit

The congregation was created on October 31, 1855.[5] The first services were held in the First Reformed Dutch Church, Hackensack. The building was erected starting on July 30, 1856, on the corner of State and Berry Streets. The land had been donated by Maria Berry and her family. The cornerstone was laid by Reverend John Knox from Manhattan, New York City. The construction was completed in 1857.[6]

This first building was destroyed in a fire on April 15, 1907. The church had just celebrated its 50th anniversary of its completion the previous month. They had made their last mortgage payment. The fire started at a nearby carpenter's shop. The interior of the church had just been redecorated.[7]

The cornerstone of the present church building was laid on June 21, 1908. The building had a parsonage that has been sold. The church is constructed of native field stones from the stone walls of nearby farms. In 1965 an administrative wing was added to the church.[1]

In 1991 the New Community Church of Teaneck was merged into the Second Reformed Church.

Pastors edit

The pastors are as follows:[2]

Pastor Term start Term end Notes
James Demarest 1856 1863 He was born in 1832. He died in 1913.[6][8][9]
George H. Fisher 1864 1870 [6]
Cyrus Bervick Durand 1871 1883 He was born on July 27, 1836, in Manhattan, New York City, to Cyrus Durand and Phoebe Wade. He attended Rutgers University from 1854 to 1858, A. B., 1858; A. M., 1862. He attended the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, B.D., 1862. In 1863 he married Sarah Merrereau; children, Jennie, Juliet. He became the pastor of the Reformed Church in Preakness, New Jersey, from 1863 to 1868; the Reformed Church in Boonton, New Jersey, from 1868 to 1871; the Reformed Church in Hackensack from 1871 to 1882 or 1883; Assistant rector Calvary Episcopal Church, New York, from 1882 to 1885. He was rector of the St. James Church in Newark, New Jersey, from 1885 to at least 1900.[10]
Arthur Johnson 1884 1923
John Charles Rauscher 1923 1945 He was born on 1 March 1873 in Corona, Queens. He was previously at the Twelfth Street Reformed Church in Brooklyn, New York City.[11]
Harvey B. Hoffman 1945 1961
Daniel Y. Brink 1962 1969
Robert A. Phillips 1969 1970 He was an associate pastor.
Edwin G. Mulder 1970 1976 He was the general secretary of the Reformed Church in America from 1983 to August 31, 1994. He graduated from the Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, in 1954.[12][13]
David H. Manting 1976 1979 He was an associate pastor.
Jack K. White 1980 1988
Jon N. Norton 1989 1995 He served three churches: Fort Lee, New Jersey, Hackensack, New Jersey, and Spring Valley, New York. He was the executive minister of the Reformed Church in America Synod of New York.[14]
Dennis B. Wilcox 1995 2012 He was born on July 27, 1945, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He married Carol Lynn Kolkman of Grandville, Michigan, in 1966. He attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and graduated in 1967. Dennis was ordained by the Classis of North Grand Rapids in June 1971. He was then the pastor of the Peace Reformed Church in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. From August 1975 until July 1982, he served as the pastor of the Calvary Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan. In August 1982, he became pastor of the Central Reformed Church in Sioux Center, Iowa. In January 1995, he became the Pastor of the Second Reformed Church in Hackensack, New Jersey. He also serves as the chaplain of the Hackensack Fire Department. In May 2003, he was named as a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development by the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey.[15]

Windows edit

The Second Reformed Church is famous for its Tiffany glass windows.[16] One example is The Angels of Praise, a large window that was part of the 1893 International Exhibition in Chicago.[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "The Story of our Church". Second Reformed Church Hackensack. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  2. ^ a b "Second Reformed Church Hackensack" (PDF). Reformed Church in America. 2005. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  3. ^ T. Robins Brown, Schuyler Warmflash (2000). The Architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey: The Colonial Period to the Twentieth Century. p. 168. ISBN 9780813528670.
  4. ^ a b "Touring the Town for Tiffany Windows". New York Times. May 4, 1979.
  5. ^ Frances Augusta Johnson Westervelt (1922). History of Hackensack, N.J. p. 36.
  6. ^ a b c History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey. 1882. p. 180.
  7. ^ "Debt Paid, Church Burned. Pastor of Hackensack Edifice Had Just Closed Its Mortgage". New York Times. April 16, 1907.
  8. ^ Frances Augusta Johnson Westervelt (1922). History of Hackensack, N.J.
  9. ^ James Demarest (1861). Thanksgiving Sermon: A Sermon Preached in the Second Reformed Dutch Church, Hackensack, N.J., on Thanksgiving Morning, November 28, 1861. Bergen County Patriot.
  10. ^ Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America. 1900. p. 134.
  11. ^ "Reverend Dr. Rauscher Resigns Pastorate". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 4, 1923.
  12. ^ Marvin D. Hoff (1985). The Reformed Church in America: Structures for Mission. p. 170. ISBN 9780802800817.
  13. ^ "Retires". The Central New Jersey Home News. September 3, 1994.
  14. ^ "The Rev. Jon Norton". Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  15. ^ "Our Pastor". Second Reformed Church Hackensack. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  16. ^ Barbara J. Gooding, Terry E. Sellarole, Allan Petretti, Theresa E. Jones (2009-02-02). Hackensack. Arcadia Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 9781439621547.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links edit

  • Official website