History of the Churches of Teaneck — Information about the development of various churches in Teaneck.

History of the Churches in Teaneck -- Teaneck New Jersey Forty Years of Progress: 1895-1935, by Township of Teaneck, c1935. pp. 14-18.

Text from: Teaneck New Jersey Forty Years of Progress: 1895-1935 , by Township of Teaneck, c1935. pp. 14-18.
Photos from: Local History Photo Collection of Teaneck Public Library

TEANECK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Starting in the property known as the Old Town Hall, the public school building of Teaneck, the Sunday School which was then known as the Washington Avenue Union Sunday School, secured its present site on Teaneck Road at Church Street, from the Phelps Estate. In 1894, Frank DeRonde, then acting as trustee and treasurer, undertook to raise money by a public concert to erect the first portion of the structure. The transcept and the west wing were built in 1911.

In 1922 the entire building was excavated, redecorated, including the installation of the heating plant, community room, toilets, and kitchen. A year later the manse property and the adjoining lot on Teaneck Road were purchased and the manse was built. In 1930 through the efforts of the Woman’s Guild, an Estey Pipe Organ was installed as a memorial to George S. Coe in view of the services he rendered the church during the days of his life which ended there, February 11, 1927.

The church was incorporated November 12, 1915. The morning services started Easter, 1923, and the same year the Sunday School was changed from the afternoon to the morning session.

The following pastors have served the church: George L. Roberts, Jr., Charles T. Baillie, Thornton B. Penfield, and the present pastor, the Rev. Reginald Rowland who assumed pastorate December 12, 1922, coming from Washington, D. C., to be the resident minister. The following served as Stated Supplies: A. C. Baird, Leonard Twinem, George Woodbury, Sidney M. Bedford, and Thornton B. Penfield.

Under the present pastorate, in addition to improvements and appropriate care for the physical property of the church, the membership has grown from 135 to 319 communicants, and the Board of Elders has been increased from six to nine in number to keep pace with its responsibilities for the enlarged enrollment.

TEANECK METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

The story of this church is one of continuous growth and the Sunday School, with its active attendance of 200 per Sunday, crowds even these new quarters. The movement which was to eventuate in the present Methodist Church started back in the Fall of 1901. It started as the Lower Teaneck Sunday School Association. Those who started it met in the old schoolhouse on Fort Lee Road. By April, 1902, under the leadership of Mr. C. P. Bogert as superintendent, a lot was purchased on Teaneck Road just north of the trolley line. By 1905, the group had grown strong enough to assume a mortgage of $1400 and they built the chapel which still stands. Growth continued and this mortgage was eliminated in seven years time. The first trustees of the association were C. P. Bogert, B. D. Westervelt, and Elmer Mabie.

Preaching services started in 1911 with volunteer preachers and in 1912 the Rev. V. A. Wood, then pastor at Ridgefield Park, was induced to preach here as well as his own charge. In 1915 the chapel became a denominational church. After representatives from several churches were heard, a vote was taken and the chapel became a part of the Methodist Episcopal Church. There were eighteen charter members when the church was organized.

Growth continued and it soon became evident that larger quarters would soon become necessary. In 1920 a movement was started to provide more adequate accommodations. In 1923, during the pastorate of the Rev. M. A. Workman, the new building was constructed on DeGraw Avenue and Hickory Street. The lots were donated by Mrs. Rachel DeGraw, the old property sold, and the financing arranged.

In 1928 the parsonage was built and the Rev. Ralph Roby and family were the first to live in it. Mr. Roby was followed by the Rev. Charles Kemble and he by the present pastor, Rev. Alfred E. Willett.

ST. ANASTASIA’S R. C. CHURCH

Up to the year 1908, the Catholic people of Teaneck were served by the Carmelite Fathers from St. Cecilia’s Monastery, Englewood, N. J. Saint Anastasia Church, the first Catholic Church in Teaneck, was built in the year 1908. Father Peter Kramer, O. Carm was the first pastor.

A bronze plaque with the following inscription may be seen in the present church “Erected to the Memory of Anastasia Kelly, Founder and Munificent Patroness of this Church.”

Born May 11, 1828 in the County Wexford, Ireland, she came in early youth to Brooklyn, N. Y. and resided in that city during the greater part of her life. Removing thence to Teaneck, the zeal for God’s glory and the sanctification of souls which charaterized her whole life, urged her to devote a goodly share of her worldly fortune to the erection of a church, convenient to the residents of this town. This pious plan was happily realized and the church was dedicated August 2, 1908.

Owing to blindness, with which she was afflicted during the later years of her life, she never had the pleasure of viewing the monument she had built.

In 1923 Father Benedict O’Neill, O. Carm., the next pastor, enlarged this church purchased the Robinson estate and remodeled the house to serve as a rectory. He became the first resident pastor of this fast growing parish in May of the following year. Again the enlarged church was found too small to serve adequately the growing parish. Father O’Neill erected a new building on Robinson Street, the beginning of a school plant consisting of an auditorium and a spacious basement hall; the auditorium to serve as a church until such time when a church could be erected which would serve the future full-grown community. The new building was opened with Solemn High Mass or Thanksgiving Day, November, 1932.

In July, 1933, Father Silverius Quigley, O. Carm. became the second resident pastor of St. Anastasia Church. A month later Father Dominic Lickteig, O. Carm. came as the first resident assistant Pastor.

With the expected increase in the Catholic population of Teaneck, plans have been made for the erection of a new church on the corner of Teaneck Road and Robinson Street.

CHRIST CHURCH

Christ Church Mission was organized in 1913 under the authority of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. That section of Teaneck, known as West Englewood Park, at that time consisted of about twenty homes completed on one finished street, Ogden Avenue.

Mrs. Fairchild N. Ferry of Ogden Avenue was the pioneer of the parish. She took a group of the children from that neighborhood and taught Bible Studies to them in her own home. Gradually adults began to realize that a church was needed there and a pastor was engaged to preach Sunday services at the Ferry home.

Rev. Flemming James of St. Paul’s Church, Englewood, was the first pastor. During those first two years of the congregation, the church equipment consisted of a wheelbarrow load of prayer books and hymnals, a home-made but well built Prie-dieu (reading desk), and the free services of Rev. F. James.

In 1915 the present church edifice was finished and dedicated by Bishops Lines and Stearley of Newark. Rev. Carl Stridsberg was named rector. Portable seats were installed until 1918 when the present equipment was put in place.

Rev. Carl Stridsberg enlisted in the army and on his return from France served the congregation for one year. He was succeeded by the Rev. P. Hall until 1925 when the present pastor, Rev. William K. Russell was installed. Then came the era of great progress. The Mission was changed to a regular parish, the large community hall was built, and a fine rectory, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Ayres, was erected.

The church and rectory are located at Rutland Avenue and Rugby Road.

CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY

A Sunday School was organized in the Fall of 1917 at the home of F. W. Shulenberger of Glenwood Avenue. Sunday night, January 9, 1921, a church service was held there with the Rev. George Collard of Christ Church, Hackensack, officiating. He was assisted by P. W. Conyers, lay reader.

The Thursday Guild was organized February 10, 1921. March 30, 1921, Rev. A. Elmendorf of Christ Church, Hackensack, with Canon Dunceith and Mr. Conyers, met with the following persons: Miss Osgood, Mesdames Felton, Hall, Shulenberger, Turnbull, and Wiener; Messrs. Holmes, Martindale, and Shulenberger. Officers were elected and a committee appointed to raise funds for a building. Church service was held weekly at the home of Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Shulenberger. P. W. Conyers was in charge of the services with the Rev. George Collard officiating at Holy Communion.

The cornerstone of the church building was laid Sunday, June 15, 1924 when Dr. A. Elmendorf presided and Dr. Lyons of St. Paul’s Church, Englewood, was the speaker. The architect for the building was M. T. Turnbull and the builder, John Rowe.

Besides Dr. Elmendorf and Rev. Collard, the following rectors have served the church: Rev. William White, Rev. Richard Baxter, and the present officers are Rev. William K. Russell, rector; F. W. Shulenberger, warden; P. W. Conyers, treasurer; and Mrs. F. W. Shulenberger, organist.

SMITH COMMUNITY CHURCH

After a period of years during which members of the various churches who lived in the neighborhood of Emerson School had been holding Sunday Chapel services and Sunday School sessions in various homes and in the Kenwood Place firehouse, it was decided to erect a building. Rev. F. K. Shields, then associate pastor of the Bogart Memorial Church, had been conducting the services.

Early in 1922 when the building was completed, the church was finally incorporated as the Smith Community Church under the Reformed Church in America and Rev. Shields continued to conduct services of the church. In 1924 the congregation accepted with regret the resignation of Rev. Shields and called the Rev. L. H. French, who served as its pastor until 1929. In the spring of 1930 John J. Soeter was called to become pastor of the church and served until 1935, when upon his resignation, the church called its present pastor, Rev. Martin A. deWolfe.

The church had its beginning as a community project and has sought to maintain during all its years the ideal of being “A Neighborly Community Church.” The steady growth of the church and the widening of its influence in the community through its various activities, are evidenced by the growing interest of the community in the church.

The many organizations of the church have been active in many community projects as well as in projects of the church at large.

Through cooperation with other organizations which work for the welfare of the community, the Church’s Community House and the interest of its members have contributed much to the social, moral and educational welfare of Teaneck.

ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

In April 1924, a Mrs. Floyd F. Chadwick of Cedar Lane realized that a church or at least a Sunday School, should be organized for the residents of that section. She took it upon herself to teach five children of the neighborhood in her own home each Sunday. Then the adults became interested and met at her home for church services. Four families comprised the original membership.

September, 1924 saw a drive started by Mrs. Chadwick, Mrs. Richard Copley, Mrs. J. M. Boteler, and Mrs. Charles Reihler to raise funds to build a chapel. These women canvassed the town and realized $700. Services were still being conducted in the Chadwick home when the chapel was completed and the first service held there on Christmas morning, 1924, with the Rev. William J. White as celebrant and Stanley Chadwick as server.

By the time the chapel was completed the Sunday School enrollment had increased to forty-five children. A Guild was formed by Mrs. Floyd F. Chadwick, president, Mrs. William Berghorn, Mrs. Foster McClelland, Mrs. William J. Wahl, and Mrs. Charles Peihler. One of the outstanding affairs held in 1925 by the Guild was the outdoor musical held on the lawn of the home of Mrs. Chadwick.

The Rev. William J. White was pastor until Oct. 1925 when he was succeeded by the Rev. Richard W. Baxter who remained until December, 1934. The Rev. George Collard was then appointed pastor but resigned in May, 1935, to take a position elsewhere. At the present time the church is without a minister but it is expected that one will be procured within a few months.

BAHA’I CENTER OF TEANECK

The unique and picturesque log cabin where Baha’i meetings are held weekly was the outgrowth of a man’s hobby. Roy Wilhelm built this structure on his large estate at Alicia Avenue and Evergreen Place during the war. After having taken seven years to complete it, it soon proved inadequate and four more years were devoted to construct it as it now stands.

About half of the logs are Norway Spruce which were dying over this entire area and Wilhelm was granted permission for their use from the Phelps Estate. In addition to these, two carloads of white cedar logs were brought from Canada.

Since the study of rocks and odd varieties of stone is the hobby of Wilhelm, the interior of the cabin is decorated in a novel manner. The fireplace, in particular, is built of odd stones gathered from all over the world, carrying out the idea that in this building representatives of religions from all over the world meet in friendly understanding.

In front of the cabin there is a huge rock garden with pools of water, fountains and colored lights under the surface of the water. These pools are fed from a well drilled to a depth of seventy-four feet, all the first eight of which are through ground stone rock. The largest stone, nine feet high, was found and transported from within a mile of its present location. It weighs thirty tons. A difficult task was encountered drilling through these large rocks for the water pipe and wire for their illumination.

The late Louis Bourgeois, famous architect and formerly of Bogert Street and Alicia Avenue, Teaneck, also was a well-known figure in the construction of a Baha’i meeting place. He designed the newly constructed Baha’i Temple at Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago, which is visited by members of the Baha’i faith from all over the world.

THE NORWEGIAN EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH

The history of this church dates back to 1889 when a nucleus of Christian friends, with Rev. J. H. Meyer as pastor, organized a mission in Hoboken. In 1890 the church was organized and for forty-three years services were held there. During this time, two churches were built. In 1925 the church on Teaneck Road and Hillside Avenue was annexed to the mother church in Hoboken. A Sunday School and Mission were organized.

Three years ago the church had most of its membership in Teaneck and vicinity so the property in Hoboken was sold and the two churches merged. Nine pastors have served. The present pastor, Rev. H. C. Anderson, came from Chicago in 1927 and has served ever since.

The services are conducted for the most part in the Norwegian tongue. Besides the work at Teaneck, the church is supporting three missionaries: Rev. and Mrs. T. Olsen, Rev. G. Gjestland and a native evangelist.

Branches of the church consist of Sunday School, with J. Johansen as superintendent; Church Choir, R. A. Larsen, director; Stringband, H. Fostvedt, director; Ladies’ Aid Society, Mrs. H. Moy, president; and Mildred E. Anderson, organist.

ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH

The attention of the Missionary Superintendent was drawn to the field of Teaneck by the fact that many people had built or bought homes and the need of a church was imperative. This section was canvassed between October 15 and October 22 and the first service was held on November 8, 1925 at the home of a parishioner.

A congregation was organized January 3, 1926 with thirty-five members on the charter list. Sunday School was organized January 10 with twenty-four members.

The need of a place of worship was so great that the contract for a plot, 150×150 with a new house on the corner of Church Street and Beaumont Avenue was taken January 24, 1926. The congregation was incorporated on February 17, 1926.

Rev. Charles W. Schnabel of Hamma Divinity School was invited to appear as a candidate on February 14 and the call was extended to him and accepted on March 8, 1926.

All of this was accomplished within three months time and that in the private house of one of the members as no quarters were available for services as yet.

From that point regular services were held each Sunday in the parsonage until 1928, when on October 7, the present building was dedicated with an impressive ceremony. Pastor Schnabel served continuously until his sudden death, July 2, 1935.

The present enrollment of the church is 435 members and 302 pupils in the Sunday School with a staff of 32. While the congregation is still without a pastor it is hoped that the pulpit will be filled in the very near future.

PHELPS MANOR METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

In August, 1929, the Jersey District Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (Newark Conference) purchased the house in which services are now held, 1000 Queen Anne Road and three adjoining lots. The Rev. Ralph R. Roby was then pastor of the Teaneck M. E. Church and under his direction a Sunday School was organized with seven scholars. Mr. Harry Rice, a teacher in Bogota High School, was appointed superintendent and rendered efficient service in that capacity for four and one half years.

Rev. Charles Waldron, a retired minister, was appointed pastor in April, 1930. He served the church for four years. During his pastorate the church was organized, February, 1931; a Woman’s Guild started which has become the main support of the church, and an Epworth League Society formed. A real growth was experienced and then as the “depression” continued many of the families who started the church moved away from the locality.

In April, 1934, the Rev. Merle N. Young was appointed to serve the church and had a year of great activity only to be removed to a field of enlarged opportunity.

The church is at present on a two point circuit with the Teaneck Methodist Episcopal Church and is served by the Rev. Alfred E. Willett.

GRACE LUTHERAN CHURCH

This church was founded in the Fall of 1930 by the Rev. Carl Bergen, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church, Leonia, N. J. Pastor Bergen served the newly organized congregation faithfully until the task of serving two separate charges proved too great. In January, 1934, the Rev. Theodore W. Beiderwieden of St. Louis, Mo., was called to the pastorate.

At present the congregation is meeting temporarily in the Teaneck Center Building, 405 Cedar Lane. As soon as suitable financial arrangements can be made the Grace Church intends to erect a colonial type church with a seating capacity of 185. This building, to be erected on the corner of Helen Street and Claremont Avenue where the church owns a plot of ground, will be liturgically and correctly furnished. The social life of the congregation will be taken care of in the well-equipped basement.

Grace Church has a communicant membership of 75. The total number of parishioners is 238 and the Sunday records show a membership of 70 under the guidance of a superintendent, E. J. Scheiwe, and a corps of nine efficient teachers.

The Church Council is made up of the officers of the congregation, T. K. Torgesen, president; Alan Eifert, vice-president; R. C. Trygstad, secretary; and George Rath, financial secretary and treasurer; and the following men: John Schumacher, Henry Runge, C. A. Anderson, and John Deyst.

Mrs. Paul G. Marcher, organist, and Miss Helen Steuber, director of the Boys’ Choir, have charge of the music.

JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF TEANECK

In the summer of 1932 a pressing need for the Jews of Teaneck to hold High Holy Days was realized. Dr. J. Dewey Schwarz, Israel Doskow, Dr. N. Saviet, and S. Stithres met at the home of Israel Doskow and arranged to hold the first services ever instituted in Teaneck. The studio of Israel Doskow on Elm Avenue was the chosen place of worship.

More than seventy persons attended the first service under the direction of Rabbi Pearlman, accompanied by a cantor. The need for regular services for the year was thought of and from then on Friday evening services were held there.

In the beginning of 1933 a Sunday School was opened wherein the children of Jewish faith were taught. This steady increase of enrollment made it necessary to engage what is now known as their headquarters, 780 Palisade Avenue.

The Center was obliged to engage the Square Circle Clubhouse for the High Holy Days of 1935 because of the crowded quarters on Palisade Avenue. More than 400 Jews attended these meetings.

Rabbi Emanuel Green was the first to serve the Jewish Community Center of Teaneck to b`e succeeded this year by Rabbi Charles Freedman.

Text from: Teaneck New Jersey Forty Years of Progress: 1895-1935 , by Township of Teaneck, c1935. pp. 14-18.
Photos from: Local History Photo Collection of Teaneck Public Library

Denominations Unite At Community Church; Work Is Flourishing - The Town Manager, July 1932, p. 13 & 15

In January, 1922, the first reception of members in this church took place. There were 109 charter members according to the permanent records. Previous to 1922, however, a Sunday School had been conducted for some time. The meeting place was the auditorium of the volunteer firehouse on Kenwood place. Soon after the organization of the church the present site on the corner of Elm Avenue and North Street was acquired. Because the church is located one block south of Cedar Lane it naturally followed that the larger number of early members and friends were drawn from the Bogota section. In fact the early post office address of the church was “Bogota”! With the rapid growth and expansion of Teaneck the church enlarged its field. Today many come from the newer section north of Cedar Lane and also from east of the West Shore Railroad.

There have been three ministers since the founding of the church. The first was the Rev. Frederick K. Shield, Sr., who remained until 1924. Rev. Mr. Shield was the founder of the organization. Following him came the Rev. Lawrence H. French, who served for five years, from 1924 to 1929. Since the church was without a pastor after the resignation of Rev. Mr. French, Rev. Mr. Shield, who resided just north of the church, again stepped in and aided in the work. He remained until July, 1930, when the present minister, Rev. John J. Soeter, became pastor.

It is significant to note that there are eleven different denominations represented in the membership of the church at present. It is well that this is so. The present trend in American church life is toward closer alliance of the various protestant groups. Success has been marked in cities and towns throughout the country where churches of different denominations have united for the common good and purpose. The outstanding result in most cases has been that instead of several small and struggling groups there emerged one large, strong body of Christians. So it has been in the Community Church here. Work has been carried forward without any great difficulty which might come from having so many creeds and doctrines placed together under one roof. It is a credit to the people of the church of the present age, in that they can see the deeper truths which can unit all Christians, while they overlook the surface facts of formerly having been members of this or that “denomination’.

while this church carries on the full work of the church in various branches from September to the end of June, there is a let-up during July and August. During the latter two months the usual Church School is omitted. The hour of Sunday worship is changed from the usual time of 11 a.m. to 9 a.m. The nine o’clock services are held on the Last Sunday of June, all of July and the first Sunday of August. During the remaining three Sundays of August and the first Sunday of September the church is closed. On the first Sunday after Labor Day all work commences again for the year.

The people of Smith Community Church appreciate the courtesy of “The Town Manager” in kindly extending to the Churches of Teaneck the opportunity to outline their various historical sketches and programs.

A History of the Community Church of Teaneck -- The Community Church of Teaneck 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee 1922-1972 -- Pamphlet from the Teaneck collection of Teaneck Public Library

Source: The Community Church of Teaneck 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee 1922-1972 — Pamphlet from the Teaneck collection of Teaneck Public Library

The Year 1922

It was the year Mussolini marched on Rome and led the Fascists to power in Italy. . . Warren Harding was President of the United States. . . Mrs. Rebecca Felton of Georgia became the first woman to be a U.S. Senator. . . The Giants and Yankees met in their second straight Subway Series, the last such series the Giants were to win.

And in Teaneck Frederick Griffith was Chairman of the Township Committee (what passed for Mayor in those days) . . . Theodore Human, who had been appointed Superintendent of the new Department of Public Works the year before, began to see that houses in the township were properly numbered. . . Carnivals were outlawed by an ordinance against traveling shows. . .

And, of course, The Community Church of Teaneck was officially organized. But its roots go back several years further. And to understand these beginnings, we must take a look at the unusual kind of municipality Teaneck was in those days.

Teaneck at the start of the Twenties

What was to become the largest community in Bergen County was still a very small town then. The Federal Census of 1920 showed a population of 4,192. It was to quadruple in the next decade and today, of course, it is more than ten times as big.

But what really marked the community in those days was that it wasn’t much of a cohesive community at all. That’s because most of the population was located in outlying areas adjacent to neighboring towns and in many ways felt closer kinship to those towns than to their fellow inhabitants of Teaneck.

The central area of Teaneck was comparatively undeveloped, largely because much of it was part of the Phelps Estate which centered around today’s Municipal Building. (And along Queen Anne Road was a big hayfield.) The widow of William Walter Phelps died in 1920 and then two years later in June 1922, just five months after our Church was formally born, the Bergen County newspapers proclaimed the big news of the region: “Phelps Estate to be opened to development.” Only after that did the center of today’s town slowly take shape.

Teaneck’s dispersed population pattern at the time the Church was being formed is well illustrated by the locations of the three public schools and four volunteer fire companies that were in existence in 1922. The West Englewood section of Teaneck, adjacent to Englewood, was served by the original Washington Irving School (now the Town House) which was completed in 1906, and by Volunteer Fire Company #1, organized in 1904, also located at Teaneck Road and Forest Avenue.

Then there was the section known as Lower Teaneck, next to Ridgefield Park and Bogota, which was served by the Longfellow School on Oakdene Avenue, completed in 1910, and by Teaneck Hose Company #1, Morningside Terrace, organized in 1911. A little further east in the Glenwood Park section, the Glenwood Park Volunteer Fireman’s Association was also organized in 1911.

Finally, there was the section in which our Church is located, which quite logically was known as the Bogota Section of Teaneck. Actually, it was the first part of town where real building activity developed. The area was served by the Emerson School, completed in 1916, and by the Cedar Volunteer Fireman’s Association, organized in 1908. The Fire Company was first located in the barn of Joseph Douglas on Linden Avenue and set up in its fire house in Kenwood Place in 1912.

Our Church’s Community

Let’s take a closer look at the Bogota Section as it was around 1920. We find the people more closely connected with Bogota than with Teaneck. Mail was delivered from the Bogota Post Office. Commuters used the Bogota railroad stations. Water was supplied by the Bogota Water Company. The principal shopping center was Main Street and Fort Lee Road, Bogota (Cedar Lane had not yet developed into a shopping district). People did their banking in Bogota, the only financial institution in Teaneck being the Teaneck Building & Loan Association. (The West Englewood National Bank, far from our area anyway, opened in 1923; the Teaneck National Bank, which has since become the Peoples Trust branch, didn’t arrive till 1926.)

And, as might be expected, most residents of the Bogota Section also went to church in Bogota. Quite a few were members of the Bogart Memorial Church there.

At that time the automobile had not as yet achieved the status of a necessity; walking was still a fairly common means of locomotion. However, it was quite a long trek from Teaneck down to Bogota to attend church services, prayer meetings and Sunday School, especially for the children and older people and particularly when the weather was bad. And so, early in 1919, some of the residents got together and began holding prayer meetings in their homes. These prayer meetings led to the formation of the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church.

The story of the Teaneck Chapel is told in what was undoubtedly the first published history concerning our Church. It appeared in the program for a play given by the local people for the benefit of the Chapel on June 10, 1921. Since it is an authoritative account of the very beginning of our Church, we reprint it here.

History of The Teaneck Chapel

“During March and April of 1919 prayer meetings were held in the homes of various residents of the Bogota Section of Teaneck, and they met with such success and were so well attended that the homes were too small to accommodate the people, and the Fire House on Kenwood Place was secured. A service has been held weekly since then, and the attendance has surprised even the sponsors of the Chapel.

An organization known as the Trustees of the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church was formed with the following officers:

Rev. F. K. Shield, President	William Bennerscheidt
Charles H. Stanley, Vice President	John William Crane
Douglas T. Allen, Secretary	William Kinzley
Thomas T. Conn, Treasurer	Robert J. Lewis
Julian E. Batson, Financial Secretary	Oscar Lussenhop
	William Ward

“In June 1920, the Trustees, aided by the other organizations of the Chapel, held an open-air Carnival at Elm Avenue and Kipp Street. Conspicuous help was also rendered in the affair by various societies of the Bogart Memorial Church.

“In January 1921, a plot 100 x 150 feet was secured on the southwest corner of Elm Avenue and North Street. This is diagonally opposite the school and is easily accessible to the entire section. One thousand dollars were paid then, and there is a mortgage remaining of six hundred dollars.

“Plans and specifications having been drawn, it is now proposed to build a Chapel and Community House on this ground. It is hoped that the building can be in use by October of this year.” The time schedule was a little optimistic, but the Church was on its way.

The same 1921 program also reports on early church organizations which were already thriving. It lists the Sunday School, organized in September 1919, which by then had 160 children and met Sunday afternoons at three in the Fire House; Christian Endeavor, organized November 4, 1920, which met Thursday evenings at the Fire House; and the Women’s League, started in October 1919, which by then had 46 members.

The groundwork for a new Home and a new Church

As this early account made clear, acquisition of the Elm Ave. & North St. property and the construction of the Community House and Chapel were consummated under the direction of the Trustees of the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church before our present Church was formally organized.

To finance the project, the Bogart Memorial Church temporarily lent $5,000. William N. Smith, a prominent member of that Church, contributed substantial sums himself and gave his financial backing to secure a $5,000 mortgage loan from the Bogota National Bank. Mr. Stanley made a loan of $500.

By the close of 1921 it became evident that the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church had just about fulfilled its mission. Since its inception in 1919, a congregation and Sunday School had been organized and a church home built. This record of accomplishment in the space of a little over two years bespeaks the vision, dedication and industry of the pioneers of our Church. The Chapel members were now about ready to leave the protection of the Mother Church in Bogota and strike out on their own. At a meeting of the Chapel Trustees on January 12, 1922, the Rev. Mr. Shield reported that a meeting had been called for Thursday evening, January 26, 1922, for the purpose of establishing a Church under the direction of the Classis of Bergen of the Reformed Church in America.

On the appointed day the Rev. Albert Von Schlieder, representing the Classis of Bergen, presided. The Rev. Mr. Shield reported that it was the desire of the people present to be organized into a church under the name of “The William N. Smith Community Church of Teaneck”. The church was then organized according to the constitution of the Reformed Church in America, with 110 Charter Members. Of these, thirty-five were received on letters from the Bogart Memorial Church; eleven on letters from other churches; and sixty-four on confession or reaffirmation of faith. Three Elders and three Deacons were elected at this meeting and at a special meeting four days later two additional Elders and two more Deacons were chosen. The Rev. Mr. Shield then reported that he had resigned as Associate Pastor of Bogart Memorial and and had been appointed as Classical Missionary of the Classis of Bergen, and that he would be able to act as “Stated Supply” (regular fill-in minister) of the new Church. This offer was promptly accepted and he was elected to serve at a salary of $1,500 per year.

At a Sunday evening service on February 26, 1922, the Rev. Andrew Walter Judson, representing the Classis of Bergen, conducted the ordination and and installation of the Church’s first Consistory.

The man behind our first name

We have already seen how William N. Smith’s financial backing helped get our Church started. He continued to support the Church generously during its early years of financial struggle and contributed $1,000 or more each year until his death in 1931. And in addition to his monetary support, he gave freely of himself in time and counsel.

Who was this strong friend? William Smith was born in Buffalo, N. Y., engaged in the paper business in New England, and then came to Bogota where he founded and became president of the Bogota Paper & Board Company. He also became a founder and president of the Bogota National Bank, and served for a time as Mayor of Bogota.

A member of Bogart Memorial, William Smith became a close personal friend of Bogart’s Associate Pastor Frederick Shield and when Mr. Shield undertook the Teaneck project, Mr. Smith gave his invaluable encouragement and support. It was Mr. Smith who first broke the ground to start construction of the Community House and Chapel on October 16, 1921. While not among the Charter Members, a few years later, on December 7, 1924, Mr. & Mrs. William N. Smith became members of the Church that bore his name.

The first sixteen years

After its jubilant start, the young Church was engaged in a rather grim financial struggle for survival for its first six or seven years. The annual expenses were about three to four thousand dollars and were met with a great deal of difficulty. At times the Consistory found it necessary to obtain short-term loans to meet pressing obligations such as the Pastor’s salary, fuel bills and the like. Little, if any money was available for debt reduction.

During the following decade, 1928 through 1937, considerable improvement was made in the Church’s financial situation. The saying “the Lord helps those that help themselves” could well have been the Community Church slogan. Definite plans were made to reduce the debt. Penny-a-meal banks were distributed to members to raise money for the mortgage fund. Year by year the mortgage at the Bogota National Bank was reduced; by the end of 1937 only $1,264 of the original $5,000 loan from the bank remained unpaid. (But the $5,000 loan from the Board of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church, which in late 1922 had replaced the initial $5,000 advance from Bogart Memorial, was still outstanding.) The Church was also able, by special campaigns during this period, to raise enough money to expand and improve the Community House. It is note-worthy that much of this successful financing was accomplished during the Depression years.

The Trembath Era

The year 1938 was a special milestone. It marked the end of the old era and the beginning of a new and more successful one. In February of that year, at the annual congregational meeting, a resolution was adopted to change the name of the Church to the “Teaneck Community Church”. At this same meeting, it was voted to request the Rev. William Carman Trembath to become the fifth pastor of the Church. The Rev. Mr. Trembath led the Church with courage and purpose, and it grew and prospered. The balance of the original bank loan was paid off in 1940. In that year the Church was enlarged by building an addition to the front end of the original Chapel which greatly increased the seating capacity. The cost of the addition, new furnishings and a new organ amounted to about $9,400. In 1942 the present parsonage was acquired for about $9,000. In 1946 the debt of $5,000 to the Board of Domestic Missions was paid off. By December 194B the mortgage on the parsonage had been liquidated, and for the first time since it started in 1922 the church was completely out of debt and had a tidy sum in its treasury.

All this time the Township of Teaneck had been growing rapidly as indicated by these Federal Census figures: 1920– 4,192; 1930– 16,513; 1940– 25,275; 1950– 33,772. As the town grew, so did the Church, its membership increasing from 110 in 1922, to 185 in 1930, 250 in 1940, and 492 in 1950. The Sunday School was also growing rapidly, increasing its membership from approximately 100 in 1922, to 287 in 1930,312 in 1940, and 405 in 1950.

As this growth trend continued, it became increasingly apparent that existing Church facilities would soon become completely inadequate. Accordingly, consideration was given to a new and larger church building. The first major step in this direction was the purchase in November 1949 of additional land on Elm Avenue adjoining the Church’s property. In 1950 an Every Member Canvass was conducted which secured pledges in excess of $60,000 for the building fund, to be paid over a period of three years. This fund-raising drive was followed by others so that by the time construction of the new church was begun in April 1954, a total of over $100,000 was in the building fund. This was supplemented by an $80,000 mortgage loan. The total cost of the new church was approximately $215,000. The ground-breaking service for the new church was held on April 25, 1954, the corner stone-laying service on October 24, 1954, and the dedication service on February 6, 1955.

Growth continued. The name of the Church was again changed, this time to “The Community Church of Teaneck”. Mortgage payments were met as they fell due, and in addition money was available to make needed improvements in the Church plant.

Then, on November 23, 1959, the Church and the town were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Pastor Trembath. He had served his congregation faithfully and well for twenty-one years. The following editorial which appeared in Teaneck’s local newspaper expressed the feelings of the entire community.

“A man familiar to many Teaneck residents, a fine churchman and a friend to those who needed him, died in Teaneck on Monday. His name was William Carman Trembath, and he was pastor of the Community Church of Teaneck.

“Many people, including members of the Sunday Sun staff, used to enjoy a chat with this remarkable man. He seemed to be one of those rare persons who never show age. But despite this, a heart attack Monday took him suddenly from his congregation in Teaneck.

“It seems a small tribute to a man so well loved as Rev. Trembath to print some faint eulogy on the editorial page of a newspaper. His thoughts and deeds were living ones dedicated to a child, a mother, a mourning husband, to one thousand and one troubled souls who came to him in need. A newspaper’s words may be forgotten with the rush of the next day’s events but a life of service sticks in the mind.

“We hope that when readers forget this small editorial, they will still remember warmly the fatherly man who served them for 21 years. We hope his thoughts will live to in- spire the young members of his congregation and to com- fort the older ones. And we hope that Teaneck in some concrete way remembers the life and works of William Carman Trembath, Pastor.”

Into the Present

In September 1960 the Church installed its present Pastor, the Rev. Harold G. Van Oort. Much further progress has been made in strengthening the Church to meet the challenge of a new era. On Sunday night, December 6, 1962, in the Church’s fortieth anniversary year, a covered dish supper was held to celebrate completion of mortgage payments on the new Church building. The mortgage was formally “burned” on May 7, 1963.

Various major improvements included bricking the front and side of the North Room along with rebuilt roof and ceiling in 1962 and aluminum siding for the Chapel in 1967. In May 1967 the congregation approved a $15,000 program to provide badly needed new Church School and Choir facilities by remodeling the old Chapel and the South Room underneath it. Six church school rooms were created out of the South Room while the Chapel was divided into a music room, another church school room, and a smaller re- modeled Chapel. The project was completed in March 1968.

Meantime, the Church moved through various cycles in ministerial assistants. In the Spring of 1959, Marilyn Spackman, who had briefly served as a student assistant, was engaged as Director of Christian Education with responsibility for the Church School and Youth Work. Miss Spackman became Mrs. Muller in October 1961 and resigned her position the following Spring.

The Consistory then decided to add wider pastoral responsibilities to the school and youth program supervision and in May 1962 arranged for Ronald W. La Rose first, to become a Student Assistant and then Assistant. In September 1963 the Consistory took an even bigger step by providing in the next year’s budget for an Associate Pastor. Rev. Clement Birkelbach was called as Associate Pastor in July 1964. He served five fruitful years, with special emphasis on an effective youth program. Since his resignation in the Summer of 1969, the Church has again resorted to student ministers.

The past few years have not been easy ones for the Churches of America. . . or indeed for most Americans and their institutions. After the tremendous growth of the past quarter century, church membership throughout the country has become static and in many places has receded a bit. A town like Teaneck is especially vulnerable to these trends. The huge influx of the postwar years has come to an end as nearly all available land is occupied. And not only has total population just about stopped growing, the proportion of residents who profess Protestant faiths has declined.

These trends have affected the rolls of the Community Church. Total membership which reached a peak of 785 in 1960, is now 450; the Church School actually had its biggest enrollment way back in 1945 with 416 and now has 150; Congregational giving which peaked at $77,483 in 1965 has slimmed to $62,446 in 1971.

Of course, when surrounded by the mountains of near-term concern, it is easy to lose sight of the long-term perspective, and as we look back on the humble beginnings of 50 years ago, the story is one of majestic growth in size, strength and magnificent facilities for service. And under changed conditions, the Church and its members can again draw inspiration from the stories of those early days when the infant Community Church struggled to stay financially alive during the generally “Boom1ng Twenties” and moved forward with new strength in the midst of the Depression.

The life, spirit and dedication of today’s Congregation is real and deep. Our members spend many hours and considerable energy in leadership roles in the Consistory, in the Church School, in youth work, in the Women’s Guild and Circles. Our Co-Weds retain their energy and enthusiasm as a fellowship and service group, and successfully attract new couples.

Our Youth Groups continue strong and active. The Consistory is increasingly studying and engaging in ecumenical ministry with other churches and synagogues of the community.

The Church has experimented with small home discussion and fellowship groups with some success. A Sunday evening group has maintained a high level of participation and interest. A parent’s group for parents of elementary-age children is currently being organized.

Our Congregation has manifested a deepened commitment to the mission of the church beyond our own Congregation, as expressed in the substantial benevolent commitment of the resources of our Church. We continue to invest more than 25% of our total resources to mission.

The Congregation’s commitment to a community ministry is reflected by the use of our physical facilities. The Church houses a large and active Senior Citizen’s group, a youth Square Dance club, a Cancer Care chapter, a pre- kindergarten school, Boy and Girl Scout troops and other activities too numerous to mention.

Truly, the role of the Community Church continues to be that which was so aptly described in the Township of Teaneck’s own commemorative brochure on “Forty Years of Progress,” published on Teaneck’s 40th birthday in 1935:

“The Church had its beginning as a community project and has sought to maintain during all its years the ideal of being a Neighborly Community Church’.”

And, of course, The Community Church of Teaneck was officially organized. But its roots go back several years further. And to understand these beginnings, we must take a look at the unusual kind of municipality Teaneck was in those days.

Teaneck at the start of the Twenties

What was to become the largest community in Bergen County was still a very small town then. The Federal Census of 1920 showed a population of 4,192. It was to quadruple in the next decade and today, of course, it is more than ten times as big.

But what really marked the community in those days was that it wasn’t much of a cohesive community at all. That’s because most of the population was located in outlying areas adjacent to neighboring towns and in many ways felt closer kinship to those towns than to their fellow inhabitants of Teaneck.

The central area of Teaneck was comparatively undeveloped, largely because much of it was part of the Phelps Estate which centered around today’s Municipal Building. (And along Queen Anne Road was a big hayfield.) The widow of William Walter Phelps died in 1920 and then two years later in June 1922, just five months after our Church was formally born, the Bergen County newspapers proclaimed the big news of the region: “Phelps Estate to be opened to development.” Only after that did the center of today’s town slowly take shape.

Teaneck’s dispersed population pattern at the time the Church was being formed is well illustrated by the locations of the three public schools and four volunteer fire companies that were in existence in 1922. The West Englewood section of Teaneck, adjacent to Englewood, was served by the original Washington Irving School (now the Town House) which was completed in 1906, and by Volunteer Fire Company #1, organized in 1904, also located at Teaneck Road and Forest Avenue.

Then there was the section known as Lower Teaneck, next to Ridgefield Park and Bogota, which was served by the Longfellow School on Oakdene Avenue, completed in 1910, and by Teaneck Hose Company #1, Morningside Terrace, organized in 1911. A little further east in the Glenwood Park section, the Glenwood Park Volunteer Fireman’s Association was also organized in 1911.

Finally, there was the section in which our Church is located, which quite logically was known as the Bogota Section of Teaneck. Actually, it was the first part of town where real building activity developed. The area was served by the Emerson School, completed in 1916, and by the Cedar Volunteer Fireman’s Association, organized in 1908. The Fire Company was first located in the barn of Joseph Douglas on Linden Avenue and set up in its fire house in Kenwood Place in 1912.

Our Church’s Community

Let’s take a closer look at the Bogota Section as it was around 1920. We find the people more closely connected with Bogota than with Teaneck. Mail was delivered from the Bogota Post Office. Commuters used the Bogota railroad stations. Water was supplied by the Bogota Water Company. The principal shopping center was Main Street and Fort Lee Road, Bogota (Cedar Lane had not yet developed into a shopping district). People did their banking in Bogota, the only financial institution in Teaneck being the Teaneck Building & Loan Association. (The West Englewood National Bank, far from our area anyway, opened in 1923; the Teaneck National Bank, which has since become the Peoples Trust branch, didn’t arrive till 1926.)

And, as might be expected, most residents of the Bogota Section also went to church in Bogota. Quite a few were members of the Bogart Memorial Church there.

At that time the automobile had not as yet achieved the status of a necessity; walking was still a fairly common means of locomotion. However, it was quite a long trek from Teaneck down to Bogota to attend church services, prayer meetings and Sunday School, especially for the children and older people and particularly when the weather was bad. And so, early in 1919, some of the residents got together and began holding prayer meetings in their homes. These prayer meetings led to the formation of the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church.

The story of the Teaneck Chapel is told in what was undoubtedly the first published history concerning our Church. It appeared in the program for a play given by the local people for the benefit of the Chapel on June 10, 1921. Since it is an authoritative account of the very beginning of our Church, we reprint it here.

History of The Teaneck Chapel

“During March and April of 1919 prayer meetings were held in the homes of various residents of the Bogota Section of Teaneck, and they met with such success and were so well attended that the homes were too small to accommodate the people, and the Fire House on Kenwood Place was secured. A service has been held weekly since then, and the attendance has surprised even the sponsors of the Chapel.

An organization known as the Trustees of the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church was formed with the following officers:

Rev. F. K. Shield, PresidentWilliam BennerscheidtCharles H. Stanley, Vice PresidentJohn William CraneDouglas T. Allen, SecretaryWilliam KinzleyThomas T. Conn, TreasurerRobert J. LewisJulian E. Batson, Financial SecretaryOscar LussenhopWilliam Ward

“In June 1920, the Trustees, aided by the other organizations of the Chapel, held an open-air Carnival at Elm Avenue and Kipp Street. Conspicuous help was also rendered in the affair by various societies of the Bogart Memorial Church.

“In January 1921, a plot 100 x 150 feet was secured on the southwest corner of Elm Avenue and North Street. This is diagonally opposite the school and is easily accessible to the entire section. One thousand dollars were paid then, and there is a mortgage remaining of six hundred dollars.

“Plans and specifications having been drawn, it is now proposed to build a Chapel and Community House on this ground. It is hoped that the building can be in use by October of this year.” The time schedule was a little optimistic, but the Church was on its way.

The same 1921 program also reports on early church organizations which were already thriving. It lists the Sunday School, organized in September 1919, which by then had 160 children and met Sunday afternoons at three in the Fire House; Christian Endeavor, organized November 4, 1920, which met Thursday evenings at the Fire House; and the Women’s League, started in October 1919, which by then had 46 members.

The groundwork for a new Home and a new Church

As this early account made clear, acquisition of the Elm Ave. & North St. property and the construction of the Community House and Chapel were consummated under the direction of the Trustees of the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church before our present Church was formally organized.

To finance the project, the Bogart Memorial Church temporarily lent $5,000. William N. Smith, a prominent member of that Church, contributed substantial sums himself and gave his financial backing to secure a $5,000 mortgage loan from the Bogota National Bank. Mr. Stanley made a loan of $500.

By the close of 1921 it became evident that the Teaneck Chapel of the Bogart Memorial Church had just about fulfilled its mission. Since its inception in 1919, a congregation and Sunday School had been organized and a church home built. This record of accomplishment in the space of a little over two years bespeaks the vision, dedication and industry of the pioneers of our Church. The Chapel members were now about ready to leave the protection of the Mother Church in Bogota and strike out on their own. At a meeting of the Chapel Trustees on January 12, 1922, the Rev. Mr. Shield reported that a meeting had been called for Thursday evening, January 26, 1922, for the purpose of establishing a Church under the direction of the Classis of Bergen of the Reformed Church in America.

On the appointed day the Rev. Albert Von Schlieder, representing the Classis of Bergen, presided. The Rev. Mr. Shield reported that it was the desire of the people present to be organized into a church under the name of “The William N. Smith Community Church of Teaneck”. The church was then organized according to the constitution of the Reformed Church in America, with 110 Charter Members. Of these, thirty-five were received on letters from the Bogart Memorial Church; eleven on letters from other churches; and sixty-four on confession or reaffirmation of faith. Three Elders and three Deacons were elected at this meeting and at a special meeting four days later two additional Elders and two more Deacons were chosen. The Rev. Mr. Shield then reported that he had resigned as Associate Pastor of Bogart Memorial and and had been appointed as Classical Missionary of the Classis of Bergen, and that he would be able to act as “Stated Supply” (regular fill-in minister) of the new Church. This offer was promptly accepted and he was elected to serve at a salary of $1,500 per year.

At a Sunday evening service on February 26, 1922, the Rev. Andrew Walter Judson, representing the Classis of Bergen, conducted the ordination and and installation of the Church’s first Consistory.

The man behind our first name

We have already seen how William N. Smith’s financial backing helped get our Church started. He continued to support the Church generously during its early years of financial struggle and contributed $1,000 or more each year until his death in 1931. And in addition to his monetary support, he gave freely of himself in time and counsel.

Who was this strong friend? William Smith was born in Buffalo, N. Y., engaged in the paper business in New England, and then came to Bogota where he founded and became president of the Bogota Paper & Board Company. He also became a founder and president of the Bogota National Bank, and served for a time as Mayor of Bogota.

A member of Bogart Memorial, William Smith became a close personal friend of Bogart’s Associate Pastor Frederick Shield and when Mr. Shield undertook the Teaneck project, Mr. Smith gave his invaluable encouragement and support. It was Mr. Smith who first broke the ground to start construction of the Community House and Chapel on October 16, 1921. While not among the Charter Members, a few years later, on December 7, 1924, Mr. & Mrs. William N. Smith became members of the Church that bore his name.

The first sixteen years

After its jubilant start, the young Church was engaged in a rather grim financial struggle for survival for its first six or seven years. The annual expenses were about three to four thousand dollars and were met with a great deal of difficulty. At times the Consistory found it necessary to obtain short-term loans to meet pressing obligations such as the Pastor’s salary, fuel bills and the like. Little, if any money was available for debt reduction.

During the following decade, 1928 through 1937, considerable improvement was made in the Church’s financial situation. The saying “the Lord helps those that help themselves” could well have been the Community Church slogan. Definite plans were made to reduce the debt. Penny-a-meal banks were distributed to members to raise money for the mortgage fund. Year by year the mortgage at the Bogota National Bank was reduced; by the end of 1937 only $1,264 of the original $5,000 loan from the bank remained unpaid. (But the $5,000 loan from the Board of Domestic Missions of the Reformed Church, which in late 1922 had replaced the initial $5,000 advance from Bogart Memorial, was still outstanding.) The Church was also able, by special campaigns during this period, to raise enough money to expand and improve the Community House. It is note-worthy that much of this successful financing was accomplished during the Depression years.

The Trembath Era

The year 1938 was a special milestone. It marked the end of the old era and the beginning of a new and more successful one. In February of that year, at the annual congregational meeting, a resolution was adopted to change the name of the Church to the “Teaneck Community Church”. At this same meeting, it was voted to request the Rev. William Carman Trembath to become the fifth pastor of the Church. The Rev. Mr. Trembath led the Church with courage and purpose, and it grew and prospered. The balance of the original bank loan was paid off in 1940. In that year the Church was enlarged by building an addition to the front end of the original Chapel which greatly increased the seating capacity. The cost of the addition, new furnishings and a new organ amounted to about $9,400. In 1942 the present parsonage was acquired for about $9,000. In 1946 the debt of $5,000 to the Board of Domestic Missions was paid off. By December 194B the mortgage on the parsonage had been liquidated, and for the first time since it started in 1922 the church was completely out of debt and had a tidy sum in its treasury.

All this time the Township of Teaneck had been growing rapidly as indicated by these Federal Census figures: 1920– 4,192; 1930– 16,513; 1940– 25,275; 1950– 33,772. As the town grew, so did the Church, its membership increasing from 110 in 1922, to 185 in 1930, 250 in 1940, and 492 in 1950. The Sunday School was also growing rapidly, increasing its membership from approximately 100 in 1922, to 287 in 1930,312 in 1940, and 405 in 1950.

As this growth trend continued, it became increasingly apparent that existing Church facilities would soon become completely inadequate. Accordingly, consideration was given to a new and larger church building. The first major step in this direction was the purchase in November 1949 of additional land on Elm Avenue adjoining the Church’s property. In 1950 an Every Member Canvass was conducted which secured pledges in excess of $60,000 for the building fund, to be paid over a period of three years. This fund-raising drive was followed by others so that by the time construction of the new church was begun in April 1954, a total of over $100,000 was in the building fund. This was supplemented by an $80,000 mortgage loan. The total cost of the new church was approximately $215,000. The ground-breaking service for the new church was held on April 25, 1954, the corner stone-laying service on October 24, 1954, and the dedication service on February 6, 1955.

Growth continued. The name of the Church was again changed, this time to “The Community Church of Teaneck”. Mortgage payments were met as they fell due, and in addition money was available to make needed improvements in the Church plant.

Then, on November 23, 1959, the Church and the town were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Pastor Trembath. He had served his congregation faithfully and well for twenty-one years. The following editorial which appeared in Teaneck’s local newspaper expressed the feelings of the entire community.

“A man familiar to many Teaneck residents, a fine churchman and a friend to those who needed him, died in Teaneck on Monday. His name was William Carman Trembath, and he was pastor of the Community Church of Teaneck.

“Many people, including members of the Sunday Sun staff, used to enjoy a chat with this remarkable man. He seemed to be one of those rare persons who never show age. But despite this, a heart attack Monday took him suddenly from his congregation in Teaneck.

“It seems a small tribute to a man so well loved as Rev. Trembath to print some faint eulogy on the editorial page of a newspaper. His thoughts and deeds were living ones dedicated to a child, a mother, a mourning husband, to one thousand and one troubled souls who came to him in need. A newspaper’s words may be forgotten with the rush of the next day’s events but a life of service sticks in the mind.

“We hope that when readers forget this small editorial, they will still remember warmly the fatherly man who served them for 21 years. We hope his thoughts will live to in- spire the young members of his congregation and to com- fort the older ones. And we hope that Teaneck in some concrete way remembers the life and works of William Carman Trembath, Pastor.”