BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH – – Restoration of the roof at a 158-year-old Long Branch church is a symbol of the congregation’s faith that the church will remain a house of worship in the future, according to its pastor.
The roof restoration project was started a couple of years ago as a “symbol of great faith from the congregation,” said the Rev. Jane Price last week.
“We want a whole new church to start, and that gives us a reason for restoring the roof,” said Price, who serves as the part-time pastor of The First Reformed Church of Long Branch on Broadway.
The church serves as the place of worship for a modest 20 senior citizens, Price explained last week.
“We are an aged congregation for the most part,” Price said, adding, “I would guess the average age [of the congregants] is 75 years.”
And in a decade, Price said, the congregation she describes as rich with values and beliefs could be nonexistent.
“There are just so few people left,” she said.
“In 10 years, I envision a new congregation at the church with fresh ideas and new personalities.
“The people in our church are older. We don’t have the financial or human resources to revitalize the church,” said Price who serves as part-time pastor due to financial constraints.
The $180,000 roof restoration project involves installation of a new slate roof and has been carried out in four phases, with the final phase on the westerly side of the roof expected to be complete in March.
“This really is a labor of love,” Price said. “There were questions why the roof was being done with slate, being that we have so few people and so little money.
“But our congregation really wants to see this building preserved,” she said, adding, “even if it will be used by another congregation some day.”
Funding for the project came from a private donation and money from the congregants, Price said.
The original church structure was constructed in 1849, and in 1901 the building underwent the first and only major renovation in its existence.
“In 1901, the whole style of the building was changed to what it is now,” Price said. “And in 1901, the last roof was put on.”
The historic value of the building is something Price said she wants to see passed to another generation.
“A bell was installed at the church in 1852,” she said, “and the original bell is still there.”
The stained-glass windows that give the church “a vibrancy and beauty” were installed in 1901 and the church houses a pipe organ with pipes that date back to 1850, according to Price.
The church is part of the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and practices a Protestant theology, which Price said is close to the Presbyterian theology.
“Many main-line Protestant churches are having great difficulty in maintaining members,” Price explained about her small congregation.
CHRIS KELLY staff The First Reformed Church of Long Branch on Broadway is undergoing its final phase of a roof restoration project to preserve the 158-year-old building. The church’s pastor, the Rev. Jane Price (at left), ministers to the small congregation of some 20 worshippers. “Why is it diminishing?” she asked. “I wish I could figure it out.
“There is not a single factor, but I would guess it has to do with society and culture.
“Some mainline churches are not strong enough to try and educate and keep their young people, and maybe we don’t sell ourselves well,” she said.
“We have an honest faith, based on the Bible, that believes in God and that only wants the best for God’s people,” Price said. “But our following has dwindled.”
In preparing for the future of the building, Price said the building will “absolutely be used as a church.”
“The last thing our congregation would want to see is an upscale restaurant here,” she said.
Last year, Price said she made a decision and committed to try to enlist help from the next higher level of church government, known as Lassis of New Brunswick, a regional organization of churches throughout the state.
“We are asking them to help in analyzing whether a whole new church could be started here,” she said, “a church without old ideas and with a pastor who specializes in that work.”
If that doesn’t pan out, Price said she would like to see the Brazilian congregation known as the Bride of the Lamb, which now uses space in the church hall, take over the church building.
In addition to the church building, The First Reformed Church property at 650 Broadway includes an attached hall and a parsonage.
The hall acts as a gathering place for church functions, but four times a week becomes the house of worship for the Bride of the Lamb congregation.
“It is just a wonderful congregation,” Price said, explaining that her church rents the space to the Brazilian congregation.
“It is quite frequent that churches share space,” Price said, adding, “In Long Branch, a lot of the churches are attracting immigrant congregations.”
Price said the Brazilian congregation of some 150 people is a “thriving congregation.”
“I have great respect for them,” she said. “They are providing a wonderful place for people to come. They are a values-based congregation and we are glad to have them.”
The house, which stands on the corner of Grove Street and Broadway, once acted as a parsonage and served as the home for the ministers at the church.
Today the house still serves as a home, but on a very different level, Price explained.
“We are using it to help people who need homes,” Price said.
“We do not charge rent for this,” she said, adding, “We receive some donations and do it as an outreach.”
Today, a family within the congregation is living in the house while they save money to buy their own home, Price explained.
In the past, the church has housed two other families in the building.
Price added that the house was once rented out to a group called Teen Challenge.
“They housed young people to help them get over substance abuse,” she said.
Price said she has high hopes for the future of the church.
“There is something about the church that has a special feeling to it,” she said, adding, “I guess you would hope all sanctuaries have that feeling.”
Price also added that the First Reformed congregation is one she is proud of.
“There is a deep and abiding faith that you can find in these people,” she said. “They have a wisdom and they have been through a lot.
“They have a grounding in their life and in their faith that keeps them going,” she continued. “It keeps bringing them back to the church.”
Price said the congregation wants to restore the building as well as they can. Once the roof is completed, painting the exterior of the church is next on the list.
“The church definitely needs to be painted,” she said. “That will be our next big project.
“We don’t have that money in place, but something will happen. We all have faith in it.”