History
A Brief History of the Watchung Avenue Prebyterian Church
The Watchung Avenue Presbyterian Church was born on December 3, 1855 as a Sunday School for the residents of North Plainfield. At that time, there were less than 500 residents in the borough. The school was started in a room rented for a period of six months for the sum of fifteen dollars.
In 1870, it became the Warren Union Mission Society with a small chapel on Chatham Street. In the original constitution, it was stated that the object of the chapel was to “advance the cause of Christianity, by conducting religious exercises in connection with a general mission Sabbath School, without being sectarian.”
During the next few years, considerable thought was given to the desirability of becoming affiliated with one of the established churches in Plainfield. It was finally decided to discontinue the non-sectarian status and, on May 8, 1893, a resolution was adopted whereby the property of the Warren Union Mission Society was transferred to the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church. The Society’s name was changed to Warren Chapel and Rev. Joseph O. McKelvey became the pastor under the direction of the mother church.
The membership of the chapel grew rapidly and soon had outgrown the Chatham Street building. Larger quarters were needed. A new site was selected at the corner of Watchung and Fairview Avenues and on October 13, 1907, the present church building was dedicated.
By 1916, the chapel had become sufficiently strong to strike out on its own. On April 18, 1916, a petition was presented to the Presbytery of Elizabeth to enable the Warren Chapel to become an independent church. The petition was granted and the chapel’s name was changed to the Watchung Avenue Presbyterian Church. Within a few years, Crescent Avenue was relieved of all further support. Its counsel, encouragement and financial support will always be appreciated.
In May 1923, owing to poor health, Rev. McKelvey resigned. He had served our church faithfully from its chapel days through its existence as an independent church.
On January 28, 1924, Rev. David J. Spratt was installed as our second pastor. The depression followed the financial stability of the 20′s. The pastor reported in 1936 that church finances in general seemed somewhat better and he had been paid the arrears in his previous year’s salary. Seeing a brighter outlook for the church, Rev. Spratt resigned as pastor on June 14, 1937.
Rev. Earl E. Hair was installed as our third pastor on April 21, 1938. He shepherded us through the planning and construction of our Parish House. It was dedicated on October 13, 1957, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the church building. The church grew to its all-time high of 745 members. Rev. Hair served faithfully for almost 30 years until poor health caused him to retire in 1964.
Rev. Richard Kahlenberg (1964-1970) and Rev. Howard Milkman (1970-1977) followed him. During these pastorates, many physical improvements were made to the church and new programs of service were established for the congregation and the community.
Rev. J. Brooks Smith (1978-2007) served the congregation and community well. His work with Friends of the Carpenter, the Hispanic community and missions in Central America and the Plainfield area brought a new dimension to the life and mission of WAPC. Service to the community that began with the Warren Mission continued unabated.
Rev. Shannan Vance Ocampo (2009-Present) is our present Pastor.