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Bay Ridge United Church(BRUC) is located on Bay Ridge Parkway (636) in the Bay Ridge Section of Brooklyn, New York. The congregation is a blend of two churches from two similar but different denominations and is a member of both the Reformed Church in America〔Email, Russell Gasero, Reformed Church in America, Archivist, April 24, 2013〕 and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). ==South Reformed Church== The South Reformed Church, an offshoot of the Old First Reformed Church (Brooklyn, New York) was organized in 1838. Its first building was a plain wooden structure measuring 40 by 55 feet and stood on the corner of 43rd Street and Third Avenue. Mr. George King was the architect, the Messrs. Rhoades, the carpenters, and the Messrs. Buchanan and Van Nostrand the masons having completed it at a contract price of $1660 on June 23, 1840.〔Historical Sketch of the South Reformed Dutch Church of the City of Brooklyn, May 1886.〕 Its first pastor was Rev. Cornelius Cullan Ardsdale. He was succeeded by the Rev. Dr.〔The New York Times, October 27, 1890〕 Samuel Merrill Woodbridge in 1841. In 1890 he was Dean of the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church of New Brunswick, N.J.〔A History of Long Island, Nathaniel S. Prime, 1845〕 During his pastorate the consistory bought the building then owned by The Fourth Presbyterian Church (New School) of the City of Brooklyn (Brooklyn Fourth) located on 3rd Avenue between 20th and 21st Street, Brooklyn which was organized by the Third Presbytery of New York in the Village of Gowanus, in February, 1838. A house of worship was erected soon after, and the Rev. Robert R. Kellogg was installed June 4, 1839, by the Presbytery of Brooklyn. He was dismissed on the 7th of December following, and the congregation being few, and oppressed with debt, the church was dissolved by the presbytery, May 9, 1842.〔Inventory of the Church Archives of New York City: Presbyterian Church in the USA (New York, NY: Historical Records Survey, 1940, entry 164)〕 Subsequently, the building was purchased by the Third Dutch church, and for several years services were held alternately in the morning and evening in the two churches. About 1850, the congregation divided into two portions: those worshipping in the 22nd Street church known as the North Gowanus Church moved to Twelfth Street, where they were then known as the Twelfth Street Reformed Church. At the South Reformed Church the Rev. Dr. Woodbridge’s pastorate ended in 1850. He was succeeded by the Rev. Jonathan M. Rowland who was called from the Presbyterian Church but who died a little over a year afterward. There was an interval of a few years when the church was without a pastor and about 1854 the Rev. John H. Manning became pastor and held the place for nineteen years. During his pastorate the church went through a crisis with the yellow fever in July and August, 1856. Three of the four members of the church consistory died of the disease and the church membership was decimated. The neighborhood was panic-stricken, but the church bravely kept at its post. In March 1863, the church was burned down. The fire is supposed to have been caused by a stove used for heating the church.〔Brooklyn Eagle, March 16, 1863, p. 7〕 After meeting in P.S. 2 at 47th Street and 3rd Avenue, in 1875 the new church edifice at 52nd Street and 3rd Avenue which had been begun a few years before was dedicated. It cost about $35,000. The church started with seventeen members and grew to 200 members with a Sunday school of 325 in 1890.〔"A Church's Half Century," The New York Times (Oct. 27,1890)〕 Rev. Dr. Henry.V.S. Myers was pastor from 1874 to 1882. The Rev. Alfred De W. Mason was pastor in 1890. On December 7, 1890 the evening service was occupied in the formal receiving of a baptismal font , communion table, kneeling stool and collection plates given to the church by the members of the Bergen family. When the church was formed fifty years earlier the territory of Bay Ridge was very sparsely settled and would have discouraged a less hardy class of people. The several branches of Bergens were the real reason for the permanent establishment. While many of the Bergens had left the neighborhood fifty-one joined in the tribute to the church. Mr. deHart Bergen read the deed of the gift and the list of fifty donors and handed it over to the pastor. Teunis G. Bergen, grandson of〔ancestry.com〕Teunis G. Bergen followed in a very brief address, speaking on behalf of the family. The communion table and chair were massive black walnut.〔Brooklyn Eagle, Dec. 8, 1890〕 Rev. John Tallmadge Bergen was pastor from 1892 to 1895 and the Rev. Benjamin E. Dickhaut from 1896 to 1903. As the congregation grew they needed a new location to expand so they moved to 55th Street and Fourth Avenue. The cornerstone of the church was laid in on Saturday afternoon September 6, 1902. The pastor presided and a large children's chorus sung under his leadership "Praise Ye the Father" and "The Psalms." He also read the contents of the box that was placed in the stone and the church was called The South Reformed Church.〔Brooklyn Eagle, Sep. 4, 1902〕 The first service was held on March 16, 1904 with the Reverend Dr. William J. MacDonald as its Pastor. In an M. P. Moller ledger book is a handwritten copy of the Letter of Agreement of March 26, 1910, between Möller and the South Reformed Church. Möller agreed to build a two-manual organ with tubular-pneumatic action and casing of quartered oak that would be ready for use on or before the 1st day of September 1910; however, the organ was not shipped until September 3. Möller also replaced the old water motor with a new one. The total cost of the organ was $4,500, less an allowance of $1,000 for the old organ, then in the church, which became the property of Möller.〔American Guild of Organists, NYC Chapter (http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Bkln/html/SouthRef.html)〕 In 1915, the Brooklyn Home Talk reported that there were 1500 students in the Sunday School.〔The South Brooklyn Home Talk, Apr. 14, 1915, p. 1〕 On its 75th Anniversary it was stated that South Reformed was the pioneer church in that section of Brooklyn and was the parent of Greenwood Heights, the Twelfth Street and the Bay Ridge Reformed Churches.〔Brooklyn Eagle, 1915〕 Bay Ridge Reformed eventually became the current Union Church of Bay Ridge. The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Watson was pastor from 1917 to 1927. In 1918 it had a membership of 1198 with a Sunday school of 1415. $10,560 was raised and the property value was $75,000.〔Brooklyn Eagle Almanac, 1918, p. 309〕 Dr. Watson accepted a call to the First Dutch Reformed Church of Jamaica in December, 1927.〔South Brooklyn Home Talk, December 14, 1927〕 The Rev. George Steininger was installed as pastor on May 1, 1928 and served until 1938.〔Brooklyn Daily Times, March 27, 1928〕 “The Yearly Report January 1, 1929-1930” reported $11,541 in receipts and disbursements and a Sunday school of 500. The Rev. Dr. Leroy C. Brandt was pastor from 1939-1942.〔Centennial Anniversary, South Reformed Church,1840-1940, Edith Cottrell, Editor〕 Rev. Frank Curtis Williams was pastor from 1943 until his last service on July 28, 1962. In 1967 Rev. John A. Shope resigned. From January 28, 1968 to June 15. 1969 the Rev. Ronald Maxam was interim pastor. On October 26, 1969 the Rev. H. Lyle Rozeboom was installed. When the congregation united with Bay Ridge United Presbyterian Church to become Bay Ridge United Church, The Reverend Lyle Rozeboom was the Pastor and The Reverend Frank Williams Pastor Emeritus. The Reverend Ephraim Felix was the Pastor of the Hispanic congregation which was started in 1973. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bay Ridge United Church」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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