History

On April 3, 1921, a group of about fifty people met at Beck's Hall at Four Corners for the purpose of organizing a church. The Rev. Peter Deckenbach, pastor of the Grace Episcopal Church of Westwood, conducted a service of hope and inspiration to the gathering. Three weeks later, on April 23, 1921, the River Vale Community Church was incorporated with thirty-nine charter members. The nondenominational congregation continued meeting at Beck's Hall on Sunday afternoons until 1926, when they moved into their new church building on Rivervale Road near Echo Glen Road, where the church continues to meet to this day. A Ladies' Aid Society was formed concurrently with the church, as was a Sunday school. The church remained unaffiliated until 1962, when, under the pastorate of the Rev. Hans Josephsen, the River Vale Community Church became a part of the Evangelical Free Church of America and changed its name to the Community Evangelical Free Church of River Vale, being duly incorporated according to the laws of New Jersey in 1963.

 

From the first year of the existence of the church, a building for meeting was discussed. In October 1924, the present property on Rivervale Road near Echo Glen Road was purchased from Garrett Holdrum. Immediately afterward, a concentrated effort was started to raise the funds needed to erect the building. Ground was broken in June 1926, and the building was dedicated on September 12 of that year. The late Eleanor Stanwood, a long-time River Vale resident and church member, recalled in an 1983 interview what the church first looked like: "It was just a little portable building, and one basement room was the Sunday School. The Bogerts next door would come and build a fire every Sunday to keep the church warm for the service. We had a kitchen with an iron sink that had a pump handle to get water, and, of course, the little outhouse in the back." As the congregation grew, it became evident that the church at its original size was inadequate to meet the needs. In 1956, construction began on an addition to provide much-needed Sunday School rooms (and indoor plumbing); the new addition was completed in February of the following year. A second addition was dedicated in 1962 and a third in 1967. During the 1967 renovation, the original windows in the 1926 building were removed and reused in the lantern-style light fixtures in the sanctuary. The window glass was also used in releading the "Christ at Gethsemane" window from a rectangle to a round window, which was mounted at the front of the sancturary and lit. In 1979, a fourth addition was constructed; the sanctuary was turned from the east to the north and seating capacity was doubled. The "Christ at Gethsemane" window was relocated to the north end of the sanctuary and lit with natural light. The 1979 addition also included a baptistry and a fellowship hall for church functions. The front portico with its double staircase was built in 1970 and renovated in 2001.

 

During the first thirty-five years, the Community Church was served by part-time or visiting ministers, with the exception of the years between 1935 and 1940, when the Rev. Howard Barnes was the church's first full-time pastor. When the Rev. John Donato became the second full-time pastor, the church built a parsonage for him and his family on the church property. Constructed with all-volunteer labor, it was completed in 1960 and serves as the senior pastor's home, with the exception of the years between 1983 and 1997, when a second home in River Vale served as the parsonage and the original parsonage was housing for the church's full-time youth ministers. With an eye toward further expansion, the adjoining property at 604 New Street was acquired in 1995, and is used as a meeting place by the church's youth ministries.