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Bishop Janes Church was often the first pulpit assignment for newly graduated seminary students and, in at least one case, for "trial preachers." It was a steppingstone to groom pastors for larger, more affluent churches in larger metropolitan areas. As a result, the early pastors rarely stayed on for more than a year or two.
The first meetings of Bishop Janes Methodists were held in a home on South Finley Avenue, across the street from our current location and adjacent to the Brick Academy that still stands on the corner of South Finley and West Oak Street. In the fall of 1853, funding was raised to build our first church and we know from our history that Bishop Edmund Janes was instrumental in providing both initiative and labor in that effort. In 1854, the congregation began worshiping in the first church structure, a wood frame church built at the cost of $2,560 with $831 of the cost being pledged and funded in advance. Of course, like today there were cost overruns and the final cost of the structure, when completed in November 1854 was $3,700 (nearly 50% more than budgeted!). The pastoral salary in those days, shared by the two sister churches was $350. Our history shows that the early church struggled to make ends meet and it was noted that things got to such a point that the Trustees had to "borrow back" $125 from Reverence Day in 1855 to meet "present demands." Reverend Day is also reported to have formed the first Methodist Episcopal choir in 1856 having lobbied successfully for funds to purchase hymnals for the church.
The church grew steadily in the decade that followed so that we had a membership of 85 persons in 1861 with further growth to 126 during the time of the Civil War. In 1862 we had eleven teachers and 104 pupils enrolled in the Sunday School program showing what a tremendous outreach program was in place at the time. We had five members serve in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. One, Timothy Baldwin, died in a skirmish near Williamsburg in 1862. Although he is not buried in the church cemetery, he could have been, since Evergreen Cemetery was formed in 1858. Costs for a burial plot in those days was $25 in cash or equivalent goods or labor. The first plots were sold to a number of pre-Revolutionary war families with names of historic value; namely, Allen, Alward and Conkling. Another was sold to Solomon Gillespie who ran the stagecoach line between Basking Ridge and Bound Brook.
Both Men and Women were counted within the membership but church records from that period of time include reference to an approved motion of May 30, 1860 requiring that the sexes be seated separately during worship. It is unclear who kept children in tow on Sunday morning; but it is a good guess that such responsibility fell to the women.
Because our earliest preachers were usually young men assigned to the church directly after graduation from Drew Theological School, most were bachelors. In 1858, one such eligible bachelor, Reverend Edwin Day, became engaged and married while on assignment at Bishop Janes Church. He married Julia Van Doren, the daughter of Ferdinand and Phoebe Van Doren, the property owners of the Van Doren Mill located across the street from the Olde Mill Inn.
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The congregation of Bishop Janes took on the mantle of "United Methodist Church" in 1968 as a result of the uniting of the former Methodist Church and The Evangelical United Brethren Church leadership. As a result of that merger, the name of the Women's Society of Christian Service (WSCS became the United Methodist Women (UMW) and the number of scrumptious recipes for casseroles increased in diversity.
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We hope that you will find a strong, nurturing home within the family of Bishop Janes United Methodist Church and that you will grow in faith and service during your time with us. We know that your presence makes us what we are and shapes what we will become in the future as we reach out to continue to serve our parishioners, our community and our God.