I very frequently hear the church bells ringing over at Bethel, but I must have missed a transition. Is there a visitor to this site who can bring us up to speed on the status of that legendary Bromley church which has been a landmark for those of us in the Bromley section of Hamilton. I understand that Lutherans have abandoned the building and there is another religious group serving the community.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: tglover320@optimum.net
Thursday, March 05, 2009
1989: Bethel Welcomes Rev. Jeffrey Elliott
I very frequently hear the church bells ringing over at Bethel, but I must have missed a transition. Is there a visitor to this site who can bring us up to speed on the status of that legendary Bromley church which has been a landmark for those of us in the Bromley section of Hamilton. I understand that Lutherans have abandoned the building and there is another religious group serving the community.
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5 comments:
Hi Tom,
I believe that Bethel closed its doors in Nov, 2007. I grew up around the corner, and so that became my church. Sunday School, youth group, confirmation, married there, and my two girls were baptized there. The Grimm family can probably provide you lots of details, since they were prominent members. I remained an inactive member after moving to Virginia permanently in 1977. I hated to see it close, but I think the congregation was simply too small to support such a big building that constantly needed repairs. Very sad.
Judy Blecha
Hi Judy:
Many thanks for the updated info. I still live in the Bromley section (Atlantic Avenue). Webb and Jean Grimm are very dear friends. Webb was our insurance agent all through our early years of marriage. I still see them at the "Happy Hearts" senior center when I do my "The Music We Grew Up With" program. Thanks again for visiting.
XO
Tom
Hi Tom,
As a long time member of Bethel, (roughly 35 years), I can tell you quite a bit about the church and its ultimate demise. As a previous commenter mentioned, the congregation of Bethel closed its doors on November 18, 2007, The reasons are numerous but the main ones include a diminishing congregation and therefore a lack of funds to sustain the day-to-day operations of the congregation and its properties. The church building and basement was shared for a time before the closing with a newly formed Lutheran church. When the Bethel congregation could no longer afford to stay, the building and basement were given to the congregation sharing space, with the hopes that the religious needs of the neighborhood could be met by a more diverse and contemporary congregation. As I understand things as of this writing, that congregation has since vacated the building as it could not survive financially as well. The building and basement, and I would presume the parsonage next door, are currently up for sale by the NJ Synod and may have a potential buyer - this is info that I have heard from a legitimate source but have not verified myself.
If you wish any further information about Bethel and its history I would be glad to answer any questions or provide you with any knowledge I have.
Thanks for a great website. My grandmother, who was a member of Bethel herself for well over 50 years, let me know about it. I look forward to scouring its pages in hopes of gleaning as much history regarding Hamilton Township as I can. Keep up the great work!
Many thanks for your input and offer to impart more information on this beautiful church. This would be a perfect place to do just that.
Tom Glover
In response to your previous comment about Web and Jean Grimm, I just saw them the other day - both look very well and in great spirits. I had a nice long chat with them, especially Jean, about the "good 'ol days" at Bethel Lutheran Church! She reminded me of the wonderful fundraisers the church would host and about the delicious pies both her mother and Larry Kochs' mother would bake to sell at the events. I enjoy hearing the old tales of Bethel and its' yesteryear - I only wish I had been born during those years to enjoy it and have some memories of my own of those times gone by!
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