SPRINGFIELD — The historic First Presbyterian Church of Springfield recently celebrated Presbyterian heritage and the American Revolution.
“Celebrating 250 Years in God’s Sight” was a free community event open to the public. Event highlights included live storytelling in “story slam” format; an in-depth question-and-answer session with a panel of regional and academic historians, photo-ops and a confetti celebration followed by live music and refreshments.
All attendees posed in front of the church while red, white and blue confetti was fired off in a confetti canyon.
The Rev. Christian T. Iosso, interim minister at Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church, said, “A strong majority of Presbyterians supported the Revolution to the point that the Elizabeth, Union and Springfield churches were burnt.”
Although the event was in Springfield, about 60 congregations were represented, with the oldest including Rahway and Newark, as well as Elizabeth, Westfield and a couple of originally Dutch Reformed churches in Jersey City and Bergenfield. The Presbytery of Northeast NJ includes Union, Essex, Bergen and Hudson counties.
“We have a history popping up all the time,” said Rev. Iosso.
The Rev. Ray Roberts, author of “A Democratic and Republican Faith: A Public Theology for a Church and Nation in Crisis,” was one of the featured speakers.
He spoke about Presbyterian founders who believed religious freedom was an expression of true religion. He said, “Commitment to religious freedom rooted in demands for freedom of conscience and freedom of the body of Christ. Religious freedom inspired our Presbyterian founders. We ought to feel good about religious liberty. The founders believed in the principle of human dignity.” He noted this was found in The Declaration of Independence.
Skip Winter said, “All 51 churches here before the Revolutionary War came together and formed a unique form of communication. Presbyterians were very influential in creating a system to develop communication skills. Presbyterians were afraid the Church of England would become the premiere church in the United States. New Jersey, with 51 churches, was important. We were in the center of everything.”
The First Presbyterian Church of Springfield was used as a storehouse during the American Revolution. Some history suggests the church’s parsonage was used as George Washington’s local headquarters.
The original structure was burned by the British during the battle.
The church graveyard is the final resting place of at least 30 Revolutionary War soldiers.
The First Presbyterian Church of Springfield is located at 7 Church Mall. To learn more, visit: https://www.springfieldpresbyterian.org/.
Photos by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta
