"everliving god, whose will it is that all should
come to you through your son jesus christ: inspire our witness to him,
that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his
resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one
god, now and for ever. amen." -- the book of common prayer
all
saints' church, the second church to be founded in glen
rock, had its
beginning in 1913 from twin roots. a small group of persons living near
the rock, with bonds of friendship and ties to the episcopal
church,
met regularly, held informal services and, with the permission of the
diocese, started a church school in september 1913 at smith-singer
hall, just beside the current location of the glen rock's main line
railroad tracks. robert l. ware was the first church school
superintendent and teacher, with an initial class of six young people.
meanwhile, the rev. philip pearson of christ church,
ridgewood, became
interested in starting a mission here, began working with a group of
glen rockers, and preached the first sermon to the new group on
december 21, 1913.
the new congregation applied for, and was granted, the status of a
mission by bishop edwin s. lines, on february 17th, 1914. bishop ware
suggested the name all saints, which was chosen as the most appropriate
of several submitted by parishioners. during the first several months,
students of the general theological seminary in new york served the
little mission on sundays. in june 1915, the diocese assigned to the
mission its first resident minister, the rev. fredrick j. buttery, then
a deacon.
the triangular plot on which the present church stands is surrounded by
carlton place, central avenue and berkeley place was purchased for
$1,200 in march 1917 during mr. armstrong's ministry. construction of
the original sanctuary was started early in 1919. appropriately, it was
on all saints' day 1919 that the first major milestone in the history
of the young church took place. that was the dedication of the new
building under the leadership of rev. hugh w. dickinson.
in 1922, the reverend john e. bailey, assistant minister of st. james
church, milwaukee, accepted a call to all saints' church on a "six
month trial basis". his ministry was to shepherd the church during its
growing years into a full parish status began on september 1, 1922.
all saints' formally became a parish on april 9th, 1939. however, it
suffered a severe setback a little more than a year later on may 4,
1940 when a fire of undetermined origin caused extensive damage to the
east end of the church and the basement. some interior re-decoration
was required with replacement of the heating plant and plumbing and a
completely new kitchen. the nearby community church graciously offered
the temporary use of its facilities, and 8 o'clock sunday services were
conducted there through november 1940.
by 1956, participation by children in the church school and by parents
in the family service had increased to such an extent that the church
and parish hall could no longer accommodate the members. arrangements
were made with the glen rock's board of education to move these
services to the coleman elementary school and later, when they became
available, the facilities of central school on maple avenue nearer the
church were used for this purpose. in the same year, mr. bailey brought
to an end his long and faithful career as a parish priest. a memorable
farewell reception attended by more than three hundred members of the
parish marked the leave-taking of mr. bailey who became rector emeritus.
called as his successor was the rev. ivan h. partridge, who came to
glen rock with his wife the former jean macgregor and their son peter
from st. luke's church, montclair, new jersey where he had served as
curate.
by 1956, plans were beginning to take shape for the erection of a new
sanctuary capable of accommodating fully the needs of a parish that had
grown from a half-dozen families to upwards of four hundred
communicants. in 1958, all saints' largest capital improvement
fund-raising campaign got under way with the need set at $265,000. the
laying of the corner stone of the new church and parish hall took place
in december of 1960. bishop leland stark officially opened the church
on october 8, 1961.
the remarkable growth of the parish through the building years, and
into the middle nineteen-sixties was concomitant with the growth of its
organizations and with the growth of the glen rock area as a bedroom
community for new york city. the second half of the nineteen sixties
also brought change for all saints'. glen rock experienced a major
population change, having its impetus in large migrations of southern
farm workers to nearby cities. as glen rock changed its predominantly
protestant character, all saints' experienced changes, as well,
including a decline in our once booming attendance.
however, the resolve of all saints' people and clergy remained strong
through the 1970s. the church continued to provide strong preaching,
worship, and excellent music, especially under the leadership of the
rev. dale l. cranston, curate and director of music.
in the 1980s, the parish bid farewell to father partridge after his 32
years of able leadership throughout much change in both society and in
the episcopal church. all saints' was led through the 1990s by three
priests--the rev. kim f. capwell, the rev. ashley c. neal, and the rev.
victoria geer mcgrath. each brought about a fruitful era of ministry.
during this time, our preschool ministry began to flourish, offering a
creative and fun setting for children ages six weeks to twelve years to
learn, play, grow, and study. our ministries to glen rock continued,
and the parish experienced remarkable lay leadership during several
interim periods between priests.
in 2003, the reverend gray lesesne became the fifth rector of all
saints' church. working with the lay leadership of the parish, father
lesesne and the vestry have set a bold new course for all saints'--to
be a place where such a radical welcome is offered, that our members
and newcomers grow in our relationships with god and with each other.
after father lesesne left in 2008 for a calling to urban ministry in
the midwest, all saints' was led by the reverend lynne grifo as interim
rector. also the associate coordinator in the office of ministry
development of the episcopal church, pastor lynne helped all saints'
explore spirituality and the christian faith while the parish prepared
for the calling of a new rector.
in 2010, the reverend timothy h. burger was called to become the rector
of all saints' church. father tim was received by the
congregation with great zeal and installed by the rt. reverend mark
beckwith. a strong believer of lay leadership, fr.
tim empowered leaders in the congregation to take
ownership
of ministiries, while providing pastoral support from behind.
fr. tim
and his familiy relocated to massachussets in august 2015.
in september 2015, the reverend mark r. collins became all saints'
interim rector.
in early 2017, after careful examination of the candidates
submitted by the search committee, earnest prayers, and careful
discernment, the vestry decided to call fr. mark to be all saints'
rector. fr. mark was instituted as all saints' seventh rector by
the right reverend mark beckwith on april 29, 2017. fr. mark will
be leading all saints' to seek and serve god, loving our neighbors as
ourselves. all saints' is excited and blessed to enter into a new
phase of ministry with fr. mark.
we invite you to become a part of our history as we grow together!