Our History

From its inception, involvement in the Passaic community was a major part of the identity of First Presbyterian Church of Passaic. We were instrumental in founding Passaic General Hospital, the Board of Education, and the Board of Social Welfare.

This current building is the congregation's third sanctuary, the second in this location. (The Tiffany windows from the previous sanctuary still grace our fellowship hall.) The cornerstone was laid on the day before "Black Friday" in 1929. In light of the financial situation, the Session considered scaling back their construction design but decided to continue with it as planned as a sign of their confidence in the community's ability to weather the coming storm. The construction of the sanctuary provided a source of employment for local craftsmen during the darkest days - a fact recognized by the donation of the "Worker's Window" over the organ screen in the chancel. The organ was built by the Skinner Organ Company in the 1930s, with the antiphonal organ added by Aeolian-Skinner a decade later. The stained glass windows were added by Connick Studios in the late 1940s. Each depicts a series of biblical stories on a theme. The large window in the rear balcony, for example is the "Women's Window" as it was given by the women of the church and contains a number of the prominent women in the bible. Other features of note are the original City of Passaic flag (one of eight extant), the heads of the servicemen and women under the balcony, and the angels holding the shields of great universities. The youngest of these, representing Princeton University, bears the face of Dr. Talbott's daughter, who died at the age of two.

From 1920 until 1968 the church was pastored by Dr. George H. Talbott. In addition to his work as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bloomfield College and his service to the national Presbyterian Church, Dr. Talbott is remembered for his devotion to the City of Passaic and his compassion for her residents. He served on the board or steering committee of every major social service agency in the town and provided guidance to mayors, hospital presidents, school superintendents and fellow clergy.

In recent years the fortunes of the church, like those of the town have changed, and during this last interim the Session felt that important decisions needed to be made about our future. Reconnecting with the community was a "must," and to that end we have partnered with the United Passaic Organization to sponser a Food Pantry and a Clothes Closet. The church has also become home to a social worker and a "Strengthening Families" program, and we are pleased to host special programs for Head Start, PTOs, Passaic General Hospital, and others.

God's faithfulness in the past gives us hope for the future. To that end, we have begun seeking signs and symbols to make our welcome known.

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Our Mission

  In Bible studies and prayer services, we asked God again and again to show us who in the community needed us, where we were called to be bridge-builders and reconcilers, who were the "aliens and strangers" we were to "bring near" to the love of Christ.  And again and again God kept speaking to us the word of hope and showing to us the sign of the rainbow.  As we began understanding the demographic data of our community, we realized that there were over 70 houses of worship to welcome the many diverse ethnic cultures of our community - but not one that was openly welcoming of gays and lesbians.  We realized that God was calling us to this ministry of outreach and healing.

The rainbow flag over our baptismal font represents first God's covenant with all humanity (no exceptions!), second God's promise to make all things new in Christ, and third a particular welcome to people of different cultures and sexual orientation.

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Our Vision for theFuture

We plan to develop an AIDS ministry (there isn't one in Passaic) and we are considering various "social" functions such as an alcohol-free coffee-house where people can meet and speak freely of all that is in their hearts.
 
We also continue to be aware of the ongoing needs of our community.  Passaic has neither a battered women's shelter nor a homeless shelter, so we are working with other community agencies to create these needed services.  We have recently expanded our hot lunch program on Saturdays and hope to expand it to every week as soon a possible. 

We do not know to what God will call us in the future, but we believe we have been given these two avenues of mission by God, and that as we are faithful to our calling, God will lead us on.

 

OUR SERVICES

In addition to Sunday morning worship services, we offer opportunities for adult education, Bible study, prayer, participation in our Choir, and service to the community.  The building and staff are available for weddings and commitment ceremonies.  Talbott Hall and other rooms are available for community groups and families to use for a variety of seminars and celebrations.  A nominal fee is charged to help offset our maintenance costs.

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Our Partners in Ministry

Iglesia Bethel Reformada
A spanish language protestant congregation that worships on Sundays at 9:30am

United Passaic Organization (UPO)
Food Pantry and Thrift Shop

Head Start
Strengthening Families Program

AA
Saturday night (7:30pm) Gay & Lesbian meeting

VFW
Third Thursday of the month

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Our Staff

Ray VandeGiessen, pastor

Ray was installed as the sixth pastor of the Passaic Church on April 25, 2004.  He was originally ordained in the Reformed Church in America in 1982 and served congregations in New York, Michigan, and New Jersey before transferring his ordination to the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Ray currently resides in Newark.  He is the father of three children: Sarah, Rachel, and Nathan.

Jalmari Vanamo, music director

Jalm has been the music director since 2000.  He graduated from Westminster Choir College with a degree in Music Education.  In addition to his duties with the congregation he works as a music teacher in Englewood.  He is a life-long resident of Clifton.

Angela Valenti, sexton

Angela has been with the church for 30 years.  She is the mother of 2, grandmother of 4 and great-grandmother of 3.  She resides in Passaic.

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