Two Princeton Area Congregational Churches Merge
The East Brunswick Congregational Church has merged into Christ Congregation, a Princeton church located on Walnut Lane across from Westminster Choir College.
The Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, will co-pastor the merged congregation with the Rev. Jeffrey Mays.
The merger was effective as of April 1. Both congregations voted unanimously for the merger that church leaders say will “increase pastoral resources and congregational strength for meeting the challenges of mission and ministry.”
“We are excited about the new opportunities this merger opens up, and welcome all interested people to visit us to find out more about Christ Congregation,” said Carol McCollough, moderator of Christ Congregation.
Moore and will preach at an Easter service celebrating the merger at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 20. A brunch and Easter egg hunt will follow the special service.
Mays has been the full-time pastor at Christ Congregation since 1987. Moore was the part-time pastor at the East Brunswick church from 1988 to March 31 of this year. The two pastors are now co-pastors of the combined congregation, with Mays serving full-time and Moore serving part-time. Moore will also continues as the executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, where he has been since 1981.
Christ Congregation is an “open and affirming, welcoming and affirming” congregation that is dually aligned with the United Church of Christ and American Baptist Churches. “Open and Affirming” is the United Church of Christ’s designation for congregations that make a public covenant to welcome all people, regardless of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
Like many other mainline Christian denominations, membership in the United Church of Christ has declined in recent years. After the United Church of Christ voted to back same-gender marriage equality in 2005, 373 congregations left the denomination. In 2011 and 2012, the denomination lost 73 churches as a result of church closings and mergers.
For further information about Christ Congregation, visit ccprinceton.org or call the church office at (609) 921-6253.
Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.