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Archiver > NYMONROE > 2007-01 > 1167752084
From: "" <>
Subject: Re: [NYMONROE] Dutch reformed church in Rochester
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:34:44 -0000
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http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.newyork.counties.monroe/11139.1/mb.ashx
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To make a long story short, this church appears to have been founded in 1877, and had several city locations. Our clipping files note these, and lead us to believe that its successor church is the Christian Reformed church in Penfield NY. They have a web page (http://12.106.150.196/whoweare/congregations/detail.asp?ChurchID=818) located off the Christian Refomed church web page, and has the follwing contact information (we have not verified it to see if it is still correct):Penfield, NY - Rochester
2750 Atlantic Ave
Penfield, NY, 14526
Phone: (585)381-7861
Fax: (585)381-0513
Services: 10:30 am & 6 pm Sept.-May10 am & 6 pm June-Aug.
Church email:
So, you might write to them and see what records they still have.
Web site: www.rochestercrc.org
which states:
A Brief History of Rochester Christian Reformed Church
Nearly 130 years ago, in the year 1877, our church met for its first worship service. A group of just 17 members, all of them immigrants from the Netherlands, organized themselves as the "True Dutch Reformed Church," and in that first Sunday service eleven of their children were baptized. The small congregation grew steadily, and in 1909 was reincorporated under the new name "The Christian Reformed Church of Rochester, New York." A Christian School Society was formed in 1910, marking a commitment to Christian day school education which remained strong for many decades (and continues to be strong among some of our members today). In addition to the early goals of increasing its membership and starting a building program, this small congregation was deeply involved in missions and outreach activities. The church remained missions-minded through many years and many changes.
During our almost 130 years, God in his faithfulness has provided twenty different pastors to serve and lead us. Each brought different strengths and contributed to the development of our congregation and its ministries in different ways. Through the years changes and growth have led us to change our buildings, and we are currently at our fourth location.
About twenty-five years ago our church building, the third in the congregation's history, was destroyed by fire. After that fire we relocated outside the city limits of Rochester for the first time, in the suburb of Penfield. Today we are a mix of suburban and city dwellers coming from several parts of the greater Rochester area. We are of more mixed ancestry than earlier in our history, although many still trace their forbears to the Netherlands. A slowly increasing proportion of our members have roots outside the Christian Reformed denomination.
About five years ago, just as in the year 1954, we lost a young pastor to death. The first of those men had been Rev. Engbert Ubels, who died suddenly in an accident; the second was Rev. James Van Tholen, who became ill with cancer a couple of years after his arrival in Rochester in 1996. The death of Rev. Van Tholen was of course tremendously difficult for our congregation, and remains painful for those few who knew him best. Our functioning as a church was stressed during the time of Rev. Van Tholen's illness and death, as well as during the months that followed. In the intervening years God has graciously provided for significant healing to occur.
In the four years during which our most recent pastor, Rev. Russ Palsrok, served us, we have accomplished some modest structural and organizational refocusing, and many of our members would say we have experienced a return to stability and renewed energy for ministry.
We are deeply grateful to God for his faithfulness to us these past 129 years, and look to him for his continued blessing in the years to come as we seek to faithfully serve him.
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