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The History of Trinity Church |
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The Story Begins…In 1956, the Reverend Bryant Kirkland asked for volunteers from the Session of the First Presbyterian Church in Haddonfield to begin work on a new church in neighboring Delaware Township. After a long silence, Joe Tatem raised his hand. “I volunteer Gene Mechler,” he said. Then after a pause, he added,
“And I volunteer myself to help out, too.” Soon, the two-man committee expanded to 25 hard-working people. Each had a job to do, including finding a place for a new church building. Among the sites considered was one right in the middle of Delaware Township at the corner of Cooper Landing Road and Chapel Avenue, across from the present site of Kennedy Hospital. The committee also looked at a site near the new Baptist Church in Kingston, but the Baptists objected and the search continued. Finally, the Scarborough Corporation offered to sell its property at the corner of Rt. 70 and West Gate Drive for $90,000 and Trinity had a place where a church could be built.
The new church’s first home was the Erlton School, which has since been demolished. In April 1957, the organizing committee decided the church would be called “Trinity,” and in May 1957 the first worship service was held for 95 adults with 45 children in church school. While the fledgling congregation was still meeting at the Erlton School, Joe Tatem, who remained in the Haddonfield church, bought a communion set for the new church and added to it when the congregation grew. Gene Mechler became one of the charter members and was named the first clerk of Session when Trinity was formally organized in October 1957.
The Building Begins ...When Trinity took possession of its site at the corner of Rt. 70 and West Gate Drive, it inherited three buildings that Scarborough had erected for its construction business. The blue-sided house served as office, sanctuary, and Sunday School Center, and it rocked with activity. In those early days, the basement was used for worship, while the children jammed the rest of the rooms for their Sunday School classes. So many people wanted to worship at Trinity that it became necessary to hold three services to accommodate the crowds.
The third original building, an old barn, was torn down in 1975 to make way for Witherspoon Center, a contemporary structure now used for Church School classes, community groups, Scouts, a Nursery School class, and church meetings.
40 years later ...With the 40th anniversary of Trinity Church, the Session initiated a bold capital campaign to replace the Social Hall and the old administrative building with a new two-story facility. This ambitious project included the construction of a columbarium, a new library, a hospitality room, a choir room, a meeting room, a community room, a commercial kitchen, an expanded Care n’ Share Shop, an elevator, and an administrative wing.
Framing the large windows at the western end of O’Dell Hall is a stunning arch, constructed from wooden beams removed from the old Social Hall. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Trinity Church, these towering beams are reminders of Trinity’s beginnings, symbolizing the importance of our past while directing our vision outward to the promise of a bright future. |
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