Grace United UCC New Church Start

When I don't have to sing in the choir I attend Grace United Church, which is a new church start in Hunterdon County that is supported by a grant from the Board of World Fellowship of Christ Church. They currently worship in a Montessori School on Route 31 near Clinton. They are about two years old. They have about 30 members and today I counted 25 people in the church including me and three children! I don't think that Christ Church can boast of that percentage of the membership that attends church regularly. I am a member of the support committee for this church. But I visit this church not to check on them but because they are close to where I live and I have come to like the people there. This church has two part-time founding ministers who share the pastoral duties. Rev Dan Lunquist is also a family therapist and the Rev Sue Goodwin is a former corporate communication specialist.

From their website: Grace UCC is a new, progressive church in Hunterdon County, NJ, with a ministry directed at people unchurched and those disillusioned with institutional churches. Worship is central to Grace UCC. Family worship is the model here, and there is a strong emphasis on making worship mutlisensory and child-friendly. Many families in the congregation have young children who attend worship, and there is an active youth group and a confirmation class.
They pride themselves on being the church without walls.

Dan Lunquist gave the Meditation today entitles "Where Are You Going Next Year". He spoke of four points to consider for next year, 1. Who am I? (Who are you really not just your profession?) 2. What do I love? (What really turns you on?) 3. How shall I live knowing I will die? (No one knows when they will die so how do you live every day of your life.) 4. What is my gift to the family of the earth? (What are you doing to help the world, every one is doing something). This was a very moving sermon/meditation and a fit way to end the year and start the new one.

The church has recently organized so that they have a constitution, bylaws and lay church leadership, which takes some of the load off the founding pastors who used to have to do everything.
Last Saturday they worked in the Food Bank in Flemington helping them to do inventory.

I told them of some other outreach programs in which they can become involved, the Shawl Ministry and HomeSharing of Somerset and Hunterdon County. They seem to be interested.

They have to leave their current facility at the school and they have found space in the Women's Club in downtown Flemington. This could help them reach out to new members because they would be in walking distance for many people.

Grace United as a new church start is supported by many of the UCC churches in New Jersey, including Christ Church, and a New Church Start grant from the national UCC. This helps pay the bills including the pay of the pastors and the space rental.

This is a part of the UCC objective to reach out to new people and bring them to the church. More new churches may be started in New Jersey.

This is one of the programs that your pledge money to Christ Church will help fund.
For more information about Grace United visit their website http://www.graceuccnj.org/UCC.html. Or if you have a chance visit the church, they meet at 11:00 AM and serve communion at every service.

Jeannette Brown
UCC Representative