c. 2007 Religion News Service
NEWARK, N.J. _ Not one card game was played at the annual card party held in the basement of St. Stephan’s Church. In fact, it wasn’t a card party at all, but a three-hour raffle that serves as the main fundraiser for the United Church of Christ in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood.
The Women’s Guild, a group of about nine, was dragging that Sunday morning. The women had spent the past week setting up for the event.
“If they do this again next year, I’m not helping,” said Lillian Hornig, 89. “I’m afraid it’ll give me a heart attack. At my age I don’t need the stress.”
That was the sentiment of all the women, who have spent every year of their adult lives planning the annual fundraiser. Now in their 80s and 90s, they’ve finally run out of steam.
One of them, “Flo,” 90, was seated at the front door to collect tickets so she didn’t have to move around.
Many of them are lifetime parishioners of St. Stephan’s, but their church has changed. The UCC congregation now shares the space with a Lutheran group that attracts Brazilians, Portuguese and Central Americans. Their congregation is much more youthful, and bigger, than the UCC group, which is down to about a dozen regular members.
Where once the church was led by a German pastor who recruited German-speaking immigrants from Ellis Island to settle in the area, the current pastor reflects the new face of the congregation and the neighborhood. The Rev. Moacir Weirich, known as Pastor Moacir, is a Brazilian in his 30s.
If you saw the Tom Cruise version of “War of the Worlds” _ you’ve seen the imposing facade of St. Stephan’s, which was blown to fictional pieces in the movie.
The church’s large red doors have been painted and repainted so many times that it’s a wonder they open and close at all. A paper sign on the door says “Welcome” in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
David Schnegelberger’s parents were some of the immigrants recruited from Ellis Island; they were married there in 1913. David Schnegelberger and his wife of 70 years, Florence, were baptized and also married in St. Stephan’s. They still live in the area and continue to be active members of St. Stephan’s.
Each Sunday, the Schnegelbergers drive the short distance from their home to St. Stephan’s. Their Sunday best doesn’t change much each week. He wears a tan sports coat that has seen better days. She wears a navy blue suit with a pin or two on the lapel, and oversized gold earrings.
“I feel so bad that there aren’t many of us here,” Mrs. Schnegelberger says. “If we have 15 on Sunday morning, we’re doing good.”
Most of the people the Schnegelbergers grew up with moved to the suburbs; most of the children and grandchildren of parishioners now live outside of Newark or out of New Jersey completely.
With their children gone, the changing population in the community and their advanced age, it’s not hard to see why this congregation has shrunk to such dire numbers.
When the Comunidade da Graca, or Grace Church, started holding its Sunday morning services at St. Stephan’s in 2000, an interim UCC pastor talked Weirich into leading the aging congregation.
“At that time my English wasn’t so good,” Weirich says, admitting he was apprehensive. But he was told the congregation would be understanding, so he agreed. He obtained a dual standing that certified him to lead UCC services while also being an ordained Lutheran minister.
He speaks of the struggles between the UCC group, who are used to their own traditions, and the Lutheran congregation. “Sometimes I feel that I push them a lot to change,” Weirich says.
Weirich sometimes forgets to check with the UCC congregation before making changes to the sanctuary or the basement of the church, which is rented out to a neighborhood pre-school.
The basement was painted lemon yellow, and the UCC group hated it. Some of the pews were removed from the front of the sanctuary for extra room. The UCC group balked. The pastor hung large felt banners on the walls of the sanctuary, between the stained glass windows, that say “Celebrai Con Alegria” and “Hagan Esto en Memoria Mia” (Portuguese for “Celebrate with joy” and “Do this in memory of me”). The UCC group was not impressed.
“If you ask me, they have no business being there,” UCC parishioner Max Hornig says, gesturing to the wall hangings.
At the beginning of the service, the five-member UCC choir takes their seats in the first four pews. The group distinguishes themselves by wearing baby-blue choir gowns and pink sashes. If the two men feel foolish in this get-up, they don’t complain.
“They asked us to be in the choir,” Florence Schnegelberger says, “but we figured if we did, there would be no one in the audience.”
Out of tune and out of sync, what this rag-tag choir lacks in talent is made up in sheer will. The fact that they all sing loudly and off key is muddled by the thunder of the pipe organ echoing through the near-empty church. It’s a nice touch, and a link to the past when these congregants were children and the church was still known as the German United Evangelical St. Stephan’s Church.
But without the Lutheran group and the pre-school bringing money into St. Stephan’s, the UCC group would not survive. They know this. A pastor for a congregation of 12 is practically unheard of.
This year’s card party brought in $2,005, a little less than last year’s. There likely won’t be a card party next year. “Physically, we don’t have the people to do it,” says Dolly Schneider, the Women’s Guild president.
Without the card party, the UCC ministry is left without a big fundraiser, and their fate is unknown.
“I feel so personally attached and responsible to the group. My preaching has been about opening doors, but at the same time I feel I am trying to save a situation that isn’t savable,” says Pastor Moacir.
The congregants feel differently.
While decorating the sanctuary for the holidays, Women’s Guild member Helen Mason said with conviction, “As long as one of us is alive there will be a Sunday service.” Everyone wanted to believe her.
(Melanie Brooks writes for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.)
KRE END BROOKS
Editors: Today Religion News Service begins an occasional feature slugged RNS-AMERICAN-FAITH that will spotlight the changes and currents flowing through American congregations. The stories in AMERICAN FAITH will depict a ground-level view of what faith looks like in America amid changing demographics, worship styles and beliefs.
To obtain photos of services at St. Stephan’s Church, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
