"The Sicklerville Methodist Episcopal Church"

The early history of this Church is like many previous souls "lost for the want of faithful ministers."

The best that can be determined, a group of people who wished to worship God, gathered for worship on a site which is now the old cemetery located on Church Street. When death came to the community, this place was used for the burial.

Realizing that there would be a need for a burial ground, the trustees -- William T. Sickler, Christopher Sickler, Sr., Sears W. Sickler, William Sickler, Christopher Downs, Jacob M. Jennings, and John I. Sickler, purchased .6 acre of ground from William Sickler for $50.00 on February 9, 1859.

Records indicate that Tansboro, Atco and Sicklertown churches were on the same Circuit around 1872. This remained until 1904 when the circuit became Tansboro and Sicklertown.

This action left a need for a parsonage. A half-acre of ground was given to the trustes, Christopher Cheesman, James M. Johnson, Sr., Sears W. Sickler, Samuel J. Forman and John Johnson by Frederick Clark. A parsonage was erected for the use of the minister of the church. This parsonage was occupied until 1928, at which time the trustees were authorized to sell the parsonage as the ministers were now living in Tansboro. The parsonage was finally sold and torn down. The ground was used for an additional burial ground.

In 1939, due to merger, the Circuit included New Brooklyn. This remained until 1942 when Atco and Sicklerville were placed on the same Circuit.

The first wedding on record ever performed in the church took place on October 4, 1947 uniting John Thornton and Alice McClintock in Matrimony.

In 1953, there became a need for the erection of a building where Sunday School classes and fellowship meetings could be held. On March 11, 1953, the ground was broken for the present Church school. Most of the work was done by the men of the church -- under the leadership of William Albertson, a local contractor and trustee of the church. The cost was $5,218.38.

In 1959, the Board of Trustee members serving the church included Richard R. Thornton, President; Joseph Andrew, Howard Andrew, Albert E. Johnson, W. Jacob Robinson, Jack Thornton, Herman G. Bussom and William K. Albertson.

"The New Church is Now, But the Old is Their Roots"

 Reprinted from the Glouc. Co. Times, [date _______] - written by Bob Shryock of the Gloucester County Times, Woodbury, NJ

On one side of Williamstown-New Freedom and Church Roads in Winslow Township, parishioners worship in a new sanctuary and study the Bible in the new educational wing of Sicklerville Methodist Church.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the road, work is about to begin to restore the original 131-year-old church building which sustained $100,000 in damages during a fire in April.

It is one of the area's oldest churches and, quite clearly, its members have not lost their touch with history. One option after the fire was to tear down the heavily damaged church and direct the insurance money to expenses incurred by the additions to the new church. But no one took that possibility seriously for very long.

"We are what we are today because of that (old) church," says Rev. Jerry Ruff, who has been pastor of Sicklerville Methodist for seven years. "We're a very close church. Sicklerville is a very fast-growing, transient area and there are a lot of established communities around. We have some young people in our church who have no roots in the area. But they still have a sense of historical perspective that that church stands for who we are."

In 1937, William Sickler, one of the descendants of the family which started what first was called Sicklertown, set aside one acre of land for a new church at a cost of $50. Parishioners 21 years later began meeting in their homes and at the schoolhouse at Church and Turnersville Roads to draw up the plans for the new Sicklerville Methodist Episcopal Church.

And the Sickler name was, needless to say, prominent in the organizational efforts of the church.

The first pastor was John Sickler.

The charter trustees included William T. Sickler, William Sickler, and Christopher Sickler, Sr.

After construction was completed in 1859, the new church served two important purposes. Religious services and church school, obviously, were held there on Sundays. And during the week the church was used as the town's elementary school.

During the middle of the 19th Century, Sicklerville Methodist Episcopal was part of the Methodist circuit which included churches in Tansboro and Atco.

In 1928, a parsonage was built next to the church. On Oct. 4, 1947 the church held its first wedding, although Pastor Ruff has no information to explain why it took 88 years to happen. In 1968, "Episcopal" was dropped from the name of the church.

The church celebrated its 100th anniversary and remained a relatively small congregation with fewer than 100 members until a clear growth pattern was established in the mid-1970s. And in 1976, the church decided to build a new church on four acres directly across the street from the old one, which no longer could accommodate the increasing membership.

"Some of the oldtimers didn't want to move because they'd grown up in that church," Pastor Ruff says, "but they did."

The old church was able to hold only about 50 people. With its new sanctuary, the new one sits 375. The membership is now over 300 and climbing. Pastor Ruff says the average Sunday worship attendance is 330.

Prior to the fire, the original church was being used as an adult Sunday School class as well as for weddings and concerts. It also was being rented to other small congregations as a beginning church.

But the April fire was devastating. Although the structure withstood the blaze, interior damage was severe -- to the tune of $100,000. For example, of the six original stained glass windows, four did not survive the fire. Most of the damage was covered by insurance although the foundation will have to be rebuilt at the expense of the church.

The church's original wooden plate - "M.E. Church 1859" - did survive and stands as a monument to its future.

Pastor Ruff, with his seven years, is the minister with the longest tenure serving Sicklerville Methodist in its 131 years. He laughs and says he plans to be there "for seven more."

"We're about ready to start reconstruction and we're hopeful that it will be finished by Christmas," he says. "When it's done, we'll continue to not only use it for our purposes but to lease it as well."

"The church is a constant reminder of where we came from. I'm very thrilled that so many of our members want to see it restored."

"Rules Of The M.E. Church"

• 1st. Seats free. The first person in the seat, will move back, or step out, to let the other pass in.
• 2d. No person allowed to deface in any way, the seats or wall of the House, with pencil, knife or the feet.
• 3d. No person allowed to stand in the vestibule, during hours of service.
• 4th. No running out during the hours of service, except in cases of necessity.
• 5th. No whispering or laughing allowed during the hours of service.
• 6th. The use of tobacco strictly prohibited in every part of the House.
  7th. These Rules will be enforced by the authority of the Trustees.

   

"Time in a Bottle"