Church endorses another's relocation Montclair flock eyes Rockaway Twp. site Wednesday, January 26, 2005 BY PAULA SAHA Star-Ledger Staff
First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway, a fixture in the community since 1758, is throwing its support behind Christ Church of Montclair's plans to relocate to Rockaway Township.
According to church officials, the church's governing body sent a letter to Rockaway Township officials and Christ Church this week voicing support for the 5,000-member Montclair congregation.
Dale McDonald, an elder of the First Presbyterian Church, said he believed it would send out "a similar letter for a synagogue or a mosque. It's a faith community, and I think a faith community is a benefit to any community."
Marc Weinstein, a spokesman for Christ Church, noted this was the first time an area religious institution has come out publicly in favor of the church's plans. He also stressed that the church did not seek First Presbyterian's endorsement.
McDonald said First Presbyterian is located in Rockaway Borough and has a congregation of about 400 people from the Rockaways, Denville, Randolph and other surrounding towns. Two of the church's elders met with Christ Church pastor David Ireland several weeks ago, and then brought the issue to the attention of First Presbyterian's governing body, McDonald said.
Christ Church is under contract to purchase the former Agilent Technologies headquarters in Rockaway Township. It is seeking site plan approval from the Rockaway Township Planning Board. Christ Church is proposing construction of a building complex that measures a little more than 300,000 square feet and a sanctuary that will hold just over 2,500 parishioners.
"We think the church would be beneficial to our community, spiritually, economically and socially," said First Presbyterian pastor the Rev. Richard Sanner.
But the proposed project has sparked a good deal of opposition in Rockaway Township from those who say they believe the project is too large.
"Unfortunately they miss a key point and that is environmentally. In that case, it is a complete and utter disaster," said Lisa Salberg, a co-founder of a citizens group against Christ Church's plans.
In addition to Salberg's group, called the Voices of Rockaway Township, the state Sierra Club has come out against the church's plans.
Christ Church's hearing before the Rockaway Township planning board continues on Monday at 8 p.m. at Copeland Middle School.
Paula Saha covers Rockaway Township. She can be reached at psaha@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
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The truth wins out over slick PR and personal attacks.
The Christ Church Plan for the redevelopment of 140 Green Pond Rd is just too big for the area.
01/26/05 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom Rockaway pastor: OK Christ Church
By Rob Jennings, Daily Record
A 247-year-old Presbyterian church in Rockaway is the first local house of worship to formally endorse Christ Church of Montclair's controversial mega-church building plan in Rockaway Township.
The First Presbyterian Church, whose 420 congregants hail primarily from the Rockaways, sent a four-paragraph letter to Mayor Louis Sceusi and "the leadership of Rockaway Township" on Tuesday, urging support for Christ Church's building plan.
"We are saddened at the continued activities which hinder Christ Church's move to Rockaway," the Rev. Richard Sanner, interim pastor of First Presbyterian since September, wrote in a letter he said was approved by its 18-member governing session.
"It is our belief that the presence of Christ Church will enhance the social, spiritual and economic life of the community. Any further action reflects poorly on us as neighbors and as a community," read the letter, which was signed only by Sanner.
The letter was mailed one day after the 5,000-member, evangelical Christian church's spokesman, Marc Weinstein, issued a statement charging that a "double standard" is being used by the planning board in scrutinizing Christ Church's building plan at the 107-acre, former Agilent Technologies site.
The planning board will hold an 11th public hearing next Monday on Christ Church's plan, which includes a 2,512-seat sanctuary, private K-5 school and recreation facilities on Green Pond Road.
Weinstein said Tuesday that the timing was a coincidence and Christ Church's pastor, David Ireland, insisted the Rockaway church acted entirely on its own.
"I didn't request anything," said Ireland, who met recently with several First Presbyterian church members at their behest.
Ireland said he did not receive any advance notice of First Presbyterian's endorsement. He said the letter might help demonstrate that there is some support in the town for his church's building plan.
However, local building plan opponents said First Presbyterian's letter wouldn't diminish their opposition to the project.
"The letter is an emotional response that fails to look at the pertinent facts about the application and the land," said Voices of Rockaway Township co-founder Lisa Salberg, who has raised environmental concerns about the building plan.
"Nobody is opposed to the church or the religion," said another township resident, Charles Mueller. "They're opposed to the size of the project -- the fact that the roads and the area can't handle it, and that it would have so much impact on the surrounding community."
Sceusi, who was ill Tuesday, could not be reached for comment. On Monday, the mayor said Christ Church was partly to blame for the protracted planning board hearings because its representatives occasionally had provided incomplete information.
Much of the first seven hearings, though, were preoccupied with an inquiry into whether the church's large size would preclude it from consideration under a local ordinance establishing churches as conditional uses throughout the township. The planning board eventually decided to retain jurisdiction.
At the 10th hearing last month, the church was asked to provide biblical evidence that two towers proposed atop the sanctuary would qualify as religious symbols.
Rockaway Township Administrator Steven Levinson said local officials were handling the application responsibly.
"We understand and empathize with the sentiments in the letter," Levinson said.
The Christ Church building plan has been a lightning rod for controversy since shortly after the church's $14 million agreement with Agilent was finalized in June 2003. More than 1,000 people attended the first public hearing in December 2003.
Opponents have said their objections are centered on traffic and environmental concerns, along with loss of taxes. Church supporters have suggested religious prejudice and other factors might be in play.
Sanner, who lives in Budd Lake, said congregants were troubled by reports of particularly heated rhetoric against Christ Church, which is regularly denounced on an Internet message board used by building plan opponents.
"We're not trying to criticize anybody, but we're trying to make a stand," Sanner said.
Russell Jones, a township resident who supports Christ Church, said he was "encouraged" by the letter.
"You would hope it would encourage other spiritual leaders to step up and at least make a statement," Jones said.
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The truth wins out over slick PR and personal attacks.
The Christ Church Plan for the redevelopment of 140 Green Pond Rd is just too big for the area.
Neither article mentions a couple of items that, in my opinion, are relevant:
1. The Rockaway Presbyterian Church is NOT in Rockaway Township, any more than a church in Dover, Denville, or Jefferson is. Rockaway Boro is a separate municipality altogether and merely shares a word in its name with the Township. Would this letter have been front page news if it had been written by a church from Boonton? Shame on these reporters (and all of us, for that matter, when we don't regularly use the Rockaway Township name) for not making this differentiation. The boro and township are two separate entities.
I think the papers, AND Christ Church, are capitalizing on this fact by simply saying the church is from "Rockaway", and making it appear that there is more RT support for Christ Church than there actually is.
It's getting as bad in real life as Monster/Greyarea/Ted/Baghdad Bob saying "most in town are fine either way" on the nj.com board.
Shame on them!
2. The Rockaway Presbyterian Church isn't in the traffic path of the Agilent property. I wonder if they'd feel the same way if they were located up Green Pond Road and their parishioners couldn't make it to services.
3. (In my opinion and experience) especially when pressed, a religious person or institution will do the thing that is intrinsically "right" according to their beliefs and value system. They're doing the Christian thing, trusting another Christian church and trying to help them. Being from another municipality, I'm sure loss of taxes and traffic/environmental/resource burden on our township isn't their concern. Promoting Christianity, of course and understandably, is paramount.
They've stayed quiet all this time for a reason; but when pushed, of course they had to do what would be perceived as the Christian thing. How would it look if they did anything BUT offer their support? What could they say? "No, we can't support your church"?
Rockaway Presbyterian Church, like most truly Christian people, are trustworthy, God-fearing people. They trust that another Christian Church/Christian person, is true to their word as they themselves would be.
p.s. I'm a Presbyterian Christian person myself (though not a very good one) and am not among the supposed "many anti-Christian" people in Rockaway Township. (The "anti-Christian" concept is the silliest notion I've ever heard.)
I think Abbot Koloff makes a pretty concerted effort to look at the subject objectively today.
I agree completely with churches wanting to help one another and keep the peace. But isn't this the same church, along with St. Cecilia's, that has to have the street in front made into a one way on Sunday because of parking? They should fully understand our concerns about traffic and parking and not be so quick to be on the side of a church just because it is a church.
quote: Originally posted by: THINKER "I agree completely with churches wanting to help one another and keep the peace. But isn't this the same church, along with St. Cecilia's, that has to have the street in front made into a one way on Sunday because of parking? They should fully understand our concerns about traffic and parking and not be so quick to be on the side of a church just because it is a church. "
You have to understand - 400 people can REALLY clog up an area like Rockaway Borough where the steets are one lane and fairly windy.
At least in the area of Church Street in Rockaway, when the street is closed to two way traffic, you can take a 30 second detour around the Church. Of course, no such detour exists for GPR.
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"We think the church would be beneficial to our community, spiritually, economically and socially," said First Presbyterian pastor the Rev. Richard Sanner.
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That is great. Now, let 'em put their money where their mouths are. I would assume from the above statement by the First Presbyterian Church Elders that they will be willing to help OUR TOWNSHIP help pay for all of the infrastructure improvements that will be required here to facilitate this monstrosity.
Thanks, First Presbyterian Church. That assumption of shared costs is very responsible of you and your elders in the Presbyteria. Thanks Again for the financial help you will be affording RT with respect to the CC matter.
It really makes you wonder what forces were in play behind the scenes to facilitate such an action. It surprises me that any church would stick their necks out, and put their reputations on the line for an unknown organization, particularly in a different town. Who were those two members that brought it to the council? What was their motivation? What other promises or deals were made to cause an established church in the community to deviate from the norm of neutrality and take such a stance? I would understand any religious organization being supportive of another in a religious or spiritual fashion, but to take an overt, stance on a planning board matter in a neighboring town, when it obviously is a so widely unpopular, and politically charged, controversy with the local citizens, seems unusual to say the least. Interesting too that their minister has only been there a few months and also is not a local Rockaway resident. I guess that makes it easier to sell your neighbor out. But then again, it wouldnt be the first time that someone was betrayed for only a few pieces of silver or even less.
I love your few pieces of silver analogy! Besides that, aren't 501(c)3's (Churches) required NOT to take positions on political issues? Is that not one of the conditions of their non-profit status? Can't their non-profit status be contested as soon as they get involved in political affairs? Isn't this CC affair not a political one? Isn't it also none of their business since the First Presbyterian Church is not even an element of Rockaway Township?
I think that they are on thin ice with their position, myself. I am tempted to call the IRS about it. Maybe I will do just that.
I decided to institute a complaint against the actions of the First Presbyterian Church for taking a political position in a town in which they do not reside. I decided to do that within the Churches hierarchy. First, I identified and called the local Executive Presbytor, William Saum in Newton, NJ. He has jurisdiction over the church in question. He effectively tried to block my complaint by saying that I am not in a position to launch a formal complaint against the local church because I am not Presbyterian.
Hmphh - ain't that interesting. So, I asked, just who do I initiate a complaint with regarding any Presbyterian church matters? He said that I have no recourse since I am Jewish and not Presbyterian. I told him that I do have recourse, it is just a matter of what that recours is and one clear option that is available to contact the IRS and see what they have to say about this sort of political activity. He did not care. This guy knew all about the situation and supported it. He would not take a formal complaint, period. Thus, I performed some further research and discovered that there is a controlling body for this religion called the Presbyterian Senate of the Northeast. I called them and discovered that the name of the guy in charge of the entire region is Earl Arnold who holds the title of "Synod of the Northeast Stated Clerk". I left a phone message for him indicating that I desired to institute a formal complaint against the stated entity and that if it is not possible to do so, I would be very much surprised. I left my number and asked him to get back in touch so that we could discuss the issue.
The tel number for the Presbyterian Senate of the Northeast is:
1-800-585-5881
I really believe that this church has overstepped its legal bounds and will persue this to a conclusion one way or the other. If the Synod of the Northeast Stated Clerk will not allow me to institute a formal complaint within the Church governing body, then I will indicate to him that my only alternative will be to institute a formal complaint to the IRS and let them sort it all out.
David Ireland, insisted the Rockaway church acted entirely on its own. "I didn't request anything," said Ireland, who met recently with several First Presbyterian church members at their behest
So what Ireleand is saying is that they called him and asked for a meeting? Then, based on their discussion, took it upon themselves to write the letter not realizing they did not have all the facts.
Weinstein said Tuesday that the timing was a coincidence and Christ Church's pastor, David Ireland, insisted the Rockaway church acted entirely on its own
Does anyone believe this for one minute. If the letter was mailed, how did the press find out about it? A call from a certain PR Hack perhaps?
Sanner, who lives in Budd Lake, said congregants were troubled by reports of particularly heated rhetoric against Christ Church, which is regularly denounced on an Internet message board used by building plan opponents.
Now more than ever, we need to keep this kind of talk off the table, regrdless how you feel. Lets stick to the negative impact this plan has on our town, and leave religion out of it.
Does anyone know any members of this church who can let this poor pastor know that he has been used as a Tool to promote Ireland's devious agenda.
Oh, this guy is definitely a "Tool". Sad thing is that his council or whatever it was called discussed it and didnt veto the idea immediately as being none of their business and a totally non-productive exploit into another towns political affairs.
I hope the cc congregation gets a warm fuzzy over this endorsment - that is about all that can come of it - it will hold zero weight as far as planning boards and laws are concerned. I wonder how the 400 congregants feel about the endorsement by the interim pastor???
I can't wait to hear what the governing body of the Presbyterian Church of the USA has to say about this. Since this is a real mainstay and respectable American religion, I doubt that they are going to look kindly on the interference that we have witnessed. It will be persued to some succint level of conclusion by myself, rest assured. If anyone else wants to join in my complaint to the Presbytery, you certainly are welcome since I have published a key contact and his telephone number. Call and let their hierarchy know that you are not pleased with their inteference with Rockaway Townships politics and that it violates their Federal Tax Exempt status charter to do so. We need to get their attention; that should do it.
BTW - if individual want to come out and support CC, that is fine and legal, including those from a specific religious institution. But, if they invoke the name of that religions institution in their support, then we are looking at a whole different matter as it pertains to Federal Tax Law.
