History of First Congregational Church, Montclair NJ

HAROLD    BERRY Every church is blessed with special people who make their various talents available for the good of the entire congregation. This is certainly  true  of  Harold  Berry. The boys he taught in Sunday School will never forget his classes, not only for the lessons learned there, but for his sharing of outside activities with them. He made a point of taking each class to the Yankee Stadium at least once each season. We have an alumnus of one of  Harold's  classes  in  our  own  Steve  Cutaia. Harold has always been ready to add his business expertise to church needs, and has served as President of the Church, as a Trustee, on Pastoral Search Committees, and on the Nominating Committee. Even when he was not actively in office he was often consulted for his sound  advice. When the church was considering the purchase of a new manse Harold was about to move from Montclair, and he made his home on Plymo...

CLARA    L.    DEBOER Ever since joining First Congregational Church in March of 1967, Clara DeBoer has made herself known to us by her dedication to the Christian principle of caring for others as exemplified by her service both in this parish and also at the municipal and county levels of the Church Universal. Whether working among the church's archives or providing able leadership for both the Woman's Guild and Church Women United, she  has  given  of  herself  in  a  most  generous  and  unassuming  manner. Clara, the mother of three (John, Catherine, and David) graduated Phi Beta Kappa and first in her class from the University of Vermont after David, her youngest child, was seven years old. She next earned a PhD from Rutgers University in American History (her dissertation being on Black History). She has since taught at Montclair State, Kean College and  Rutgers. Serving as the archivist since ...

PAUL    R.    GREGORY Paul was born and raised in Pennsylvania and was graduated from Lehigh University at the early age of 18. He worked as a chemical engineer at Bethlehem Steel before making his decision to attend Lancaster Seminary  and  enter  the  ministry. He met and married Kit while serving at his first church at Montville, Pennsylvania. Soon after this he was challenged by the Mission Board to take an assignment in China. In preparation for this call, they and their daughter spent time at Yale and Cornell pursuing intensive study of Chinese. Paul then ministered in Yuanling City, Hunan Provence for almost two years before having to depart due to the Communist  take  over. In 1947, now with two little daughters, he and Kit were reassigned to Morioka, Japan, a very depressed area. The winters were so cold- that the rice in the fields would freeze before maturing, and there was much starvation. Over 8 1/2 years Pa...