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First BCEF Call of 2015: Christ Church, Harrison

By: 
John King, Director of Administration

“Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” – Proverbs 4:13

Christ Church in Harrison has been a congregation in the Diocese of Newark for over 162 years. In that time, the building has been located close to the heart of the downtown area of Harrison and along with the parishioners themselves, has been integral in the fabric of that community.

The church’s earliest roots were actually as a school run by the diocese. Much of what Christ Church offers Harrison continues that tradition. Today, members of Christ Church host evening tutoring sessions for local youth, and other developing ministries that center around education continue to expand Christ Church’s service to Harrison.

For the last 30 years, Christ Church has been engaged with their community, serving as a home for the “Study Hall” – a program that provides preschool, after-school care and summer camp for the children of Harrison. The use of Christ Church’s Parish Hall and class room space has allowed this program to flourish, providing over 120 children from young working families in Harrison access to much-needed child care. This program, and by extension, the church, open the doors to the community for 13 hours each day, from 6AM to 7PM.

The Church has three furnaces to heat the entire facility. Three years ago, the church had to replace a unit, as one of the older furnaces failed. They have been advised that another 29-year-old unit, showing signs of extreme wear, should be replaced before it imminently fails. This furnace heats the Parish house gymnasium and the guild room, both used extensively by the church and the pre-school.

The outdated furnace will be replaced with a new high efficiency unit this coming April. The new furnace will be sufficient to allow Christ Church to support the continued expansion of their own evening ministries, focusing on ESL and citizenship classes.

This first call of the 2015 Bishop’s Church Emergency Fund is for Christ Church, Harrison, to assist them in maintaining their facility and providing comfort, hospitality and educational opportunities for their community.