Arriving right in the middle of this building project was the Reverend Robert W. Shaffer, who arrived in 1963. During this time many changes took place.

While here, Rev. Shaffer helped to start “Scope,” the tri-county anti-poverty agency.  In addition, he and another elder from our church began the Glassboro Human Relations Council, a group dedicated to improving relationships between the diverse people in Glassboro. 

Our church became very involved in racial reconciliation and did pulpit exchanges with Black churches.  Here you see a performance by the Camphor United Methodist choir at our church.

Rev. Shaffer, along with the Pastor of Pitman Presbyterian Church, went down south to show their support for equal rights. He was also outspoken in his support of integration, a stand that drew strong criticism from some but praise from others.

Nobody could foresee all the consequences of their actions.

These new emphasis also led to new worship philosophies.   Once the sanctuary was completed, it was intentionally kept simple so that the emphasis would be on the people, not the building.  When some people derided the sanctuary as “a barn,” the congregation embraced the term and claimed it proudly.   

To aid that understanding, the pews were arranged so that people could see one another.  In addition, the pulpit was kept on the floor so that nobody would think the pastor was any closer to God than anyone else.  

During this time the “Gold Bug” was developed and housed in our church under the sanctuary. 

This was a coffee house for the college students that provided a place for them to talk, listen to music, and sort out the issues of the day.  It lasted until the Student Union was built on the campus.  

Rev. Shaffer left First Presbyterian in 1967 to take a job working with the US Office of Economic Opportunity in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky.  He is still alive and well and continues to work for the poor in Kentucky.

His influence was tremendous and the church continued to grapple with the issues and sensitivities he raised for many years.  

Many people were inspired by all the changes that began under Rev. Shaffer and many were not. A number of people left and joined other churches, while those that remained were energized and felt they were experiencing a deeper sense of discipleship.  Many of the activities begun under Rev. Shaffer’s leadership were considered radical at the time, but are quite accepted in many churches today.   

After Reverend Shaffer, Presbytery appointed the Reverend James Hughes to be our moderator in 1969. He was well liked and was offered a permanent job. He worked well in the community. The Christian education program began to flourish again and the membership increased.

During his ministry Rev. Hughes was convinced of the merit of the Encounter Movement and started encounter groups in the church, which many people benefited from. He left in 1972 after purchasing a farm in New York State.  

The Reverend Dan Barfield came from Texas in 1973 and pastored for 7 years.  During this time the membership began to decline and our financial base began to erode.  

To compensate, our church became pretty famous for its great bazaars!  

Even though they did a brisk business, the session decided it could only offer Rev. Barfield a half-time ministry due to lost income, and so Rev. Barfield left in 1980 to seek a full-time call.  

The Reverend Hugh Matlack, who was about to graduate from Princeton Seminary, agreed to minister half—time for three years while he was continuing some graduate work at Princeton. At the end of three years we were beginning to show growth again.  

With financial support from Presbytery, Rev. Matlack began to work as a part—time campus minister to Glassboro State College and part-time minister to our church.  

He worked actively with Christian education and young families with children again began participating in our congregation.  

He remained part-time minister until 1989.  By this time the church had begun to grow to the point that Presbytery, after meeting with members of session, were convinced that Glassboro had the spiritual strength and desire to become a strong force again in the life of Presbytery. They decided to invest in the future of our church by contributing enough financial aid to our church budget for us to afford a full—time pastor.

The Reverend Sue Dolquist was our interim pastor after Hugh left. She served a church in Edinburgh, Scotland the year before coming to Glassboro, and was a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.  She and her husband Dan made a dynamic, spiritual impact on our church during the year she served as pastor.  

During this time, the pulpit committee was searching for a pastor who would share their vision of becoming financially self-supporting and doubling the church’s membership in the next five years.  Pastor Sue suggested that we send our Church Information Form to Fuller, her alma mater and the committee complied.  

The result was a response from Rev. William O’Connell. After several telephone conversations and hearing him preach, we were convinced without reservation that Pastor Bill was the answer to our search.  He arrived in November of 1991 and the church was able to achieve both of its goals within approximately seven years. 

Of course the story of our church continues with you and I and our life together as the people of God.  We are part of long tradition of Christians who have sought to be good stewards of the good news of Jesus Christ and of all that God has entrusted to them.  Come and join us as we continue to celebrate the journey!