How historic Englewood church recovered from catastrophic fire: 'We had each other'

Englewood's First Presbyterian Church , established in 1860, has a singular place in North Jersey history. It's the oldest church in the city and the first Presbyterian congregation to open its doors in Bergen County.

That legacy almost came to an end in 2016. That year, days before Easter, a fire tore through the Victorian Gothic structure on East Palisade Avenue, destroying its roof and much of the sanctuary.

Parishioners were determined to rebuild. But that was just the beginning of the obstacles.

In early 2020, COVID struck, followed by global supply chain disruptions and a spike in inflation that sent construction costs soaring. Repairs to the church were delayed until November 2022.

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But this summer, after years of planning and hoping, the congregation's dreams are nearing fruition: First Presbyterian will reopen for services in its main sanctuary in early August. An official rededication for the building will be held on Sept. 29, said the Rev. Richard Hong, the church's pastor since 2005.

Nobody was injured in the fire, which Hong believes was electrical in nature. But the damage was severe .

“Everything was fire- and water-damaged. Every floor had to be refinished. Every carpet had to be replaced. The basement was under two feet of water," said the priest. It took months to get the smell of smoke out of the building, he said.

Hong declined to share the exact cost of reconstruction but said it was funded primarily by insurance.

Restored First Presbyterian blends old and new

The restored church building uses its original walls but also features a soaring ceiling spanned by heavy timber trusses, eliminating the need for the columns that used to obstruct the view of some worshippers.

The new space features many of the original stained glass windows that survived the fire and were restored. It will also have an authentic pipe organ that was recovered from another church that had closed, replacing First Presbyterian's old pipe organ, which was destroyed in the fire.

The newly revamped sanctuary will hold 350 seats instead of the original 700. That capacity is more aligned with the property's parking. "People would try to come to our church and would leave because they couldn't find a parking spot," Hong said.

Since the fire, the congregation has worshipped in other locations, including Tenafly's Temple Sinai and the Dwight-Englewood School . Several months after the blaze, services were moved into the First Presbyterian Church gym, after damage in that part of the structure was repaired.

The building dates back to 1870, a decade after the congregation was founded. First Presbyterian is a member of the Presbyterian Church USA. It's the largest Presbyterian denomination in the country and an offshoot of the Church of Scotland, whose American presence goes back to the early 1700s.

How Englewood fire revived a congregation

The fire was a reminder about what the congregation was really about, said Hong. "Church," he noted, is derived from the Greek ekklesia , which means "assembly" or "gathering."

"The essence of a church is a community, not a building," the pastor said. "As much as I don't want us to be down in the dumps because of the fire, I don't want us to be overly excited about the new building.

"It will facilitate community. It's a tool for gathering and for community. But it's not an object of our worship."

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After the catastrophe, Hong said, he realized that, "We lost our building, but we still had our church because we had each other."

The congregation, 500 members strong, has grown since the fire, he added.

"The fire helped us focus on what it means to be a community, a faith community. So, in effect, it helped us hone in on becoming a better and more welcoming community of faith."

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today .

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: How historic Englewood church recovered from catastrophic fire: 'We had each other'