History Document AEPC.pub

History of Ashland Evangelical Presbyterian Church
February 17, 1907 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William McFadden
twenty (20) people came together to organize a Sunday school and
church. Mr. William McFadden was chosen chairman, Charles F. Linn
was chosen secretary and Mr. Aaron D. Plank was chosen treasurer. As
the result of that meeting they organized a Union Sunday School and decided to hold Sunday night services. They planned eventually, to merge
into a church to be under the jurisdiction of some denomination.
Upon invitation of Mr. William McFadden the services for Sunday school
and church were held in his home.
Home of Mr. and Mrs. William McFadden
Mr. William McFadden and Mr. Aaron D. Plank began going to neighboring churches for financial help. They went to
Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian Churches.
April 15, 1907 a parcel of land on Evesham Road was donated by the Ebert Brothers for the building of the new church.
June 23, 1907 Reverend William Allen of The First Presbyterian Church of Haddonfield constituted Ashland Chapel
with 14 people in membership, who were received into full communion with them.
November 30, 1907 the cornerstone for the new church was laid by Mr. Aaron D. Plank. Fifty to seventy-five (50 - 75)
people attended and Reverend William Allen of the Haddonfield Presbyterian Church presided over the service.
April 18, 1908 Ashland Presbyterian Chapel dedication
service was held.
Through the years Ashland Chapel grew financially and
spiritually.
January 18, 1916 Ashland Chapel petitioned Presbytery
to be a separate congregation.
January 31, 1916 the First Presbyterian Church of Ashland was organized by Presbytery.
April 16, 1918 after having financial difficulties and a
need for guidance from the Haddonfield Church, First
Presbyterian Church of Ashland unanimously petitioned
Presbytery to reunite with the Haddonfield Church.
May 12, 1918 forty-nine (49) members of First Presbyterian Church of Ashland rejoined the First Presbyterian Church
of Haddonfield. Services were still held at the Ashland Church.
July 21, 1924 after a visit from Presbytery the First Presbyterian Church of Ashland was reorganized as an independent
congregation with sixty-five (65) members.
Up until April 1926 ministers came from Princeton Theological Seminary to preach each Sunday. They conducted two
(2) services on Sunday evenings and would stay the weekend at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Plank and family.
April 6, 1926 Reverend Parks W. Wilson became the first pastor of
Ashland Church.
The church grew - a Boy Scout troop was organized. The Sunday school
attendance grew and they had to move to the local fire hall.
February 14 - 19, 1928 Twenty-Fifth (20th) Anniversary services were
held initializing a building fund campaign for the purposes of enlarging
the church.
In 1939 a contract was signed with Hezenthell Builders to build an addition to the church. It would double the size of the sanctuary, Sunday
school and put in a new kitchen and heating unit.
Sherwood Githens, William Henry, Aaron
Plank, William McFadden, Charles Lynn,
Charles A. Peters - February 19,1928 - 20th
anniversary - these were superintendents of
the Sunday School.
January 26, 1951 Reverend Ernest Palmer was installed as the tenth (10th)
pastor of Ashland Church.
In 1953 Reverend Andrew Layman, Synod Field
Executive recommended relocating Ashland
Church to a more strategic site in the township.
This was to accommodate the growing congregation and Sunday school.
Mr. Matlack, Pastor
Palmer, Mr. Peters ground breaking.
In the spring of 1954 Ashland Church voted
unanimously to relocate and to conduct a
campaign to raise money to build a new church
and Sunday school, if able to locate a suitable site
with the approval of the Board of National Missions for aid from the Capital Building Funds.
In 1955 the Ashland Church purchased about 3 acres from Serody and Serody, builders of
Greenridge housing development. George H. Savage of Philadelphia was hired as the architect to
draw up the plans for the church and Sunday school and to oversee the construction of this building. The funds were
raised and the new building costing $175,000.00 was built. Groundbreaking took place on June 24, 1956.
May 6, 1957 the cornerstone was laid by Charles A. Peters, John E.
Matlack, Reverend Ernest Palmer and Richard S. Mitchell, Sr.
August 4, 1957 a dedication service was held at the new church. The
east wing (where the chapel and Sunday school rooms are now) was not
completed at the time of the dedication so several members of the
church helped finish the construction.
January 1, 1967 Reverend Ernest Palmer retired as pastor of Ashland
Church.
Richard Mitchell and Pastor Palmer 1957
August, 1967 Reverend C. Lowry Horner was installed as the eleventh (11th) pastor of Ashland
Church.
January 29, 1981 at the annual Congregational Meeting the congregation of Ashland Church
unanimously voted to withdraw from UPUSA following the acceptance of a United Church of
Christ minister as UPUSA member minister despite his repeated denial of the deity of Christ, the
bodily resurrection of Christ, the sinless nature of Christ and the finality of Christ’s atoning sacrifice of our sins and our resulting salvation.
Rev C. Lowry, and
Grace Horner
March 9, 1981 after a series of meetings the Presbytery of West Jersey dissolved the First Presbyterian Church of Ashland as a UPUSA congregation and subsequently instituting suit against the
congregation and property which was still being utilized by the congregation. The church was
functioning then as a non-profit church corporation called Evesham Avenue Church of Ashland.
August 30, 1981 by unanimous vote the congregation voted to become a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian
Church, a denomination of some 25,000 members and composed mostly of former UPUSA congregations.
January 1, 1982 First Presbyterian Church of Ashland changed it’s name to Ashland Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Legal issues between Ashland church and the West Jersey Presbytery of UPUSA were settled out of court with the congregation’s purchase of the property for $150,000.00.
April 26, 1992 Reverend C. Lowry Horner retired after twenty-five (25) years of service.
August 2, 1992 Reverend Ian D. Lamont became the twelfth (12th) pastor of Ashland Church.
February 9, 1997 an Anniversary Recital and Organ Dedication service was held. Celebrating the ninetieth (90th) anniversary of Ashland Church and the dedication of a new organ.
January 31, 1999 Mr. James Bates became Assistant Pastor of Ashland Church. He left in 2000.
September 27, 2001 Reverend Ian Lamont left as pastor of Ashland Church to become the pastor of a church in Florida.
The elders of the church then preached while a new pastor was being sought.
October 13, 2002 Reverend Jamie Cupschalk became the thirteen (13th) pastor of Ashland Church.
Several members of Ashland Church have been attending the church for over seventy (70) years: Mr. Oscar
Hillman, Mrs. Alma (Frantz) Christensen, Mr. Gene
Huth, Mrs. Joan (Kent) Kline, Mrs. Barbara (Letts)
Connor, Mrs. Mildred (Reeves) Buck, Mrs. Jean
(Perkins) Fitzgerald, Mrs. Dorothy (Plank) Kerth, Mrs.
Joan (Plank) Callaway, Mrs. Loretta (Charbat) Simpson, Mr. Walt Searles (deceased 2007) and Mr. Albert
Hillman (deceased 2007).
Reflections from the Pastor
One hundred years ago a small group of people had a vision for a church in the Ashland area. This group of families began
to meet together, holding studies in a home owned by the McFaddon family. From those meetings, the church began to
grow. The first building was built in 1908 and then 49 years later the current building. Since then, Ashland has continually been a light in the community sharing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What always strikes me as I think back on those times before us, is the vision that God gave to those men and women,
some of whose descendents still worship at Ashland Church. These people had a vision beyond themselves; beyond their
own ability to imagine. They had the faith to see things which were not yet, and lived out that faith in front of those who
would follow them. Their desire was to live their lives, and give in such a way that they would have an impact on generations to come. As it turns out, the impact they had in living out their vision would reach even further then they could
dream.
I believe that God has called us to be a visionary people, and that he has placed before us a Vision and Mission that will have
eternal impact. We need to continually look beyond what we can achieve on our own, and ask what God wants to accomplish
today through us. We stand on a good foundation, left by those who precede us, and I pray that we will continue to be a light in
our surrounding community and throughout the world for generations to come. May we be those who leave a legacy to our children and our children’s children, continuing to be the covenant family that God has called us to be, living out our lives together,
loving one another, and sharing the hope of the Gospel.
Rev. Jamie Cupschalk
Pastor
MINISTERS WHO HAVE SERVED AT ASHLAND CHURCH
Princeton Theological Seminary Student - Until 1926
Rev. Parks W. Wilson - Installed May 26, 1926 - resigned October 31, 1926
Rev. Frank Rohrer Lefever - June 1, 1927 to March 1, 1931
Rev. Theron Hewitt (Stated Supply Pastor) - September 28, 1931 to October 22, 1933
Rev. J. Charles McKirachan - March 4, 1934 to June 1935
Rev. Howell Forgy (Stated Supply Pastor) - July 7, 1935 to July 1937
Rev. H. Paul Janes (Stated Supply Pastor) - October 25, 1937 to September 28, 1941
Rev. Thomas Whyte - October 27, 1942 to August 18, 1946
Rev. George Rentschler - January 27, 1947 to June 13, 1948
Rev. Charles VanHorn, Jr. - October 17, 1948 to September 12, 1949
Rev. Ernest Palmer - January 25, 1951 to January 1, 1967 (retired)
Rev. C. Lowry Horner - August, 1967 to April, 1992 (retired)
Rev. Ian D. Lamont - August 2, 1992 to September 27, 2001
Rev. Jamie Cupschalk - October 13, 2002 - Current