Evangel History
The Church of the Evangel has always understood its mission is to serve the community. Twenty-five members of the Lewis Avenue congregational Church (the building now accommodates cornerstone Baptist Church) and the Flatbush Congregational Church met at 33 Crooke Avenue "to discuss the advisability of a new Congregational Church for North Flatbush." They met on January 19, 1907, and by February were renting a room in an old mansion at 694 Flatbush Avenue for Sunday services. The name they chose for themselves, The Church of The Evangel, was in honor of the Evangel Circle of the Lewis Avenue Church. The Rev. Sidney Cox was the first pastor, serving from 1907 until 1910. Mr. Cox, an Australian by birth, emigrated to America intending to make his fortune in business but responded instead to a delayed call to the ministry. He capitalized on his experience as Pastor of the Lewis Avenue Congregational Church to describe in great detail how Evangel's mission was to be translated architecturally into a strong, beautiful, and serviceable structure. His extensive notes are on record at the Metropolitan Association. By signing the membership book on September 23, 1907, 83 men and women became Evangel's charter members. Everyone who has joined this congregation since has also had his or her name written in the same book as the Charter members. Rev. Cox left the Church for his homeland in 1910. By that time, the congregation was worshipping in a portable chapel provided by the Church Extension Society on June 30, 1907. The building was on the corner of Hawthorne and Bedford on land purchased from a founding member for $15,000. The present building's cornerstone was laid in 1916 with "fitting ceremonies." Costing a reasonable $56,000, the church was constructed of stone that had been excavated in Manhattan when the subway was built. The new pastor, the Rev. Albert Edward Roraback, came in 1910. His first years were years of promising growth. By 1921, there were 464 members, 367 enrolled in the Bible School, a Young People's League of 32, a Women's Association of 105, the world's largest Boy Scout troop and 130 in the Girl Scouts. Evangel has always been a neighborhood church. The addresses of our first members read like today's mailing list: Fenimore Street, Winthrop Street and Lenox Road were the addresses for the first Pastor, Trustee Board Chairman and Treasurer. An interesting and varied program very quickly became an Evangel characteristic. In January, 1923, for example, the calendar shows the following: Basketball, handball, scouts, motion pictures, Women's groups, Men's League and the Annual Meeting. At its twentieth anniversary in 1927, the Church of the Evangel celebrated a significant addition when Emma Cromwell contributed $10,000 for a memorial window in memory of her brother Joseph. It is a Louis C. Tiffany stained glass window showing the angel speaking to the women at the empty tomb. Other anniversary gifts made it possible to enlarge the chancel, purchase deacon pews and augment the pipe organ. The onward and upward thrust of Evangel's life in the '20s changed as the Great Depression rolled throughout the country. The church's proposed budget for 1927 was $13,227.00; three years later, in 1930, it had fallen slightly, to $12,665.00. The Board of Trustees frequently sent notes to the membership urging better stewardship, but income continued to decline. The record shows that the Pastor regularly refunded $1,000 of his $4,000 salary to the Church-but still the Church Treasurer was unable to keep up with the salary payments. The downhill trend continued so that, by 1943, the proposed budget was a modest $7,065.00. Financial problems seem to have little impact on Evangel's spirit. Members raised funds during the 30's, 40's and even into the '50's, by producing variety shows in the church basement, which at that time was a combination gymnasium/theater. The more well-to-do had moved into the Long Island suburbs while the working class residents in this community kept organizations like the Red Cross vigorous and traditions like the Sunday school parade alive. World War II's end made it clear for all to see that a new generation needed to assume leadership, so Mr. Roraback resigned the pulpit he had occupied for 39 years, and was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Hendricks Budrie. At Rev. Budrie's resignation on April 17, 1955, he noted, "Since December, 1949, when I became your pastor, our mortgage obligation at the bank was reduced by half from approximately $18,500 to $8,750; the sanctuary repainted, the organ rebuilt, chimes and new hymnals acquired, the reception room refurbished, repainting of the entire building as the need arose, new furniture put to excellent use as over one hundred new members have joined with us in our fellowship with Christ." The Rev. Francis Tucker, who served from 1956 to 1960, is remembered for his success in persuading some of the community's new African-American residents to join the Church. He was followed by Rev. Charles Rodrigues and Rev. George Z. Frobig who served short three- and two-year pastorates. When Rev. William R. Nye was ordained to the ministry in Evangel's sanctuary in 1965, he began a twelve-year relationship with the congregation that is still remembered fondly and affectionately. He began a number of practices whose continuance has made it financially possible for Evangel to survive, such as sharing the sanctuary with another congregation, sponsoring the Hawthorne Corners Daycare Center, and encouraging outside groups to use the facilities. By the time Rev. Dr. Nye left the Church of the Evangel in 1977, the church had completed the transition from being a predominantly Anglo congregation to one whose members are African-American and African-Caribbean. Dr. Nye's immediate successor was the Rev. Charles Fisher, a retired U.S. Army Chaplain who was Evangel's first African-American pastor. Rev. Fisher used his status as Interim Pastor to prepare the way for Rev. Edward E. Goode, whose pastorate began on Palm Sunday, 1979. Rev. Goode's ministry of Evangel continued to develop already well-established priorities: Youth, community service, fellowship, hospitality and social action. Rev. Goode also started a Youth Choir, Sisters In Action and Simon of Cyrene's Saturday Program (mentoring programs for young women and men). He was responsible for developing a strong Sunday School at Evangel. In 1987, the congregation secured a $124,000 mortgage from the United Church of Christ to pay for a well conceived plan of significant repairs and improvements. The plan was called "Restoration". In addition to waterproofing the church's exterior, painting the interior, and installing a new main kitchen floor, Restoration made a reality of the Roraback Library, commissioned a new stained glass window depicting the symbols for the four gospels, provided air conditioning for the Community Hall and Library, and made the sanctuary wheel chair accessible. Thanks to the James B. Maclean Charitable Remainder Unitrust, the Church of the Evangel received $11,098.21 in 1994. $8,261.27 was designated to pay off the balance of a loan the Metropolitan Association had extended to the Church to pay for a new furnace. The balance of the Maclean Fund was dedicated to Christian Education and was spent by the Sunday School, Youth Choir, Sisters in Action, and Simon of Cyrene's Saturday Program. Rev. Goode's tenure of eighteen years was the second longest in Evangel's history. He was the last Pastor to have occupied the Parsonage and is still remembered with much warmth and love. Rev. Goode resigned in 1997, and was succeeded by Rev. Ronald R. Winley as Interim Pastor in March, 1998. In November, 1999, Rev. Winley was called to serve as Evangel's 10th Pastor. His ministry was marked by a dedication to the greater community, as well as the health and well-being of Evangel's members. He was responsible for developing a strong Bible Study at Evangel. He secured a grant for a Health and Wellness program for church members and friends, with presentations on the benefits of stress reduction, healthy eating and aerobic exercise. Along with other community leaders, Rev. Winley was instrumental in revitalizing the Prospect-Lefferts Garden Neighborhood Association and stood with Brooklyn's Haitian clergy in their fight for social justice following the police slaying of Patrick Dorismond. Under Rev. Winley's leadership, the congregation secured a $50,000.00 loan from the UCC Cornerstone Fund for repairs and improvements to the Church facilities. Evangel established the "Una & Patrick Matthews Pew Rally Fund, a major fundraiser which provided pew cushions and air conditioning for the sanctuary. The Pew Rally Fund continues to be a major source of income for the church to this day. Rev. Winley resigned in December, 2003 and, in January 2005, Rev. Lisa Robinson accepted the position of Pulpit Supply Minister while Evangel searched for a permanent Pastor.
On March 25, 2007, members of the Church voted to call Rev. Lisa Robinson as our 11th Pastor. She is the first female Pastor in our church's 100 year history. As Rev. Lisa makes her mark in history at Evangel we look forward to her passion for youth ministry and her warmth and dynamic preaching.
We express gratitude to our past ministers, members and friends for their support and contribution to the service of this community. We know that we will change, and that the church will change, 'But the God we worship is the same, yesterday, today and forever'. (Hebrews 13:8)
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 Church of the Evangel UCC1950 Bedford Ave. Sunday Sunday School 9:30 am - 10:30 am Wednesday Prayer 6:00 pm Friday Childrens Choir Practice 6:00 pm Weblinks Sisters in Action BlogSpot www.sistersinactioncamp.blogspot.com  |
