In 1773 a new church building was erected in the second cemetery, which had been opened in 1738, on the southwest corner of Vroom street and Bergen avenue. It fronted Bergen avenue, about the center of the east side of the lot. The stone above the door of the first church was placed above the door of the second building with a stone beneath with the inscription: "Her bowt in Het yaer 1773." Both are now over the door on the south side of the present church building on Bergen and Highland avenues of which the corner stone was laid August 26th, 1841. This site is part of the land originally reserved for the pastor's use. In the walls of the present church are many of the sand stone blocks from glacial bowlders that were formerly built into the walls of the earlier church buildings. The third church was dedicated July 14th, 1842. The dedication sermon was preached in Dutch and understood by many of the congregation. Mr. Versteeg, in his translation of the Church Records states that Dutch ceased to be the language of the pulpit and of the church records May 26th, 1793, when Mr. John Cornelison was ordained and installed as pastor, although in some instances English and Dutch were used alternately in the records as late as 1805. Old residents tell me that they have heard occasional sermons in Dutch at a very much later date. In "The Annals of the Classis and Township of Bergen," Domine Taylor states that "singing in Dutch was discontinued about 1809, but In the early Dutch Churches on Long Island there was an officer called Krank besoecker—Sick Visitor, also sometimes called Zieck-trooster—the Sick Consoler, or Comforter; undoubtedly the same office existed in the early Bergen Church, but if so whether it was filled by the Voorleezer or some other member of the congregation I cannot say. The name of "Sick Consoler" is very suggestive of kindly brotherhood, expressing much more than the modern name of the same office. |