On June 10, 1954, over 1070 members of churches took part in a parade of churches or “Back to God” program. It ended at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, where at the grandstand members of the particular churches sang hymns and carols to praise God.

The church survived two big crises during its life: one was the American Revolution and the other was a dispute between the Mother Church in Holland and the small colonial churches. At one point the dispute got so bad that the church had to close down. One family in particular that was involved was the Livingstons. During the Revolution, the church was split; some people supported England, while others were against them. By 1772 the church was without a minister and the Elders conducted services.

In April 1775, a Revolutionary pledge was nailed to the doors of the church. All of the citizens for the pledge were asked to sign. Many didn’t like this idea of separation. However, the battle of Lexington and Concord changed many people’s minds. The Livingston family supported the cause of liberty so much that Robert Livingston was chosen by the new Continental Congress to be one of the four to draft the Declaration of Independence.

The old pastor of the church was Pastor Bob Vanderlon, but unfortunately he left the church, an interim pastor, Pastor Dave, is the current pastor at the church. The church runs as follows: There is a consistery made up of the pastor, elders, and deacons. The deacons are elected by the congregation, which is considered to be a representative church, very much like our own national government. The elders of the church are the spiritual leaders. The deacons control finances, organizations, and the events of the church. The deacons are further divided into a worship committee, a search committee, and a building and grounds committee. The consistery meets once a month for a meeting.

I interviewed a current interim pastor, Mr. Vanderlon. In one of his many books about ministry it states that a pastor has six motives, or rolls. They include administrator, organizer, pastor, preacher, priest, and friend.

Every Sunday at 9:45am when parents are listening to Pastor Dave, the children ages five through fifteen are in Sunday school. Here they each have a teacher and are broken into different classes. In each class you read and discuss Bible packets and learn a new story from the Bible every week. In ninth grade you take a communicant class, and when you graduate from this, you become a member of the church.

Also, every year at Christmas time the children in these classes put on a Christmas pageant for family and friends. Once when I was six or seven I remember I was on stage with the children’s choir. We were about to sing the carol “Gloria,” when I started too early and shouted out a booming “Glo.” Then I realized that we hadn’t started singing yet and stopped.

Also, every Memorial Day the church holds a special service as a way to honor the 42 American Revolution soldiers buried there. Uncle Dewit, the old town historian came up with this service as a way to remind us of our freedoms. During the early days of the church a group of kids called the Dutch Arms Drum and Fyfe decorated the graves with flags, sounded taps and then sat in the empty church with their heads bowed in silent prayer.