About our Church

The South Orange-Vailsburg United Methodist Church was founded on November 9, 1848. The church’s first Strawberry Festival was held in 1851.  The ladies of the church collected enough money from the sale of strawberry shortcake to seed the church’s first building fund and resulted in a small chapel being built in 1853. The church continues to celebrate its strawberry festival annually.  The Sanctuary where we worship was built in 1902 as the church’s third building. 

Over the years, many pastors and partnership lay members of the congregation have served faithfully, beginning in 1848 with Reverend C.S. Van Cleve, as the first minister. Reverend John F. Dow,  served from 1970 to 1981. During his tenure, the Vailsburg Methodist Church guided by Reverend Barry Lambert, merged in 1973 with the South Orange Church to form the South Orange-Vailsburg United Church.

About the United Methodist Church:

The United Methodist Church is an 11-million-strong global church that Opens Hearts, Opens Doors, and Opens Minds through active engagement with our world.

John Wesley and the early Methodists placed primary emphasis on Christian living, on putting faith and love into action. This emphasis on what Wesley referred to as “practical divinity” has continued to be a hallmark of United Methodism today.