In the small historic hamlet of Brookside, within Mendham Township in Morris County, an old white clapboard church on East Main Street opens its doors at 9:30 every Sunday morning for a single, intergenerational service. Brookside Community Church describes itself as a "faithfully inviting, inclusive, intergenerational community in the heart of Morris County," and that tagline captures the tone of the whole congregation: rooted in its UCC heritage, deliberate about being a safe place for all families, and small enough that the children sit among the grown-ups rather than being sent off to another room.
An Open and Affirming United Church of Christ
Brookside Community Church is a local church of the United Church of Christ. The congregation has chosen the denomination's Open and Affirming designation, which means that people of every sexual orientation, gender identity, and family configuration are explicitly welcomed into the full life of the church. Sermon topics archived on the church's own site reflect how seriously that commitment is taken in the pulpit. Series such as Becoming an Inclusive Community, and individual sermons tagged with Open and Affirming, LGBTQIA, and Image of God, show that the congregation has worked through Scripture passages often used against LGBTQ people and has chosen welcome as a core conviction. "A truly inclusive community," one sermon teaches, "is one that welcomes the excluded by affirming them as bearers of the image of God."
The same progressive thread runs through other parts of the church's teaching. Creation care sermons name climate change as a matter of discipleship, and the congregation has wrestled openly with questions of biblical interpretation, racial justice, and what it means to call the church a "family." Trinity Sunday, Pentecost, Palm Sunday, Easter, and Maundy Thursday are all observed in the regular lectionary rhythm, and Holy Week sermons draw on art and commentary from a wide range of traditions.
Sunday Morning at 9:30
Everything in the weekly life of the church is built around a single Sunday morning gathering. Worship begins at 9:30 AM and runs as a single service in the sanctuary, with everyone from infants to longtime members in the room together. The service is also available live online through Zoom, so that members and friends who are traveling, ill, or homebound can participate in real time. Recordings are posted to the church's Facebook page and to its YouTube channel, and an audio archive of older sermons goes back years.
Scripture is read from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which the church describes as "an accurate translation in modern language." Music is treated as seriously as the sermon: the Music at Brookside program includes choral, contemporary, and traditional selections, and the church deliberately uses inclusive and expansive language for God and humanity in a variety of musical styles. The aim, the church says, is for music "to reflect the diversity of God's children." A Palm Sunday cantata each year is a particular musical highlight of the Lenten season.
Communion on the First Sunday
Holy Communion, also called the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist, is celebrated in worship on the first Sunday of each month. The elements are usually gluten-free bread and grape juice. The church teaches that the meal is "a symbolic meal of remembrance as we recall the story of the Last Supper and Jesus' command to 'do this, in remembrance of me.'" Because the service is also available through Zoom, people worshiping from home are invited to use any bread and drink on hand, joining the table from their own kitchens under the direction of the presiding pastor.
Worshiping with Children
One of the things the church is most intentional about is keeping families together in worship. "At Brookside, we create worship services that are intentionally intergenerational," the church says, "believing that the way we welcome children affects their faith development and understanding of the divine." Parents are encouraged to let little ones be little ones: to sing, to fidget, to doodle, to listen when they listen. Sensory bins and busy bags are available for hands that need something to do.
The church is candid that this is not always a quiet experience. "The experience might not be quiet or relaxing at first, but our church is here to support you and your little ones as you grow in faith together." Children learn by watching adults pray, sing, and respond, and the service is built to give them small parts to take on as they grow. The Christian Education program that runs alongside Sunday morning gives children a dedicated space to dig into the same Scripture readings at their own level, so the whole family can talk about the same texts over Sunday lunch.
What to Wear, How to Show Up
The church's own advice on dress is to come as you are. Some people arrive in suit jackets, others in jeans. Some bring coffee into the sanctuary, others wait for fellowship hour after the service. Members sometimes dress for the church calendar, wearing red on Pentecost, but a visitor in work clothes headed to the next stop on their day is just as welcome. "In short, you will be welcomed as you are because we believe God loves you as you are," the church says. "We try not to judge."
Life Cycle Events and Pastoral Care
Weddings, baptisms, and funerals are all part of the regular pastoral work of the church. Baptisms at Brookside mark entrance into the body of Christ, and the church affirms baptisms performed in other Christian denominations; no one is asked to be re-baptized. Couples and families planning a wedding, a baptism, or a funeral are asked to email the office so the pastor can walk through the details with them. The pastor is also the point of contact for pastoral care, including home or hospital visits, and is available to the wider Brookside community for these moments.
Christian Education and Integrated Spirituality
Christian Education at Brookside covers the whole life of faith, not just children. The church runs classes and small groups for all ages, and the Integrated Spirituality initiative is one of the church's distinctive offerings: an effort to connect what is learned in worship, in study, and in the work of justice into a single, lived practice. Sermon series have explored topics ranging from the parables of Jesus to peacemaking, covenant, the biblical vision of Sabbath, and how the Bible is read and interpreted in the modern world.
Music at Brookside
Music is a ministry of its own at Brookside, not a side element of the service. The Music at Brookside page gathers the choirs, soloists, and instrumentalists who serve week to week. The music ministry uses inclusive and expansive language for God and humanity, and the church takes seriously the idea that the music heard in worship should sound like the diversity of the people in the pews. A long-running cantata tradition shapes Holy Week and Easter each year, and guest musicians occasionally join the regular ensemble for special services.
Community Outreach and Creation Care
Outreach is woven into the congregation's identity. The Community Outreach ministry coordinates the church's local partnerships and service projects, and creation care has been a recurring sermon and study topic. Series on environmental justice, climate change, waste, and care for creation have run through recent program years, framing care for the earth as part of Christian discipleship. The Open and Affirming commitment also pushes the church outward: the congregation has used its pulpit to wrestle with racism, sexism, homophobia, gun violence, and other public issues, and to encourage members to bring their faith into the wider Morris County community.
Leadership and Staff
The Rev. Nicolette Siragusa serves as the congregation's pastor and typically presides at Sunday worship, including Communion. She is supported by a staff and a team of lay leaders responsible for music, Christian education, outreach, and the other ministries of the church. Members of the congregation are encouraged to connect with the office by email or phone to get involved or to plan a visit, and the church's member portal is available for those who want to deepen their connection to the life of Brookside.
Getting to Brookside
The church building is at 8 East Main Street in the Brookside section of Mendham Township, New Jersey, with a mailing address of PO Box 49, Brookside, NJ 07926. The phone number is (973) 543-7229 and the office email is office@brooksidechurch.org. Sunday morning worship at 9:30 is the central gathering, and visitors are invited to come as they are, whether in person or online, and to join a small congregation that takes seriously its call to be a faithfully inviting, inclusive, intergenerational community.