First United Methodist Church of Glassboro sits on the corner of Academy and New Streets in downtown Glassboro, New Jersey, a block or two from the storefronts of High Street and the borough's town square. The congregation was organized in 1823 under the leadership of Joseph Albertson, making it one of the oldest continuous Methodist bodies in Gloucester County. Today the church runs a full Sunday morning schedule for children and adults, a pair of distinct worship services, a wide network of small groups, and the Samaritan Center, Glassboro's official food pantry, all under the leadership of Pastor Tim Conaway.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
The Sunday schedule is built around three hours that move together. At 9:00 AM, the Elevate worship service fills the sanctuary with the church's in-house praise band, Magnify. The service has a modern feel and is streamed live on Facebook for those who prefer to join from home. At 10:00 AM, the church shifts into Power Hour, its Sunday school hour for every age from nursery through adult. Classes meet in both the main church building and the Fellowship House next door. At 11:00 AM, the Traditional worship service gathers for liturgy, hymns, and special music from the choirs; that service is also livestreamed on Facebook.
Nursery care is offered throughout the morning, from 9 AM to noon, for infants through Pre-K. The congregation follows a relaxed summer schedule: a single 10 AM blended service on July 5, one blended service at 10 AM each Sunday from August 2 through September 6, and a return to two services on September 13. Midweek formation continues with a Wednesday Night Bible Study led by Pastor Tim in Grounded Cafe, running in seasonal sessions on books such as Max Lucado's Anxious for Nothing.
Music and Worship Arts
Music is woven into almost everything the church does. Magnify, the praise band, leads the 9 AM service weekly and represents the church at community events such as the Glassboro Memorial Day Parade and the opening night of the Pitman Camp Meeting. The Chancel Choir sings anthems at the 11 AM service from September through June, with rehearsals on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the Music and Worship Arts room; singers in 9th grade and up are welcome. The Bell Choir, also open to 9th grade and up with no prior experience needed, rehearses on Thursdays from 6:15 to 7:15 PM and performs about once a month in the traditional service.
Children in grades 1 through 5 can join the Sunday School Children's Choir, which sings quarterly at a Communion Sunday service. For the congregation's deaf and hard of hearing members and visitors, the Sacred Signers provide ASL interpretation of songs during worship and special programs; the group rehearses on Mondays at 5:30 PM in Grounded and welcomes any interested signers regardless of experience. Throughout the year the music ministry also produces special events such as Dueling Pianos, Cantatas, and Praise Bowl.
A History Built on Three Buildings
Methodist preachers were traveling the Gloucester County Circuit as early as 1819, and the first record of a gathering in Glassboro is a meeting in an old schoolhouse in 1820. An official class was organized in 1823 and met at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. The first Methodist church in town was built on Broad Street in 1833, a building called Salem Methodist Episcopal Church.
By the 1850s the growing congregation needed a larger home. In 1854, property on the corner of Academy and New Streets was purchased from the Stanger family, and a colonial-style church with a large four-sided clock in the tower was dedicated in 1855. The clock became a focal point of the town and gave the building its longtime nickname, the Old Town Clock Church. As the denomination reorganized nationally, the local name changed to First Methodist Church in 1939 and then to First United Methodist Church in 1968.
A second building on the property came through in 1959, when the congregation bought what is now the Fellowship House, a structure that had previously served as a hotel, a store, a private residence, and a sewing factory. After years of structural problems from shifting ground and termites, the colonial-style building was replaced: the current sanctuary was built between 1976 and 1977 and dedicated on October 9, 1977, with a special cornerstone laying ceremony. In 1998 the church marked its 175th anniversary, and the congregation continues to look forward with a written 2030 Vision for its next chapter.
Children, Youth, and Family Ministries
Children and Family Ministries, or CFM, organizes the rhythm of the year for younger families. Power Hour runs at 10 AM each Sunday with classes for nursery through high school and a parallel adult Sunday school class. The nursery is staffed by attendants and serves infants through Pre-K; older Pre-K and Kindergarten meet in the main building, while grades 1 through 5 gather on the second floor of the Fellowship House, and grades 6 through high school meet on the Fellowship House main floor.
The Youth Group serves middle school and high school students throughout the school year, with retreats, mission trips, and outings. Major family events include the Trunk or Treat and Fall Festival, an annual Easter Egg Hunt that includes a separate sensory-needs egg hunt held earlier in the morning, a Christmas Stocking Party, and Vacation Bible School, which runs for one week each summer with dinner at 5 PM and the program from 6 to 8:15 PM. CFM also helps the church show up in town: members walk in the Glassboro Memorial Day Parade with Magnify, host a Tent Revival and Family Fun Day in Bell Park, and take part in Glassboro ComUNITY Day.
Grow Groups and Adult Formation
A large roster of small groups, called Grow Groups, gathers throughout the week. Several are organized by demographic. United Women in Faith runs two monthly circles, a Morning Circle on the second Tuesday and an Evening Circle on the fourth Thursday, both in the Fellowship House. Men of Armor meets every other Tuesday at 6:30 PM, rotating between the Monarch Diner and members' homes for study and fellowship. Young Adults, for ages 18 to 30, meets Sunday evenings at 7 PM for various studies and fellowship. Adulting is a newer group for adults in their thirties, forties, and beyond that meets at 4 PM on the first Sunday of the month for a meal, fellowship, and devotion. The Sisters of Grace Gathering meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7 PM for a faith-based women's fellowship, with locations that vary.
Other groups meet around shared interests and rhythms. The Dot Somers Discussion Class is the long-running adult Sunday school class that meets from 10:00 to 11:00 AM in the Fellowship House. The Book is Always Better book club gathers on the fourth Tuesday at 6:30 PM in Grounded. The Bethlehem Bakers supply simple baked goods for church outreach events. Ageless Angels, open to all ages and experience levels, knit and crochet prayer shawls; the group meets the second Sunday at 12:15 PM, with a Wednesday evening session at 6 PM in Grounded for those who prefer a weeknight. Selah, an intercessory prayer group, gathers Monday mornings from 11:00 to 11:45 AM in Grounded on alternating weeks. Deeper Roots is an adult Sunday school small group that meets from 10:00 to 10:45 AM in the Fellowship House from October through April.
Care, Recovery, and Pastoral Support
The Good Grief Support Group offers a safe, non-judgmental space for people processing the loss of a loved one, walking members through a structured course with trained leaders. The Care Team supplements that work by promoting caring relationships among members through visits, phone calls, and notes; the team meets the first Monday of each month at 1:30 PM in the Fellowship House. Two recovery groups also call the church home: Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Wednesday at 8:00 PM in the Fellowship House basement, and Narcotics Anonymous meets every Monday at 8:00 PM in the same space.
The Samaritan Center and a Mission Beyond the Walls
The congregation's largest community ministry is the Samaritan Center of Glassboro, a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit incorporated in 2001 that serves as Glassboro's official food pantry. Located at 123 High Street East, the pantry distributes food to Glassboro residents who meet federal low-income guidelines, supplementing government-issued staples with donations from the community and serving more than 500 people each month. A clothing closet next door sells gently used clothing for nominal prices ranging from 25 cents to 3 dollars, and a church garden grows fresh produce that the pantry distributes to those who are food insecure.
The Food Bank is open Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 3 PM. The Clothing Closet is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11 AM. The church also collects hygiene items for the State Street Trading Post, including toothpaste, toothbrushes, bar soap, shampoo, deodorant, washcloths, towels, and laundry bags. Mission work extends well beyond Glassboro: youth and adult mission teams travel in and out of state, the church sponsors American Red Cross blood drives in the Fellowship House, and Lent Bible Studies, Lenten lunches, and weekly Wednesday studies feed a culture of service throughout the year.
Getting Connected
Visitors who want a soft entry point often start with the I'm New pathway. Sunday mornings offer a clear rhythm, with Elevate at 9, Power Hour at 10, and Traditional worship at 11, and the nursery open all morning. Those ready to dig deeper can sign up for a Grow Group or the Wednesday Night Bible Study. Online worship is available through the church's Facebook Live streams, and a sermon podcast called Grounded is being released on YouTube. Giving is accepted during worship, by mail to the office at 60 State Street, or online through Vanco.
The church office sits at 60 State Street, while the church building is at 61 North Academy Street. Summer office hours run Monday through Thursday from 9 AM to 2 PM, and during the school year the office is open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 2 PM. The phone number is (856) 881-3295 and the office email is glassboromethodist1@comcast.net. Pastor Tim Conaway, a graduate of Drew Theological School with a Master of Divinity and a B.A. in Media Communications from Asbury University, leads the congregation with an emphasis on storytelling and creativity in worship. Terri Ganderton serves as Office Administrative Assistant and Director of Grow Groups, Debbie Macchione leads the music ministry, and Elise Viden and Kristen Dubois care for the youngest children in the nursery.