Medford United Methodist Church stands at the corner of Hartford Road, Himmelein Road, and Taunton Boulevard in Medford, a small historic township in Burlington County, New Jersey. The members describe their life together in three phrases that they turn into a mission statement: Loving God, Serving People, Transforming Lives. Founded in the early 1820s as one of the area's first Methodist gatherings, the congregation has spent two centuries growing alongside the township. Today it is recognized as a Reconciling Congregation through the Reconciling Ministries Network, an affirming stance that has shaped how the church welcomes LGBTQIA+ members, calls pastors, and officiates weddings.
Visitors arriving on Sunday morning find two distinct services that share one common sermon. A contemporary service meets at 9:00 in the Family Life Center, led by a praise band and livestreamed on Facebook. A traditional service meets at 10:30 in the main sanctuary and includes organ music, vocal choir, and handbell choirs. The sermon at both services is typically worked out as a four-to-six-week series that the planners describe as clear, relevant, and meant to be carried into the world.
Two Services, One Common Message
The 9:00 contemporary service in the Family Life Center is built around the worship band. Singers and instrumentalists rehearse weekly under the direction of Nate Gonzalez and lead the congregation in a casual, accessible style of worship that welcomes dress-as-you-are attire and the noise of young children. The full service is livestreamed, beginning about fifteen minutes before the start so that people joining from home can settle in. Recordings of the contemporary service, the traditional service, and the standalone sermon are kept on the church's YouTube channel and the Buzzsprout podcast.
The 10:30 traditional service in the Sanctuary draws on the music staff's deep reserves. The Adult Vocal Choir sings most Sundays of the program year under the direction of Brian Bacon, and the handbell choirs ring roughly once a month under the direction of Barb Frame, who has led the bell program for more than thirty-five years. Communion is celebrated at both services on the first Sunday of each month, and all are invited to the table.
Holmes Communion practices follow the United Methodist tradition of an open table. Welch's 100% grape juice fills the chalices, and the bread is either Schar gluten-free sandwich rolls or Kame rice crackers. The congregation also offers TrueVine Chalice gluten-free single-serve communion cups. Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch, the Methodist founder of the company that bears his name, developed his pasteurization process specifically to provide a non-alcoholic option for the sacrament, working in Vineland, New Jersey, just down the road.
A Church That Calls Itself Reconciling
The most distinctive thing about Medford United Methodist Church in 2026 is its three-step journey into being a Reconciling Congregation. In January 2020, after months of conversation, study, prayer, and discernment, the church voted by 86 percent to become a Reconciling Congregation through the Reconciling Ministries Network. The vote came shortly after a Special Session of the United Methodist General Conference had retained restrictive language in The Book of Discipline that many members felt excluded and harmed LGBTQIA+ neighbors.
The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted in-person ministry right after the vote, but the Reconciling Ministry Committee reconvened in January 2022 with renewed energy. In the spring of 2024, after the General Conference voted to remove the restrictive language, the church adopted a Ministry Covenant affirming its commitment to supporting and advocating for LGBTQIA+ individuals, calling affirming pastors, officiating same-sex weddings on the church grounds, and ensuring that future pastoral leadership aligns with its affirming stance.
The full statement, adopted as a formal welcoming declaration, reads in part: We welcome, affirm, and include humanity's entire spectrum of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, family configuration, race, ethnicity, age, faith, history, education, physical and mental ability, economic, marital, social and citizenship status. We believe God's people share in all opportunities equally, including marriage and ordination.
Two Co-Interim Pastors from the Greater New Jersey Conference
Medford UMC is currently served by two Co-Interim Pastors, the Reverends Jana Purkis-Brash and Glenn Conaway. Both come to the position with more than forty years of pastoral experience and a shared history as District Superintendents in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference. They stepped into the interim role after retiring together from district leadership.
Glenn spent more than twenty-five years at Trinity UMC in Mullica Hill, helping that congregation grow and expanding its campus facilities. Jana previously served as Associate Pastor at Medford UMC in the 2000s before moving to Princeton UMC and later to the Stewardship Foundation of Greater New Jersey. The church describes Jana and Glenn as caring pastors, creative worship leaders, and gifted preachers, and the two share teaching and preaching duties during the interim season.
Two Centuries of Methodism in Medford
Methodism arrived in the Medford area in the early 1800s when small groups of believers began meeting in homes to study scripture and pray. A congregation was formally organized in 1821, and the first church building was constructed in 1824 in Medford Village. Growth soon required a second, larger building, which was erected in 1854 on Branch Street.
About one hundred years later, as the population of Medford shifted outward from the village center, the church was built a third time on Hartford Road, where the congregation has worshipped continuously since 1973. An education wing was added in 1982 to expand ministry to children, including a preschool program. The most recent chapter came in 2017, when the church added a 9,900-square-foot Family Life Center to the campus to provide space for worship, fellowship, and community programming. The Family Life Center Fund still carries a mortgage of roughly $460,000, paid down at about $3,000 a month through dedicated giving.
A House of Music: Choirs, Bells, and Band
Music runs deep at Medford UMC. The Adult Vocal Choir rehearses weekly from September through June and sings almost every Sunday of the program year, with extra performances at Christmas, Easter, and the end of the season. Director Brian Bacon welcomes new singers at any point.
Bells have been ringing at Medford UMC for more than thirty-five years. Director Barb Frame oversees two adult handbell choirs plus a Youth Bells ensemble for students in grades five through twelve, and younger children play choir chimes once a month during Kids Church. The program puts on a special Christmas concert each year, and new ringers are always welcome, even those with no handbell experience.
The contemporary service is led by the worship band under the direction of Nate Gonzalez, who is always looking for singers and instrumentalists. Individual musicians and vocalists are also welcome to rotate in to either service by speaking with any member of the music staff.
From Kids Church to Mission Trips
Children's and youth ministry is led by Bethany Carl, the Children and Youth Director, and offers something for nearly every age.
During the program year, Kids Church welcomes children from prekindergarten through fifth grade during the 9:00 contemporary service. Children begin worship with their families and, after the children's message, are dismissed to explore Bible stories using a curriculum designed around multiple intelligences. Parents pick up their children after worship in Bowker Hall.
Older students have age-appropriate offerings. Eighth graders and above may prepare for Confirmation in a year-long journey that teaches the basics of the Christian faith and the principles of discipleship. High school students gather for a weekly Bible study. A middle and high school youth group meets on Wednesday evenings for recreation, games, and devotions, with fall and winter retreats off campus and service hours tracked for students who need them for school.
Summer brings two big-ticket offerings. Each year the Vacation Bible School welcomes children from age four through fifth grade for the Snowball Mountain Challenge, a multi-session program built around the verse I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). Older students serve as volunteers. Summer mission trips in recent years have taken youth in grades eight through college age to Roanoke, Virginia, to work with REACH, with the youth group also hosting community events such as the open-mic night Medford Rocks to benefit Broadway Bound Players of Medford.
Outreach Across Burlington, Camden, and Mercer Counties
Outreach is one of the most visible signatures of Medford UMC's life. The Outreach Committee supports a year-round calendar of giving, service, and partnership with organizations across South Jersey. Many of these projects have been running for more than a decade.
The church serves as an ongoing pickup and delivery point for the WaWa Share Food Donation Program. Twenty-eight volunteers from Medford UMC pick up surplus meals from the local Wawa three days a week and deliver them to Christian Caring Center in Browns Mills. The volunteers have delivered more than 10,000 meals over the life of the program.
Winter brings the Adopt-A-Box drive for the Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council, where the youth fill shoeboxes with personal-care items for men, women, and children in homeless shelters. Lent launches a food drive that benefits Christian Caring Center and the Turning Point UMC Food Pantry in Trenton. Mother's Day through Father's Day brings an annual diaper drive supporting the Maker's Place in Trenton, whose Diaper Depot program distributes diapers and formula to families across the region. Back-to-school season fills backpacks for students served by IHOC, the Neighborhood Center in Camden, and Christian Caring Center.
Thanksgiving brings frozen turkeys and grocery gift cards collected in the parking lot and delivered to the Neighborhood Center in Camden. Advent launches the Angel Tree, now in its sixteenth year, which has grown from a local effort into partnerships with Urban Promise in Camden, Wesley UMC in Trenton, the Maker's Place, and the Medford Police Department's Operation Santa. Throughout the year the church hosts American Red Cross blood drives in the Family Life Center, and the broader congregation supports disaster response through the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
The mission partner list includes Urban Promise in Camden, Turning Point UMC Food Pantry in Trenton, Christian Caring Center in Browns Mills, Family Promise in Burlington County, the Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council in Camden County, the Neighborhood Center in Camden, Wesley UMC in Trenton (led by Pastor Rosemary Rentas), the Maker's Place, and the Medford Police Department.
A Family Life Center and an Accessible Campus
The Family Life Center, which opened in 2017, anchors most of the church's larger gatherings. The 9:00 contemporary service is held in its worship space, and the building also hosts fellowship meals, scout meetings, recovery group meetings, the Cub Scout recruitment night, the annual UMW Flea Market, the Red Cross blood drives, and many small-group gatherings. The FLC is fully accessible, with automatic doors at the entrance.
The Sanctuary and Bowker Hall are also accessible, with ramps and accessible restrooms serving the gathering areas. Accessible parking is available at both of the church's main buildings. WiFi is broadcast throughout the campus for guests; the network is MUMCGuest and the password is godsgrace.
The Sanctuary, Bowker Hall, and the Family Life Center are all available for weddings, with the pastors typically asking engaged couples to begin conversations with the church office at least six months before their wedding date. Pre-marital counseling is part of the preparation, usually three or four ninety-minute sessions covering faith, family, finances, conflict, and life goals. The building is also available for community use under a published building use policy, and the church regularly hosts scout troops, recovery meetings, and local organizations that need meeting space.
Small Groups, Grief Care, Pickleball, and Prayer Shawls
Beyond the main services, Medford UMC offers a busy calendar of small groups and recurring gatherings.
- A Monday-evening Bible study is co-led by Michelle Critelli and Cyndy Riley.
- The church's Disciple's Path program meets during Lent, using the membership vows of prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness as the framework for the weekly sessions, with multiple groups meeting on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays across the season.
- H.O.P.E. Grief Support gathers on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm in the Family Life Center.
- The MUMC Book Club meets once a month and welcomes new readers.
- A co-ed Healthy Living group reads widely and meets on the first and third Mondays of each month.
- Pick-up pickleball is scheduled several times a week in the FLC.
- The Prayer Shawl ministry has provided nearly five hundred knitted shawls as tangible reminders of God's love.
- For music lovers, the vocal choir, worship band, and handbell choirs rehearse weekly, and the choirs sing at both services.
- A Care Team and Eucharistic Team visit and bring communion to those who cannot attend worship in person.
The United Methodist Women coordinate Sarah Circle and Lois Circle small groups that meet for fellowship and mission, host the annual Hearts for Mission Silent Auction and Luncheon, and run the annual Flea Market in the Family Life Center parking lot. A Men's Breakfast meets monthly, and the church office supports an annual Irish Evening of music, treats, and fellowship each March.
A Daily Devotional and an App
Each weekday, Medford UMC publishes a short devotional written by members of the congregation. Recent titles in the series have explored courage, gratitude, peace, and the call to care for one another, with authors that have included Rick Reed, Janet Waryck, and Jeneene Reduker. The devotionals can be read in the MUMC app, on Facebook, or via email subscription.
The MUMC app brings together sermon videos and audio, daily devotionals, the church calendar, the weekly newsletter, the giving system, and a prayer request form. It can be downloaded by texting medfordapp to 77977 or by searching Medford UMC in any app store.
For ongoing financial support, the church uses Pushpay and offers recurring giving through the app. Members can split their giving between the General Fund (which supports day-to-day ministry and programs), the Building Fund (which maintains the buildings and the parsonage), and the Family Life Center Fund (which pays down the FLC mortgage). Gifts of stock and estate gifts can also be arranged through the finance office, and the church maintains an endowment fund for longer-term legacy giving.
Visiting Medford United Methodist Church
Medford United Methodist Church is located at 2 Hartford Road, at the intersection of Hartford Road, Himmelein Road, and Taunton Boulevard in Medford, New Jersey. The church office sits on the first floor of the education (east) wing of the main facility and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The office phone number is (609) 654-8111.
On Sunday morning, greeters stand near the doors to either worship space and can direct visitors to the service, class, or meeting they are looking for. A Welcome Center inside the Family Life Center offers coffee, information, and a friendly first conversation. Dress at the contemporary service tends toward casual; the traditional service sees a wider range, though most members simply wear what is comfortable.
Children are welcome in either service. After the children's message at the 9:00 service, kids prekindergarten through fifth grade are invited to Kids Church and can be picked up afterward in Bowker Hall. Accessible parking is available at both buildings, the Family Life Center is fully accessible with automatic doors, and the Sanctuary and Bowker Hall are also accessible.
For those joining from home, the 9:00 service is livestreamed on Facebook. Replays of the full service, the contemporary service, the traditional service, and the weekly sermon are available on the church's YouTube channel and the podcast feed. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, and visitors online are invited to share the sacrament with their families using bread or crackers and juice, with gluten-free options always available.
Whether a person is exploring faith for the first time, looking for an affirming church home, returning to church after time away, or simply passing through Medford for a Sunday, Medford United Methodist Church opens its doors with the same posture it has held for two hundred years: a small-town congregation that wants to love God, serve its neighbors, and watch how God transforms lives in the process.