The Rossmoor Community Church (RCC) is an ecumenical congregation, drawing its membership mainly from the gated Active Adult Community of Rossmoor (www.rcainj.com) where 3000 residents (55 years and older) live in 2300 colonial style homes –co-operatives and condominiums — which surround our 72 par championship 18 hole golf course. We are located in Monroe Township, NJ, off exit 8A of the NJ Turnpike, between Princeton and New Brunswick, only an hour in either direction from NYC and Philadelphia. Chartered by the United Church of Christ, we’ve had a Christian presence here in Rossmoor for over 51 years. Mostly lifelong Christians from many denominational backgrounds, we are people of strong faith who take seriously our calling to be Christ’s witnesses in this beautiful community, and are grateful for the rich blessings that its growing diversity brings to us. Many of our previous pastors have been ordained Presbyterian ministers. Our worship service is, for the most part, “traditional” but we are willing to embrace new worship experiences that will inspire us and grow our faith.
Administered by a Church Council and Board of Deacons, elected by the congregation, The Rossmoor Community Church is unique in offering dual membership whereby a person may join RCC and also retain membership in another church. We have a membership of 80, with an average attendance of 50-60 at 11 a.m. worship service every Sunday, which includes a variety of organ, piano, vocal solo/ choral music. Communion is celebrated the first Sunday of each month.
We are fortunate that Rossmoor’s founder, Ross Cortese, envisioned an environment in which the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faith communities would share a common facility, called the Meeting House. It is in this magnificent building, which resembles a Congregational Church sitting on a village green in New England, that our RCC worship services are held. And, less frequently, those of the Jewish and Catholic communities are held as well.
Representatives from these three faiths also come together in the Rossmoor Interfaith Council which utilizes the Meeting House for three special services annually (National Day of Prayer, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving), all very well supported by the entire Rossmoor Community. The Meeting House also serves as the venue for concerts by professional artists as well as productions by the resident theater group called The Players. Because it is owned and well maintained by the Rossmoor Community Association, Inc. (RCAI), we enjoy worship services in a beautiful building for which we pay nothing, except rental fee on a small second floor office space. Our worship services and special programs are promoted through RCAI’s community TV station, the monthly Rossmoor News and our own Church Newsletter.
RCC has a very active Women’s Guild whose membership includes those of all faiths. The Guild provides college scholarships with funds raised at their annual bazaar, which is a very successful community-wide fundraising endeavor. The Guild provides meaningful monthly programs and makes all residents feel welcomed and valued.
The RCC Deacons’ Benevolence Committee sponsors community-wide drives for school supplies for local underprivileged children, a “Souper Bowl” campaign and a sock drive for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and Men’s Shelter. Each winter before Christmas, all of Rossmoor participates in our collection of coats, boots and warm clothing for distribution by “Your Grandmother’s Cupboard”, a statewide Christian organization that distributes clothing and life’s necessities free of charge to the truly needy in NJ. Donations are also made to local charities and for disaster relief in times of need. Our spaghetti dinner — supported and enjoyed by the entire community — raises funds to help support these Benevolence activities.
Not unlike many other churches — and exacerbated by our aging congregation — we have experienced declining membership and attendance during recent years. To proactively compensate for this development, RCC recently developed a five year strategic plan which includes a restructuring of the church’s financial practices in order to achieve and maintain an ongoing balanced budget.
For most of the 52 years of Rossmoor’s existence, the residential mix of our community and congregation has been almost exclusively Americans of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths. Some of us were and are children of immigrants; others are immigrants ourselves. The newer residents, however, are creating a much more diversified populace, with other faiths and nationalities now represented. We have people from South America, Mexico, Western and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, India, Korea and China.
Add to this, the growing number of “baby boomers” now living in our community. It is our sincere desire that our new pastor will work with us to attract this generation that, to a great extent, has left organized religion and shunned church-going. Together, we hope to encourage and make these residents feel accepted upon their return to the church, and realize that we may need to make some changes to accomplish this. While the basic needs of people never change, we know that boomers may not be touched by the old, traditional methods of worship. Our new pastor’s messages may need to meet them where they are today. So, while the message of hope, salvation and a new life in Jesus is sacred and unchanging, the method of delivery of this message probably should and will not be.
WHO IS GOD CALLING US TO BECOME?
Our congregational vision is to foster and support a caring community among our members and the community at large, through the provision of meaningful worship experiences, engaging fellowship opportunities, informative educational programs and initiatives designed to support those in need. We believe that the presence of our church strengthens the very fiber of the Rossmoor community. With our strategic plan now in place, we want to sustain and build our church to be there for our many devoted members in their elder years, and continue to be a beacon of light for all the residents of the entire community.
As a community of faith, we are pleased that we are known in our larger Rossmoor community as a warm, welcoming and caring church. We believe that together, with the help of God, the possibilities we foresee for our future can and will become our new realities. Come, go forward with us.