THE GLENDALE PARISH OF THE CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM (Now The Glendale New Church)

A small group of Swedenborgians, connected by family and business ties, found themselves living close enough together that, on Christmas day in 1860, they formed a congregation– the Parish of the New Jerusalem Church–in Glendale, Ohio. The patriarch, Charles H. Allen (1820-1889), was a wealthy chemist, that is, a wholesale drug supplier, in Cincinnati. He and his adult sons and their families were the core of the congregation.

This Christian denomination is distinguished by its adherence to the interpretation of the Bible by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) who wrote books he said were revealed to him by God. The Glendale New Church was founded after Swedenborg’s death by people who wanted to mold their lives according to this religion, which emphasizes individual responsibility for salvation by the combination of good works and faith. Swedenborg wrote about the spiritual meaning of the Bible, details about the life after death, the eternity of marriage, and the accomplishment of the second coming among many other religious subjects. While Swedenborg is considered the father of the modern new age movement, he is very much a proponent of salvation through a belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He says that it is the goodness of a person that determines whether a person is saved. One’s faith is a product of inner goodness, not the other way around.

By the early 1800’s, enough Swedenborgians lived in Cincinnati that they had formed the First New Jerusalem Church, and called a pastor. In 1855 a new passenger railroad and the excellent Glendale community, made it possible for wealthy business owners such as Allen to live in the country and commute to work. They of course established churches for themselves and their families near their homes. The small band in Glendale, led by Charles Allen and his family, was one of these, and was a daughter church to the much larger church in Cincinnati.

On March 10, 1861, Mr. Allen chaired a meeting of the congregation’s Council that included himself, George F. Foote and Jacob Purinton. A motion to accept a donation of land from Allen was passed. He then proposed “a further donation to the Parish a sum of money sufficient to build the proposed Temple, so far as to enclose the same, and secure it from damage with paint.” This motion also passed! Three days later, the Council met at the site where they “fixed the south east corner” of the building. One month later, on April 12, 1861, the Council met with a well regarded, and later famous, architect, Mr. Peter Mullet and it approved his plan. By modern standards this project was moving very quickly. One wonders how detailed the sketches were. A visit to the attic will delight any engineer with its complicated, yet marvelous structure that supports the ceiling of the sanctuary, the steep roof and the steeple!

The project’s pace did not slow down. Sixteen days later, the official records note, the foundation was finished with the laying of the cornerstone, the top stone on the southeast corner. This stone is larger than the rest and is hollowed out to allow a box of mementos. This box was opened in 1961, but, alas, it had not been air tight, and the documents inside were dust. A new, air tight, container was put in the stone. Perhaps some of us will be here in 2061 when it can be opened!

It must have been a busy summer for the builders, who likely were local laborers who spent long days, six days a week, on the job. There were also artisans who did excellent finishing work and glasswork. But, again, building projects 144 years ago must have been very different affairs. A large crowd in a service very full of ritual dedicated the building for New Church worship, on October 6, 1861. At a total cost of $4,361.72, of which C.H. Allen donated $3134.72, the church was completed in just over 160 days!

The Declaration of Dedication is particularly elegant:

In the name of the Parish of the New Jerusalem Church at Glendale, we their representatives, being before the Altar of this Temple, the Right and Title of the Property, and we declare that the ground on which this temple is built, the Temple itself, and the sacred things belonging to it, are hereby dedicated to the Lord, and to the Church, which is his kingdom on earth.

The congregation’s first Pastor was a young man named James P. Stuart. He served from October 1861 until September 1862 when he left to help start Urbana College in Urbana, Ohio. At some point during this time a Parsonage was built on the adjacent lot immediately south of the church.

The Rev. Frank Sewall succeeded Stuart in September 1862. He served until October 1870. However, he left Glendale in 1866 also for Urbana where he served as the College’s president. He provided pastoral services for the Glendale congregation until it became clear to all that the arrangement was unsatisfactory. There then followed three pastors who served for short periods: Rev. Jacob H. Einhaus, October 1870 – July 1872; Rev. Edwin Gould, October 1872 – May 1876; and Mr. Aluigi Meili, (not ordained, but “licensed” to preach) October 1876 – Sept 1877. After that the congregation was met once a month on a Sunday afternoon, served by the pastor of the Cincinnati church.

Different schemes were tried over the years to attract a crowd and keep the church going. The Sunday school met more often, at first. But the congregation ended up selling the parsonage and much of the land around the building. In the 1970’s two Swedenborgian congregations decided to merge. The building was sold to the Glendale New Church, which brought financial help and pastoral services not available before.

The new congregation called a full time pastor in 1979, the Rev. Stephen Cole. The work of the church prospered. A large number of children revitalized the Sunday School and hopes for the future. A two story, architecturally and historically consistent addition was built in 1980. This provides much needed and beautiful Sunday School, Fellowship and office space.

In 1987, Rev. Cole was called to another congregation and was succeeded by the Rev. Patrick Rose. During the next decade, the children grew up, several families moved away key older members passed away. By the 1990’s Rev. Rose was serving the church part time, and doing work for the denomination, including traveling to serve other small groups.

In 2002, Rev. Rose was called to another church and the present Pastor, the Rev. Clark Echols, succeeded him. Rev. Echols is also part time. The congregation continues to seek ways to be of service to the Lord while standing for the spiritual principles found in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. We certainly plan to be here 144 years from now!