Our History
1881 - Present

The Wayside Church began under the sponsorship of Old First Methodist Episcopal Church in West Long Branch in 1879. Meetings were held in the public school house located on Hope Road in Wayside, where there were also preaching services and Sunday School for a time.

The following is taken from the original Trustees Minutes:

"During a work of Grace in the School House at Centerville in the fall of the year 1881 it was felt by the people there assembled that the proper time had come to build or erect a church suitable for the wants of the community, and it was there agreed to take measures to erect the same."

"Accordingly, the Pastor, the Rev. Robert J. Andrews, was authorized to give a written notice and have it conspicuously posted on the door of the School House that ten days from the date of November 4th, 1881, there would be held a people's meeting in the School House to elect trustees for a Church."

After the ten days had expired, on the night of November 24, 1881, a large congregation assembled. After Rev. R. J. Andrews had been appointed Chairman of the meeting, a board of trustees for the Church organization was elected for a term of one year. On December 1, 1881, the trustees met to consider plans for a church building laid before the board by Charles Brand, one of the trustees. The style of the present church edifice was adopted, being in size 30 feet by 40 feet on the ground with 12-foot posts with a steeple 40 feet high from the ground, the whole estimated to cost $1200. A motion being made by the president of the board (a very unusual proceeding), and seconded by the secretary, it was carried that each trustee have a subscription paper and solicit money for the same. There being no further business before the meeting for the evening the meeting was adjourned.

On February 15, 1882, Board of Trustees met again. The Collectors of Church Subscriptions reported about $1200 subscribed. A committee was appointed to erect the church. Charles Branch was to be the architect or builder. It was also moved to commence building at once.

In the minutes of the trustees there seems to be no mention of the work on the building other than that above, which shows the church to have been completed some time during the year of 1882.The new church was known as the Centerville Methodist Episcopal Church. We find no date of the dedication, but it must have been quite early in the year. We find this minute in one of the records dated May 10th, 1882:

"...it was moved and seconded that the bill of T. Hanlon, $3.50 for services at dedication of church, be paid."

This T. Hanlon here spoken of is without a doubt he whom we knew in after years as Thomas O'Hanlon, who was for a number of years the president of Pennington Seminary.

While the amount of money expended for the building of the church does not seem large to us at this time, it was large for that day. When we consider the small community, much smaller than at present, it was a great undertaking. However, they worked in unity, with undivided effort, and we gather from the minutes that by the fall of the next year, the church was free from debt. The meeting held on October 15, 1883, has this notation:

"The bill of Charles Brand for balance of carpenter work on the church of $50.00 on motion was ordered paid. It was also ordered that the bill of insurance, $4.80, be paid."

We have no other reference to the finishing of the building, but we believe this speaks volumes for the zeal and faithfulness of these early workers for the church.

The change in the name of the church from Centerville to Wayside seems to have been a kind of evolution. The name Wayside was the result of growth. There seems to be no definite time when the change was made. The minutes of November 26th, 1902 are those of Centerville M.E. Church. Following this there are some minutes without date. On December 7,1903, there is recorded a meeting of the Wayside M.E. Church, and signed by Joseph Truax, Secretary. Following this there are no records until February 28th, 1905, when the church is again referred to as the Centerville M.E. Church, by which name it went until the minutes of February 7,1906, from which time it has been called Wayside.

The Social Hall was built in 1910. In 1922 the church was repaired and an art metal ceiling considerably added to the beauty of the auditorium. The next year the church was wired for lighting.

The stained glass windows, which provide inspiration to the worshipper and visitor were installed in 1925.

From its beginning until 1955, Wayside Church was part of a circuit, first with Old First Methodist in West Long Branch(1881-1914), then the First Methodist Church of Oakhurst(1914–1925) and then Hamilton Methodist Church in Neptune(1925-1955). In 1955, the pastor of the charge, John M. Braly felt that the needs of the Hamilton Church were great enough to warrant the services of a full time pastor. As a result, at the Annual Conference Wayside was established as an independent charge, with a student pastor, the Rev. Walter Gandek appointed to serve for a year.

By 1958 the congregation and activities of the church had grown so that it was felt by many that expansion of the building was needed. On June 6, 1959 a Special Quarterly Conference was held and it was unanimously voted to accept plans which had been drawn up. Ground was broken on October 25, 1959 and work began the next day.

The addition was completed and the cornerstone of the new budding was laid on Palm Sunday, April 10, 1960, when the congregation moved in to hold its first service in the newly renovated sanctuary.

During the period of construction, the Wayside Fire Co. opened its doors to the congregation and provided a place to meet and hold worship services and other meetings and activities.

The new building provided a connecting link between the original sanctuary and the social hall putting the entire church plant under one roof. It also provided a new chapel, a basement, both of which are used for Sunday School classes and other groups, including 4H and scouts, new lavatories and a church office. A larger and more beautiful sanctuary was also created. New pews and new lighting had just been added previous to this construction.

A service of consecration was held on Sunday, May 29, 1960 with Dr.William R. Guffick, Superintendent of the New Brunswick District, and former pastors officiating.

By January of 1963 the mortgage was almost paid. The congregation felt further renovations were necessary, so at the regular Fourth Quarterly Conference held on February 28, 1963, it was voted to engage upon a church completion crusade. This would provide for the complete renovation of the church hall and the kitchen and the building of an addition to house a utility room, storage room and lavatory. This work began on May 6, 1963 and was completed on August 15, 1963. The consecration took place on September 29, 1963.

During the years of building, the church has not been without other challenges. The property East of the church was suddenly put up for sale. The officials recognized their need for this property for future expansion and, although already in debt far beyond their expectations, took a bold step and purchased the property. The property included a house and large garage. Part of the land was used to expand the existing church cemetery. The church has plots of varying sizes available for anyone interested.

During 1966, the Rev. W. Winfield West, then serving as part-time pastor, felt that the congregation had grown to a point where it could and should support a full-time pastor. Under his direction and urging the congregation took on the task of building a parsonage.

Work began before the first snow of 1966, and the parsonage was ready for its first full time family by June of 1967. The Rev. Layton Anderson was Wayside's first full-time pastor, remaining there for two years.

The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to become The United Methodist Church in 1968. It followed that the Wayside Methodist Church became known as the Wayside United Methodist Church.

Through the entire growth of the church, from these beginning days to the present, God has blessed us. Let us respond to God's continued guidance and to the tasks he gives. To quote from the 50th Anniversary directory, "Let everybody be interested enough, big enough and human enough to shoulder his or her part of the work of making the community a better place to live.

Wayside UMC Today