Our History
The 85th birthday of our church found us "alive and well" with bright hopes that the 90th will be the continuation of the dream of the founders.
The Corona Congregational Church had its beginnings in April 1916 and embraced the Congregational faith. The name of the church was First Congregational Church.
In 1917, the name was changed to Corona Congregational Church and in January 1918, the church was accepted in the Congregational Denomination under the leadership of Rev. George Hinton.
Membership continued to grow and the Church facilities were no longer adequate. In 1954, the new church building was completed and is still the home of the Corona Congregational Church.
Rev. Hinton pastored and administered phenomenal growth during his leadership along with resourcefulness of the congregation. He retired in 1958 after 43 faithful years. He left a congregation of over 800 members, not including over 400 young people.
The Rev. Robert D. Sherard became Pastor/Minister in 1958. The church, under Rev. Sherard's leadership, continued to grow in membership, spiritually and socially within the church and community. Some of our accomplishments include:
§ The formation of a Head Start Program, sponsored by George W. Hinton Vest Pocket Park
§ The First Neighborhood Youth Corp Station of Corona-East Elmhurst and Flushing Community
§ Continued to sponsor Boy and Girl Scout Programs
§ Sponsored non-profit housing for the elderly (Meadow Manor)
§ Completed a multi-purpose community center, without government funding, which is named the Florence E. Smith Community Center.
Rev. Sherard served the Corona Congregational Church from 1958 to his retirement in 1986. He left a congregation of 400 members.
Rev. Allan Clarke served as Interim Minister from September 1986 - April 1987 until we engaged a permanent minister, Rev. Irvine A. Bryer, Jr. in May 1987.
Under Rev. Bryer's leadership, we started the Florence E. Smith Senior Service Center, serving sixty (60) congregants daily and delivering 240 meals to the homebound.
Rev. Bryer resigned in December 1992. He left a congregation of 230 members. Up until recently, the church has not had a regular minister, but has continued to function in all its programs.
Rev. Dr. Benjamin J. Patterson joined us as Interim Minister from 1993 - 1994 and left to become Senior Pastor of Union Congregational Church in Manhattan.
Minister Janie John then served as Interim Minister from 1994 - 1997 and left when she was appointed to be the Minister at Lemuel Haynes Congregational Church in Jamaica.
Our Search Committee, who had been working diligently since the vacancy created by Rev. Bryer, recommended Rev. George Kimbrough Johnson, who had been our guest Pastor for several months. The recommendation was accepted by the members and he served for almost a year.
Our Search Committee was charged again to find a minister who would be acceptable to the members. There were several Guest Ministers during the search period. Among them was Rev. Dr. Lancelot Waldron who was the most inspirational and reached out to the needs of the congregation in prayer and service. The Search Committee invited him to become our new minister. He accepted and by an almost unanimous vote became our new minister.
His tenure began on September 1, 2001 and his formal installation was held on February 10, 2002. Rev. Dr. Waldron comes well qualified to lead us. He received his Master of Divinity Degree from the New York Theological Seminary and was ordained by the New York City Presbytery in 1994. He then received a Doctorate of Pastoral Ministry Degree from Trinity Theological Seminary in June 2000. He received Privilege of Call in the United Church of Christ in February 2001.
The church is doing well under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Waldron. Attendance is growing, membership is increasing and some former attendees have reactivated their membership.
Our journey is continuing under the able leadership of our new Pastor and his dedication to the service of our Lord and in his ministry to the members of the church and community, when and where needed. This was evidenced when the doors of the church were opened to the community for prayers and meditation during the September 11th tragedy.
We have come through some trying times, but we are prevailing. Congratulations on our 85th year. We have come a long way.
