Brookdale Reformed Church Harkens to Bloomfield's Early Days

Brookdale Reformed Church may not be the oldest church in Bloomfield, but it’s pretty close.

A small, multi-cultural, family-oriented congregation, its members enjoy studying the Bible together within the comfortable confines of its walls. As its website says, the congregation “supports Compassion children from all around the world.  We’ve gone to mission trips in Guatemala, West Virginia and Newark. We take our faith seriously. It is who we are, and we try our best to live out God’s Holy Word everyday.”

The current Pastor is Reverend Scarlet Gorton, who has been with Brookdale Reformed Church for almost 10 years. Reverend Gorton has a Masters of Divinity from New Brunswick Seminary and an undergraduate degree from Loyola University.

And its appearance lends itself nicely to the way things used to look. Located just north of the Broad Street and Bellevue Avenue, and a neighbor to Brookdale Park, the classic stone church has a small, private cemetery at the back of the property.  In its early days, Brookdale Reformed Church was surrounded by orchards. The area still has a touch of tranquility about it, but homes built during the 20^th century now fill the space.

Although the official founding date is 1801, the Brookdale Reformed Church story starts earlier. Bloomfield’s Brookdale section was called Stone House Plains in 1795, and the local population had “swelled” to the point where a congregation needed a spot for services. The first were held in the barn of Captain John A. Garrabrant, which stood on Irwin Place right off of Broad Street.  Reverend Peter Stryker conducted the services.

Attendance grew over time and, in 1801, it was agreed to build a structure for accommodating public worship. Reverend Stryker again led the worship, and the name Reformed Dutch Church was adopted. Land was offered by Abram Garrabrant, and the hauling of stone and the mason work was done by congregation members themselves.  Later, in 1857 and again in 1910, the building was destroyed by fire.  Local families who owned the ruins of early Dutch homes contributed stone for both rebuildings.  Throughout Brookdale Reformed Church you can view stones bearing initials and dates from the contributors. 

Brookdale Reformed Church hosts Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study beginning at 9:30 am.  Worship starts at 10:30 am.  Fellowship Lunch follows Worship. Brookdale Reformed Church also offers Looking Glass Children’s Center for children ages 6 weeks to age 13 from 6:30 am – 6:30 pm.

Brookdale Reformed Church, 10 Bellevue Avenue, Bloomfield, (973) 338-7676.