St. Alban's Church Uses 90th Anniversary as New Beginning

St. Alban's Church is celebrating its 90th anniversary this weekend, and they are using that 90 years of history as a way to launch new outreach into the communuty.

Fr. Gideon A. Uzomechina came to St. Alban's last year after the small Lee Avenue Episcopal church was without a priest for three years.  Upon his arrival, discussion of the anniversary was underway, but nothing special was planned.

"I said no, we have to do something different,'' Uzomechina said. "90 years is not 90 days.''

On Thursday, a free health fair, presented by St. Peter's University Hospital staff, took place at the church, where anyone from the community could come to get their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol checked, have their skin examined for sun damage, and talk with a doctor.

Friday's event is a fish fry and yard sale, Uzomechina said, which will start at 9 a.m. and go until the "Last item is gone,'' he said. Admission for the fish fry is $7.

On Saturday, a banquet will honor eight community members who the church is hoping to expand their partnership with, including people from Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center, Uzomechina said.

Sunday will feature an 11 a.m service recognizing longtime members of the church, and at 4 p.m., a free concert will conclude the celebration.

Funds generated by the yard sale will benefit the ministry of the church, he said.

Uzomechina said the church faces a few obstacles, one of which is a smaller congregation, caused by three years without leadership at the church in the absence of a priest.

To fix that, a spiritual healing service and a food pantry program are both held at 7 p.m. Wednesdays.

"All of this is a new beginning,'' Uzomechina said.

The church is also hoping to get an afterschool program established for area youth, as well as an ESL program to benefit the large Latin American population in the area. Those programs are still in the process of planning, with a goal of the afterschool program being ready for the next school year, Uzomechina said.

"We are coming up,'' he said.

For more information on the church's programs and worship services, visit www.stalbansnewbrunswick.org.