Our Sponsor
Succasunna United Methodist Church
91 Main Street
Succasunna, New Jersey
The Rev. Juel Nelson, Pastor
Church Office - 973-584-7349
Church History
For 150 years the Succasunna United Methodist Church has found its home on Main Street. Our beginnings date back to 1783, when we were a part of the Flanders Circuit which included: Flanders, Drakestown, Tottens (Ironia), Walnut Grove (Mt. Freedom), and Succasunna. During the 1800's the village of Suckasunny was prospering. The Morris Canal was both an engineering feat and a main artery of commerce. A dirt road called the Morris Turnpike linked far-off Elizabeth to colonial Morristown, Newton and Milford, Pennsylvania. Suckasunny Plains provided a convenient stopping-off place.
In the midst of this economic growth, in the year 1849, the Rev. T. T. Campbell organized a Methodist class meeting in Succasunna. Then, on the 3rd of July 1850, the male members of the church met at the house of Bishop Edmund Janes where a Board of Trustees was elected and the building of the church authorized. Construction of the existing sanctuary and bell tower was begun in 1850 and was dedicated on February 17, 1852. Rev. William Day was appointed the first pastor. In 1891 an L-shaped addition was added to the original building. This was followed in 1929 with alterations that included a recreation hall. In 1950 a basement was dug under the sanctuary, and in 1959 the last expansion added church school facilities, a kitchen and fellowship hall.
We celebrated our 150th Anniversary in the year 2000. A long-awaited addition to the church building - a wheelchair lift to the fellowship hall - was installed in 2008. In the summer of 2010, the sanctuary was completely refurbished. The project included painting, new carpeting, and new pews.
The church has always had a close connection to the people of Roxbury. We have a long tradition of hosting community groups, which currently includes a Monday evening Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Our Boy Scout troop, Troop 54, is the oldest in Roxbury and has seen more than 100 young men earn the rank of Eagle Scout.