A Brief History of Grace in Teaneck:
On the second Sunday in November, 1930, nine Lutheran Christians met in a first-floor room of the Teaneck Center Building on Cedar Lane and began to worship under the leadership of the Reverend Carl Bergen, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Leonia.The following year, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church incorporated as a congregation of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.
Struggling through the Depression years, the small congregation finally called its own pastor, the Reverend Theodore W. Beiderwieden Jr., in 1934. Like Pastor Bergen, Father Ted believed in the centrality of Word and Sacrament, so Grace celebrated Holy Communion at every Sunday liturgy and on every Holy Day, an uncommon practice at the time and one that continued to be a hallmark of Grace.
In 1935, the congregation purchased property at the corner of Claremont and Helen Streets on which to build its own church, a colonial structure dedicated in 1937. The congregation purchased nearly seven acres of land at the intersection of Route 4 and River Road in 1953 and built the first Lutheran school in New Jersey, which opened in 1956. Ten years later, the congregation sold its Claremont Street sanctuary and moved to River Road, worshiping for the next six years in Grace School’s foyer.
In the 1970s, the church left the Missouri Synod and joined the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches. That body merged in 1988 with the Lutheran Church in America and the American Lutheran Church to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Today Grace is one of 146 congregations in the New Jersey Synod of the ELCA.
After more than 40 years serving students from throughout Bergen County, Grace School closed its doors in 2004, a casualty of rising costs, changing demographics, and other schooling options in the area. With its recently renovated classrooms empty, Grace Church searched for another ministry that would benefit from its bright, accessible building and grassy outdoor space. In Spectrum for Living, a nonprofit serving adults with developmental disabilities, the congregation found a quality organization in need of just such a place. After getting Township approval and making additional renovations, Spectrum opened its Teaneck Adult Training Center at our facility in October 2006.
Grace has always worked with other Lutheran congregations in the area. In the mid-2000s Grace and Christ Episcopal Church of Teaneck began working on some mutual ministries that continue today, such as helping with the Christ Church food pantry, Grace's twice per month Prayer Shawl Ministry, and the Teaneck Packathon for Haiti.
Grace continues to worship and serve God and to minister to the people of Teaneck and Bergen County.
Our Pastors throughout the Years:
The Rev. Dr. Carl Bergen, Founder 1930-1934
The Rev. Theodore W. Beiderwieden 1934-1972
The Rev. Lyle O. Olson 1972-1974
The Rev. Dr. Amandus J. Derr 1975-1997
The Rev. Dr. Ronald R. Miller 1999-2005
The Rev. Dr. Clemens I. Reinke 2007-2014
The Rev. Stanley Ellison 2014-2017
The Rev. Peggy Niederer 2017-Present
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