The Mt. Pisgah Union American Methodist Episcopal Church at 325 Plum St. will break ground at 3 p.m. tomorrow for a new $135,000 church next door at No. 315. The service will begin in the church and move to the new site.

The Rt. Rev. David M. Harmon, presiding bishop of the Second Episcopal District of New York-New Jersey Conference, will officiate when the Rev. Dr. Andrew A. Watson, pastor.

Participating will be the Male and Women's choruses; George Driver, president of the trustee board; Charles Harris, president of the steward board, and Frank Toney, building fund chairman, who will present the ground to the bishop for the ceremony.

Mt. Pisgah UAME Church began in a section of Buena, now East Vineland, in 1958. Deed for the present building was first recorded in Bridgeton in 1880. Aluminum siding and other changes have been added.

Under the pastorate of Dr. Watson, who was assigned to the parish in May 1951 by Bishop Harmon, the church has grown from a membership of about 30 to the current 80; Sunday School from 40 in 1951 to 70.

During the pastorate of Dr. Watson new floors were installed; the interior paneled; new wiring installed; aluminum siding installed; new roofing, cabinets, closets and a pastor's study installed and furnished. New pews were also purchased.

Other equipment and furnishings purchased during his administration were; a new piano, new organ, mimeographing machine, and a copier. Three choirs have been robed and the Male Chorus outfitted with emblemed bazers.

About five years ago the pastor and members, realizing that they were outgrowing their beautiful little compact church, began planning an discussing how they could accomplish the building of a new church. At first this seemed like an insurmountable objective. However, after reflecting that in 20 years with a small membership that had done all of the foregoing work and bought all of the equipment, mostly with cash, and not having any indebtedness for a number of years, that it was possible that they could build and maintain a new church. This seemed especially so, since the congregation has been growing in leaps and bounds in the last several months with many young adults and visitors in frequent attendance.

The walls have practically been bulging. In the past four months 11 new members have added to the roll.

Finally, after five years of preliminary planning, conjecture, and the establishment of a Building Fund they were able to approach Vineland architect Ronald Angelo with definitive ideas and have plans made and bids received.

The Vineland Times Journal, Saturday, April 15, 1972