Historical
Stained Glass
Windows
at the
Church on the Green
by
Scott Shepherd
The
Witherspoon
The trio of stained glass windows in the sanctuary of The Presbyterian Church
in Morristown depicting various events in the career of Reverend John
Witherspoon brings to light a relationship between the church and Princeton
University going back to colonial times.
The College of New Jersey, forerunner of Princeton University, was founded in
Elizabeth in October of 1746 for the expressed purpose of training ministers in
Evangelical Presbyterianism. Within months, the college moved to Newark. The
college’s first President was Reverend Aaron Burr, Sr., who also served as
Pastor of Old First Church in Newark. Burr had been installed at Old First Church in January of 1737 after
graduating with distinction from Yale in 1735 at the age of 19. Prior to coming to Newark, he had, preached
briefly at the Presbyterian Church in Hanover, the church from which The Presbyterian Church in Morristown
was formed. In November of 1756, The College of New Jersey moved to Princeton, which was closer to
Philadelphia, thought to be a more central location in the colonies. There, a new home called “Nassau Hall”
had been built and was said to be “the largest stone building in the colonies.”
Windows
In 1769, the interest on the college’s capital was proving to be inadequate to meet its annual expenses. In
response to an appeal from Presbytery on behalf of the college, the Trustees of The Presbyterian Church in
Morristown responded. Thirty individuals, including Reverend Timothy Johnes, donated a total of £140 to the
college.
The president of the college at the time of the appeal was Reverend John Witherspoon, who had been lured
from his native Scotland in December of 1767 to become the sixth president of the college. In the ensuing
years, Reverend Witherspoon would serve a prominent role in The Continental Congress, become a signer of
The Declaration of Independence, and a member of the ratifying convention that brought to New Jersey the
honor of being the third state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
The stained glass window in the center depicts Reverend Witherspoon signing The Declaration of
Independence. During his tenure, one of his students was James Madison, who went on to become the
fourth President of the United States. The stained glass window at the left depicts Reverend Witherspoon
teaching the future President. In May of 1789, Reverend Witherspoon convened the first General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. This event is depicted in the stained glass window at the right.
The
Washington
Communion
In the Spring of 1777, General George Washington and his troops were
encamped at Morristown. Washington’s Headquarters were at Arnold’s Tavern
on the northwest corner of The Green. The proprietor of the tavern was Jacob
Arnold, who in later years would be elected a Trustee of The Presbyterian
Church.
During his stay at Arnold’s Tavern, Washington, a member of the Church of
England, is said to have visited Reverend Timothy Johnes and inquired as to
whether he could join the congregation in its semi-annual celebration of the
Lord’s Supper even though he was of another denomination. The Reverend is
said to have replied, “Most certainly, ours is not the Presbyterian but the Lord’s
table, and we hence give the Lord’s invitation to all his followers of whatever denomination.”
Windows
Because the Meeting House was being used as a Small Pox hospital at the time, the Communion Service
was held in the orchard behind the Parsonage, which stood on Whippany Road, present day Morris Street at
the site of the Mid-Town Shopping Plaza. Indeed, during the first several months of 1777, because the
Meeting House was not available, the congregation regularly conducted church services in the orchard, often
bundled up and carrying foot warmers as protection against the chilling blasts of winter.
Accounts of the Communion depicted in the “Communion Window” have been called in to question by some
historians, who cite the absence of any reference to the event in Washington’s Diaries.
The late Phillip Hoffman, who was one of the purchasers of the Arnold Tavern property in 1863, took it upon
himself to collect and preserve items of interest relating to the tavern and Washington’s stay there. In 1903,
he took the time to commit his findings to print and relates first person accounts of the Communion. The
accounts passed down through generations of prominent local families from some of those who actually took
part in the event appear to confirm beyond any reasonable doubt that Washington did partake in the event.
In one case, the great granddaughter of Reverend Johnes, who was living in Morristown at an advanced age
in 1898, stated, “It has always been a tradition in our family that Washington took the communion with the
church in a hollow back of the parsonage….”
It should be noted that the English artist that crafted the window depicted the old Meeting House, which
probably would not have been visible from the orchard, in stone rather than wood, because English churches
of that day were constructed of stone.
The
Reunion
Windows
In 1840, The Presbyterian Church in Morristown had a membership of about 450
individuals and was experiencing considerable unrest. As is often the case, the
scarcity of official records has resulted in researchers in later years attempting to
create a historical record. Suffice it to say, from the late 1830s until the late 1860s,
the denomination itself experienced a clash of views between adherents to “Old
School” views and adherents to “New School” views which embraced “Temperance”
and “Abolition”. Locally there also appears to have been concern about the ability of
a single minister to care for a flock of 450 living over such a wide area.
On August 26, 1840, Reverend Kirkland resigned as pastor of The Presbyterian
Church in Morristown. At a Congregational Meeting on December 31, 1840, it was decided to form a
second Presbyterian church in Morristown. Over 200 members of the First Church, including the entire
Board of Trustees, withdrew to form the Second Church. By October, a Meeting House for the Second
Church was ready to be occupied, and Reverend Kirkland was installed as the pastor. The church was
renamed South Street Presbyterian Church in June of 1861. The Meeting House erected in 1841 served
the new congregation for 36 years, at which time it burned to the ground. The building was replaced in 1878
by what today serves as the Parish House of The Presbyterian Church in Morristown.
In 1869, the divisiveness between “Old School” and “New School” churches and their adherents came to an
end, and churches within the denomination were reunited under the name of The Presbyterian Church in
the United States. In the years that followed, the relationship between the South Street Presbyterian
Church and the First Presbyterian Church mellowed resulting in an ever increasing number of union
services and mission activities. By 1925, the time was right for a reuniting. In June of that year,
Congregational Meetings at both churches agreed to a reunion, which was approved by Presbytery.
Reverend William Russell Bennett, who had been pastor of the First Presbyterian Church since 1902, was
in failing health and retired for the express purpose of allowing Reverend James M. Howard, who had been
pastor of the South Street Presbyterian Church since 1920, to become pastor of the reunited church.
The stained glass window on the left depicts Reverend Howard standing in front of the South Street
Presbyterian Church. The stained glass window at the right depicts Reverend Bennett standing in front of
the First Presbyterian Church. The center window dated 1925 says it all, i.e., “They Shall Be One / The
Presbyterian Church in Morristown.”