​Our Church History

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On July 18, 1928, 59 Lutheran men and women, mostly from Czechoslovakia who had settled in the Newark area, prayerfully organized our Zion Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church in the school of St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Newark, New Jersey. Divine services and other activities were held there for over two years.

In 1929 the congregation wrote a constitution and was incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey. In March 4, 1930, the congregation purchased a church and parish hall located in Newark for the sum of $40,000. The Church and School Dedication Service was held on May 18, 1930. At the end of 1948, the debt on the old church was retired. The mortgage on the church and the parsonage was symbolically burned at a congregational dinner in May of 1949.
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At a Voters’ Meeting in 1955, a description of the crowded conditions at services motivated the formation of committees to study the possibility of either rebuilding or relocating. On January 7, 1963, the land in Clark where our church currently sits was purchased. Ground-breaking was held on November 6, 1966 and the cornerstone was placed on June 11, 1967.  The church building was dedicated April 28, 1968.  In September, 1996, Zion Lutheran Preschool opened its doors.

Read more about SELC-LCMS History here
Read more about LCMS here

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