UPPER SADDLE RIVER – It was a winding path that led the Rev. Leah Ennis-Gasero straight to her new parish as the first female pastor of the 240-year-old Old Stone Church.
Ennis-Gasero was installed Sunday as pastor of the Dutch Reformed congregation, ending a three-year stint since the departure of her predecessor the Rev. Robert Fretz, who had served the congregation since 2000.
“Many pastors retired during COVID and have not been replaced since,” said Peter Freeman, vice president of the church’s church board. “We were looking for the best available candidate.”
Cathy Loudon, head of the church’s search committee, said a three-year gap between pastors is no longer unusual because of the shortage of new people entering the ministry.
“It gave us time to develop a good church profile, which we posted on the website of the Classis of Greater Palisades, of which we are members,” Loudon said. “We were open to other denominations. Whether we preferred a male or female pastor was not discussed at all. The irony at the end was that Pastor Leah had previously served us as a supply minister while he was still a student.”
Loudon said Ennis-Gasero will start in her ministry part-time, but “as the need grows, we will extend her time with us.”
Ennis-Gasero grew up near Albany, New York and graduated from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, in 2010 and New Brunswick Theological Seminary in 2013. She was ordained by the Classis of Greater Palisades that same year and has served as pastor ever since. , chaplain and in specialized ministries. She also serves as an Applied Behavior Analyst at Therapy Associates.
“The big challenge is how to bring history into the future,” Ennis-Gasero said. “I look forward to starting conversations and reconnecting the church with the community, what their needs are, how we can work together.”
The pastor and her husband Matthew Gasero are expecting a son this winter. She also has a son Zacharias with her previous husband.
Nancy Peet, a Midland Park councilor and elder at the church, said Enhis-Gasero has been “welcomed into our pulpit with open arms.”
“Old Stone Church is pleased to have Pastor Leah Ennis-Gasero accept the call,” Peet said. “The church is a welcoming community open to all who wish to hear the word and share the love and grace of God.”
Formally known as Saddle River Reformed Church Worshiping at Old Stone Church, the congregation was organized in 1784 as an affiliate of Old Paramus Church with the Reformed Church of America. The original building opened in 1789 and the current sanctuary in 1819, including gallery benches where enslaved and indentured servants sat. The Rev. Stephen Goetschius led the church in the 19th century to baptize and receive free and enslaved African Americans as full members.
The church is located at 481 E. Saddle River Road at the intersection of Old Stone Church Road in Upper Saddle River. For more information, visit oldstonechurchonline.org.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Old Stone Church in Upper Saddle River installs first female pastor
