OCEAN GATE – The faithful packed into the Ocean Gate United Methodist Church to celebrate its history – especially the challenges that were overcome – on its 100th anniversary.
The small building was full – standing room only – filing into the hall and outside. Despite the wet weather, everyone wanted to come out and be a part of the church’s esteemed history.
Before there was a church, there was a community. They gathered at the Grant homestead for Sunday School in 1909. Rev. Oliver from the Island Heights Methodist Church would row his boat across the Toms River to teach. The Methodist Conference gave Oliver $200 as seed money to start a church in Ocean Gate. A small building was built on Point Pleasant Avenue, but they soon outgrew that…