Local Life

Retirement Celebration Set for Fair Haven Fisk Chapel’s Rev. Thomas Johnson

The people of the historic Fair Haven Fisk Chapel A.M.E. Church have announced the coming retirement of their longtime pastor, Rev. Thomas P. Johnson and have extended a retirement celebration invite to the parish’s extended family in Fair Haven and beyond.

“We are excitedly inviting you to join us in our celebration of the retirement of our beloved Pastor, Reverend Thomas P. Johnson, on October 29, 2022 at 11:30 a.m.  We have arranged a spectacular luncheon event at Raven and the Peach, 740 River Road, Suite #100, Fair Haven, NJ 07704,” the announcement said.  “We would be extremely honored to have you unite with us on this remarkable day …”

Tickets for the event, which includes the three-course lunch, are $65 per person. Payments may be mailed to 38 Fisk Street, Fair Haven, NJ 07704, or online through Givelify/Fisk Chapel AME Church. Please list your name in the “memo” or “note.”

Rev. Johnson will officially end retire from his pastoral post in March of 2023 during the Annual New Jersey A.M.E. Conference, a time which coincides with the Fisk Chapel’s 165th anniversary.

The church’s history …

“We were born in humble beginnings in the waters across from Brown’s Lane when we were called Bethel A.M.E. Church.  Later, we built an (at-that-time) state of the art sanctuary, complete with oil lamps and boiler heat by the design and assistance of General Clinton Bowen Fisk, (Commissioner of President Abraham Lincoln’s Freedman’s Bureau), and re-named ourselves Fisk Chapel A.M.E. Church.  As you may or may not know, after many decades we outgrew that structure, donated the building and watched it relocated around the corner to Cedar Avenue on two flat-bed trucks (what a sight that was!) and began work on our beautiful present sanctuary. We have historical significance within our Borough of Fair Haven, cultural importance within our New Jersey A.M.E. Conference, and a legacy of devout honor and service from those heavenly worshippers and servants,
on whose shoulders we now stand.”  

Fisk Chapel A.M.E. Church statement

The church is also composing a Journal of Celebration, selling full-page advertisements for $40 and a half-page for $25. All ads must be camera ready. Contact the church at 732-945-1177 to submit a form and payment or email at [email protected].