Dear Friends of the Strathmere Church,
I'm writing on behalf of the Board of Trustees to send you greetings and blessings from all of us. We also are writing to ask for your help.
As you may, or may not know, our church has been in existence since 1916 and the cornerstone was put in place in September of 1922. I'm proud to say that my father, Harlan P. Wittkamp and his mother Carrie, were on the Board of Trustees when that dedication took place. Since then our church has been a beacon to visitors and residents of all denominations. That's one of the unique things about our congregation. There are a handful of year-round resident members and many more associate members who come to our island in the summer. On any Sunday in the summer we welcome visitors from all over this country and the world.
At the beginning of the summer our organ needed extensive repairs. Since that instrument had served us well for 20 years we decided that it was time to upgrade. We enlisted the help of the Grafton Organ Company and were able to find a used Allen digital organ that they were able to deliver to us quickly so we could continue our Sunday services without interruption of our music program. Digital organs are a wonderful choice for small churches since they digitally produce the sound of a much larger, and much more expensive, pipe organ. lt also is not sensitive to the temperature changes that it is subjected to in our "off' season. Although the church is heated all year, a pipe organ would never tolerate the temperature changes that this instrument is built for.
All that history and background is to explain to you why we need your help. Our new Organ was purchased and installed at a cost of $16,500.00. We are seeking donations to keep the music playing inside our building. A few years ago, many of you came to our aid to help keep the chimes playing outside from our bell tower. We hope and pray that you'll be willing to help us again.
We are very proud of our services and music ministry. We have very talented soloists each Sunday from Memorial Day until the end of September. We invite you to come and experience the very special spirit of our church. Our services begin with a hymn sing on Sunday mornings at 9:15 with the service starting at 9:30 am. Come and hear our wonderful new organ and be blessed by the fellowship of your neighbors. We welcome everyone and love the diversity of our visitors.
We ask for your prayerful consideration. Tax deductible donations can be IMO or IHO and sent to our PO Box 93 Strathmere NJ 08248. We wish you a blessed summer and thank you in advance.
Debbie Vandegrift.
Secretary. Board of Trustees
