As we begin our 4th week on the road, Saturday and Sunday are all about New York. I have anticipated this particular waypoint for months. Months ago, I reached out to Pastor Stefanie Bennett via email and confirmed my visit and she graciously offered to give us a private tour on a day that the church and museum were closed.

Saturday, September 20, 2025: We arrived at our hotel in Jersey City yesterday, after a challenging drive along the Hudson River. This ol’ southern boy was elated to pull into the check-in area and turn my vehicle over to the valet. No more New York driving for the next 40 or so hours, and the anticipation of leaving on a Sunday afternoon as being a more leisurely drive in the big city (mostly correct).

After riding the Path train from Jersey City (which goes under the Hudson River), we walked the few blocks to John Street UMC. In his early time in America, John Street, along with St. George’s in Philadelphia became “home turf” for him – frequently traveling between the two locations. In 1791, he was here to conduct a conference.Pastor Stefanie arrived and let us into this place of Methodist history. In the photos above: note the stark contrast of the church in relation to the towering buildings that contain it. Stefanie told us that the land on which the church stands has a special ecclesial classification that prevents its use for any other purposes. All the surrounding land is designated as business.

I’m standing behind the pulpit used by Phillip Embury (the founder of what would become John Street Church) and according to Pastor Stefanie would have surely been used by Asbury while here. The interesting circular benches were used in the class meetings. The chalices are the original ones used at John Street for communion. It was after the Christmas Conference in 1784 that Methodist preachers were first ordained, which then allowed them to preside at the sacraments. In the first photo, is a section of the original rail purchased soon after that conference to facilitate communion at John Street, Stephanie told us that it was the only way anyone knew how to celebrate communion – it was purchased in a rush.

This is the way John Street would have appeared in 1768.

This is the sanctuary of John Street… and of course Francis Asbury never saw this sanctuary. The stained glass window depicting Asbury is at the back of the sanctuary… Pastor Stefanie told me she feels that each Sunday morning she is preaching in the presence of Francis Asbury.

Stefanie took us on a short walking tour. The church with the tall spire is Trinity Episcopal Church, where Asbury most likely took communion in the days prior to the Christmas Conference of 1784. The next photo is Stefanie and me standing at the iron fence surrounding the graveyard of Trinity Episcopal. At Stefanie’s suggestion, JoAnne and I took the Staten Island Ferry, which is free, over to Staten Island – that is a picture of the Statue of Liberty take from the ferry.

We visited the September 11 Memorial Pools, with the new World Trade Center towering above them. I remembered Asbury’s special trip to the Gallows Hill location of the Salem Witch Trial hangings and reflecting on the cruelty of humans. I wonder if he could have found words of reflection on this memorial… where our cruelty to one another has increased by several orders of magnitude. I have no words myself… we stood there in silence… scanning the thousands of names.

Sunday, September 21, 2025: after worshipping at John Street and joining in their time of fellowship, we returned to the hotel and had the valet summon our car… and once again carefully followed the voice instructions of Apple Maps to maneuver our way southward. There were only a few waypoints on this afternoon’s agenda: Staten Island, Roseville (on Staten Island), Freehold NY, and Long Branch New Jersey.

At Roseville we visited Woodrow UMC and found what appears to be an abandoned church, there was even a Realtor’s lockbox on one of the front doors. This is a historically significant location, as you can see. It is surrounded by a massive, very old, graveyard. The headstones are so old and weather-worn, that finding Boehm’s marker was impossible. We moved on to our other waypoints and settled down in Long Branch, NJ for the night.

Peace,
-Pastor Tim