page_title: Bay Ridge United Church
section_title: Bay Ridge United Presbyterian Church
hierarchical_section_title: Bay Ridge United Church / Bay Ridge United Presbyterian Church
caption_attribution_description: English: Bay Ridge United Church Candle Window
context_page_description: Bay Ridge United Church was located on Bay Ridge Parkway in the Bay Ridge Section of Brooklyn, New York. The congregation was a blend of two churches from two similar but different denominations and was a member of both the Reformed Church in America and the Presbyterian Church.
context_section_description: The Bay Ridge United Presbyterian Church (BRUPC) came into existence on July 3, 1907, under the name the "Bay Ridge United (Presbyterian) Church." This early group met each Sunday under the leadership of the Reverend William J Pinkerton, in a house in Bay Ridge, located on 76th Street near Fifth Avenue. (476 76th Street) They remained at this location until May, 1912, when "preaching services" were begun in a store at 6811 Fort Hamilton Parkway which the pastor had rented for $12 a month. After eight months, the church headquarters were again transferred to the 76th Street house due to the difficulty heating the store.
  Under the pastoral guidance of a new minister, the Rev. J.J. Munro, the church moved in November, 1913 to a store at 7302 Sixth Avenue for $22.50 a month. Rev. Munro was previously chaplain to the Prison Evangelistic Society of New York. At the time there was some controversy as to location, whether the church was in Bay Ridge or South Brooklyn, and it was finally changed to the "South United Presbyterian Church."
  Their first major step under Pastor Munro's leadership was the purchase of the $6000 property on 75th Street, 303.68 feet southeast from 6th Avenue, on which to build their own church building. In July, 1914, confident that they were ready to begin construction, the church trustees obtained a loan from the United Presbyterian's Church Extension at Pittsburgh.
  The cornerstone was laid at a ceremony on Saturday April 17, 1915. The work progressed so that by July 8, 1915 the building was ready for the first Sunday morning worship service. However, it was not until October 17, 1915 that the building was officially dedicated. Even then the ambition of the members was not fully satisfied. They set forth to increase church membership. In 1918 there were 80 members with 250 in the Sunday School.  $2,699 was raised and the property was worth $15,000. Pastor Munro continued working for the growth of the church until he answered another call in 1920.
  His successor, J.L. McCreight, continued his fine work. McCreight, however, was a trained educator, and within a year he was called to a professorship in a Western Seminary college.
  From June 1921 to July 1922, the pulpit of the South United Presbyterian Church, as it was then called, was filled by clergymen and divinity students supplied by various church organizations. The search for a new pastor ended, however, when on July 13, 1922, a young seminary student, John H. Egner, was ordained and on the same day installed in the church as its pastor. Like former pastors,  Egner worked tirelessly for the improvement of the church and the Sunday school. Aided by the church members, he increased membership to over 400. While Egner was pastor, the church developed from an organization partially supported by the Board of Home Missions of the United Presbyterian Church to a completely self-supporting organization, ably operating on a sound financial basis.
  A native of the Netherlands, the Rev. Egner came to this country at age 23 years. During World War I, he served with the U.S. Engineers, and after the Armistice, attended the Biblical Seminary in New York. In October 1921, as senior student in the department of theology, he supplied the pulpit of the Bay Ridge Church and upon graduation from the Biblical Seminary in the spring of 1922 was ordained and installed as pastor of the church.
  When Egner took charge of the church in 1922, there was a membership of about 40. Under his leadership the church began to grow and in 1932 it had a membership of 325. During those ten years the Sunday school experienced a rapid growth. When Egner came to the church, there were little more than a handful enrolled. In 1932 the enrollment was 300. There also was an active Young People's Organization and a women's society which has loyally supported the pastor in his work in behalf of the church. In 1932, Special Services marked the 10th anniversary of Rev. John H. Egner's pastorate.
  The church, which in its early days had a hard struggle to exist, became self-supporting for many years and
caption: BRUPC Candle Window in Loving Memory of Mrs. Thomas, John Stuart and David Bruce Roden
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