Church of the Oranges Celebrates Renovations

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

Church of the Oranges (COTO) in Orange, N.J., recently held a sanctuary renovation celebration after several months of being closed. Special guests included Dwayne Warren, mayor of Orange; Dave Weigley, president of the Columbia Union Conference; and several other supporting pastors from the area. Barry Black, chaplain of the United States Senate, was the featured speaker. Guests entered the church waving palms, a vision Errol Stoddart, former pastor of COTO, had for the celebration.

“I always dreamed when we renovated the church, we would have a grand processional mimicking the Feast of the Tabernacle, waving palm branches as we entered,” says Stoddart. Orville Brissett, current pastor, also thought this was a beautiful way to introduce this jubilee.

Some of the sanctuary renovations included installing three new monitors, new carpet, updated pews and new lighting, including computer-controlled production lights for plays and concerts. They also upgraded their electricity to 650 watts so the church will be able to provide electric vehicle charging stations and elevators.

They also replaced the lights surrounding the dome that features a picture of the three angels of Revelation, painted by the late Beverly Miles, a former pastor of Allegheny East Conference. Other renovations included redoing the floors in various ministries offices, upgrading the sound system and relocating the media and communication station.

“Though it came with its challenges, we were excited to see a vision come to fruition,” says Stoddart.