It was 1827. West Bloomfield was the name of the town.

The First United Methodist Church of Montclair, which is its moniker now after many name changes, started in a schoolhouse on Glenridge Avenue.

The church is now a majestic, dome-shaped sanctuary on North Fullerton Avenue, where services are held amid an interracial and interethnic congregation with 45 different nationalities represented.

This past Sunday, the church held its 180th anniversary celebration, reflecting on its history as the oldest church congregation in Montclair.

During the church’s worship service, members and guests filled the sanctuary. Featured speaker Bishop F. Herbert Skeete, who delivered a powerful sermon titled "God’s Reconciling Agent," and the vocal ensemble V-O-I-C-E-S, participated in the fete.

"This has been the most attended, the most uplifting service I have officiated since I arrived at First United Methodist Church," said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Franck Aguilh, who is originally from Haiti.

"I felt truly blessed," Aguilh said.

Following the service, a multicultural luncheon included food from all over the world, highlighting the church’s diversity.

Committees that made the month-long event a success were recognized with special mentions.

An Anniversary Journal was distributed Sunday. It included the pastor’s official greeting, a letter from state Sen. Nia H. Gill, and a proclamation from Mayor Jerry Fried and the Township Council.

The journal also gave a brief history of the church, a prominent part of the celebration.

James Wilde, of England, started in 1827 what was eventually called The Methodist Episcopal Society of Montclair on Glenridge Avenue and Bay Street, according to church records.

In February 1828, the church held the election of the first board of trustees, and the church society was constituted, according to the book, "History of Montclair Township" by Henry Whittemore, published in 1984.

It held services for more than eight years in the schoolhouse, according to church records. Wilde donated a lot on Bloomfield Avenue, east of the Erie-Lackawanna station where a church and parsonage were built. The church was completed in November 1836, becoming the first church built in Montclair, according to church records.

Though Presbyterians were active in Montclair long before Methodists, the Presbyterians didn’t have a church of their own until 1838, said former Montclair Historian Royal Shepard Jr.

The church became too small for its growing congregation and in 1879 moved to its present site on North Fullerton Avenue.

Methodism grew by leaps and bounds at the turn of the 20th century, and in 1902 the church had to be torn down and rebuilt.

When it was completed the following year, it could hold 500 people.

The current congregation fosters about 130 members.

In 1939, when the Methodist Episcopal and the Methodist Protestant churches were reunited, the church was renamed The First Methodist Church of Montclair. In 1968, upon the unification of the Methodist Church and the unification of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, it became the First United Methodist Church of Montclair, according to church records.

Though Methodism was strong in the area, the powerhouse of worship during the late 19th century was First Congregational Church, a United Church of Christ denomination.

"The Methodists probably had a good-sized congregation, especially during the 1950s, which was a peak period for the mainline Protestant churches in America," Shepard said.

"Montclair was known for having large influential Protestant churches," he said.

Contact Tanya Drobness at montclairtimes.com.