Come and See!
St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church is an open and inclusive community of faith. We welcome all visitors to share in the life of the church. We offer opportunities for children and adults to be blessed by our choir and instrumental music, children’s activities, bible study, adult education forums, our community garden, and fellowship time to share stories and support each other. We are on a journey as a church family to grow deeper in our relationship with God and be witnesses to the love of God for the world. Come and See!
Mission Statement
St. Bartholomew’s mission is to glorify God, guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit, to be a beacon of hope and light in our community.
The Life and Ministry of St. Bart’s in the Community of Ho-Ho-Kus
St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church is a parish which is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, located in the historic town of Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey. Ho-Ho-Kus is a small suburban town, approximately one square mile, with a population of nearly 5,000. Our town was named the number one town to live in the State of New Jersey, by New Jersey Monthly Magazine, in 2011 and then again in 2017.
Ho-Ho-Kus is in the northwest part of Bergen County, approximately 25 miles northwest of New York City. Bergen County is one of the most densely populated counties in the State of New Jersey given its proximity and easy access to New York. The city is easily accessible via bus, rail, or car. The population continuously has a segment in transit as large companies transfer their employees to and from the area.
The area served by the Parish is suburban and mostly residential. Median income and education levels are well above average. A substantial portion of the working population commutes to New York City, while the remainder is engaged in local businesses.
St. Bartholomew’s draws a considerable number of parishioners from eight to ten towns in the surrounding area. We have 110 families in our congregation and approximately 45 percent are active. As with many other churches both in our community and country wide, one of the goals that St. Bartholomew’s has is to increase our active congregation.
We have a strong commitment to outreach. Our outreach includes food and clothing for the Ramapough Indians, monthly food donations to CUMAC, Community United Methodist Aid to Communities in the Paterson, New Jersey area, as well as clothing donations and toiletries to migrant worker families in Goshen NY. We support the twelve-step community of Alcoholics Anonymous, offering ten meetings in our parish hall each week. We are also a resource center for those in our town in need of food or shelter.
Although we are a modestly-sized congregation, its members have often banded together to do big things. For over 10 years we hosted an annual Bistro Night, our largest fund-raiser. This year we are changing our focus and hosting a Farm to Table Community Dinner. We rely on teamwork to make it happen, tapping our strengths such as artistic creativity, hustle, organization … and a love for good food and drink.
The property, church, rectory and grounds of St. Bart’s is beautiful and in an outstanding location. Our members take pride in this, tending to our Memorial Garden and having a community vegetable garden that members donate plants and their time to each week to care for the crop.
St. Bartholomew’s is committed to the importance of communicating with our members in different ways. With it’s monthly newsletter, The B-Line, Parish Facebook page, website, weekly St. Bartholomew’s “Happenings” bulletin inserts, monthly e-mail updates, we seek to use traditional and more modern methods to keep people informed of events and activities.