Rev. Dr. James Gettemy's Life of Service

The Reverend Dr. James Gettemy, Pastor Emeritus of Garden City Community Church, passed away June 27. He was 93.

He will be remembered as a minister who preached to a generation and set the groundwork for the vital church that it is today. He was senior pastor from 1945 to 1958. Later, he was called to be the president of Hartford Theological Seminary.

Rev. Dr. Gettemy was best known for his leadership in building the current church on Stewart Avenue and Whitehall Boulevard. This church edifice was the fourth and permanent one for the nascent congregation, with groundbreaking in 1949. Membership increased dramatically as Garden City and the surrounding areas developed with young families looking for a Protestant church.

"Take a look at this Church of ours, one thing is plain. You cannot overlook its spire. Like a finger pointing skyward, it beckons: 'Lift up your hearts.' and when we cross its inviting portico and enter the Sanctuary, we hear a multitude say: 'We lift them up unto the Lord.' For the Community Church essentially is a worshiping fellowship. Therein lies its strength..." Rev. Dr. James Gettemy said, after the new building was completed.

Rev. Dr. Gettemy was also known as a very progressive minister in regard to issues on equality for all religions and races. He was an early supporter of the Garden City Jewish Center and helped develop the Garden City Clergy Fellowship for religious leaders in town to get together. When the United Nations was in session in its original location in Lake Success, his wife, Helen managed to have Eleanor Roosevelt speak on human rights at the church.

Rev. Dr. Gettemy spearheaded local groups with the national merger of the Congregational Church with the Evangelical and Reformed denominations to form the United Church of Christ in 1957.

In 1958, Gettemy was called to be the president of Hartford Theological Seminary in Connecticut. He remained there until 1976.

The Reverend Jim Adelmann, current senior pastor of GCCC, said, "Jim Gettemy was our pastor during years of tremendous growth and it was during his tenure that the congregation constructed our current church building. When Rev. Ralph Ahlberg left our congregation in 1987, Jim Gettemy had just retired from a Pastorate in Daytona Beach, Florida and we enticed him to come back to Garden City to become our interim pastor to help us through until a new permanent senior pastor could be called. It was during that year from 1987 to 1988 that I got to know Jim and to appreciate his tremendous gifts for Ministry. From pastoral care to preaching to motivational leadership, Jim excelled in them all. His presence during that interim year helped build up our confidence in the future, and added to my already strong group of mentors for my ministry."

A memorial service was held Sunday at the Federated Church in East Orleans, Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations would be greatly appreciated for the James N. Gettemy Memorial Scholarship Fund, Hartford Seminary, 77 Sherman Street, Hartford, Conn. or www.hartsem.edu.