There are actually two Russian Orthodox churches in this Russian community, the other one being St Mary’s.. In the early 1900s through the 1920s, the U.S. had a deal with Russia to perform the Russian Army’s munitions testing at the Lakewood Proving Grounds which later became the Naval Air Engineering Center. As a result there has always since then been a Russian community in the middle of New Jersey.

For 40 years, chemical companies developed dyes in this location, but waste products were either dumped or buried, resulting in ground water contamination. The most concerning outcome was a variety of childhood cancers resulting in sicknesses and deaths. Lawsuits and legislations resulted in various forms of compensation and reclassification of these sites as national Superfund sites. Even with the resulting remediation and community projects, there is much bitterness between local residents, the state, the federal government and “big business” .

When we prayed here on this journey, for many participants, this was their first “prophetic prayer action” they had participated in. We treated the water at this site as bitter in the same way Moses and the Jewish people turned to God when the water in the desert was found to be bitter. They through in a branch of wood specified by God and the water turned sweet. Christians see this as a prophetic precursor to the cross of Jesus redeeming us from all bitterness.

One of our members, Ann, took a fairly long branch, and placed it in the water to prophetically enact what Moses did. As Ann through in the branch, she declared the waters made clean and pure supernaturally by God. At that moment, an entire tree along the bank of the river broke and fell into the river. This was shocking to us all. We felt that God was with us. If we were willing to trust him to take away disease and distrust, he was telling us he would bring about much greater results than we expected!

Shore Vineyard Church moved into its new home, in a former plumbing display showroom, 150 feet from one of the best fishing locations on the Toms River, Spring 2012. The unprecedented flooding from Superstorm Sandy occurred 6 months later. The water together with toxic substances from nearby businesses coved the church and much of its possessions almost 2 feet deep. Quick work, prayer, financial contributions, and the help and spare chairs from ten churches both near and far, allowed the church to continue operating and never miss a Sunday.