A singular and interesting chapter in the religious history of not only Ocean county, but of this country, relates to the noted old Goodluck Church, formerly known as the "Potter Church." built in 1766 by Thomas Potter, a benevolent citizen of the village, who then lived east of the church on the farm subsequently owned by the late Captain Benjamin Stout. Before building the church. Potter had been in the habit of opening his house to travelling preachers of all persuasions, and after a while erected this edifice free to all denominations, and in it preached Quakers, Presbyterians, Baptists and Methodists, and in it was preached the first Universalist sermon ever delivered in America.

The earliest notice of old Potter Church at Goodluck is found in the following extract from the Journal of John Griffith, a preacher of the Society of Friends, found in Friends' Library, vol. 5, p. 428:

"On 3d day, 22d of 4th month, 1766, had a large meeting at Little Egg Harbor. Next day had a meeting in a new Presbyterian meetinghouse near Barnegat. It was large and held more than an hour in silence which the people were not accustomed to. At length the word was given with authority and cleverness, showing the advantage of silence in worship. * * We travelled by the seaside to a place called Goodluck where we found a large meetinghouse not quite finished, erected by one Thomas Potter, intended by him, it seems, for all preachers to make use of. who would preach freely, except Papists, who would not be admitted even on those terms. We had a meeting in it. but notice not coming timely, it was small and to little satisfaction. We met him that afternoon on his return. He seemed sorry he happened to be out at that time; he was beyond hireling ministry.

Rev. Abel C. Thomas a noted and an aged minister of the Universalist Society furnished the following account of the Centennial Celebration of Universalism in Goodluck, Ocean county, in 1870, for the New Jersey Courier, soon after it occurred:

"We had no expectations of large delegations of our members at the late celebration in Goodluck. Our centenary had been attended the week previously in Gloucester, Mass., the number present being variously estimated from ten to fifteen thousand, including two hundred and fifty out of six hundred and fifty clergymen.

"On the 28th of September, 1770, Rev. John Murray, a disciple of Relly (in the sense that Relly was a disciple of Christ) landed on the coast of New Jersey.

"The late great convocation in Gloucester antedated the landing of Murray by the space of one week, and a few of us determined to spend the exact Centenary at Goodluck, Ocean county. This was what took us there; precisely one hundred years from the landing of Murray, we held a memorial service in the old church, and also at the Grave of Thomas Potter -- the order being substantially the same that we had used in Gloucester. The only change was this: "We strew this evergreen and these flowers, in memory and honor of Thomas Potter, the friend and patron of John Murray, our early preacher of Universalism in America."

After a brief address by the Rev. Abel C. Thomas, who conducted the services, a hymn was sung, and the services were appropriately closed.