Christ Episcopal Church, Woodbury, New Jersey

Christ Episcopal Church is an Anglo-Catholic Episcopal church in Woodbury, New Jersey. Founded in 1854,^[1] the parish is part of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey and a member of the Anglican Communion.

Christ Episcopal Church
39°50′21.7″N 75°9′17.2″W
Location	Woodbury, New Jersey
Country	United States
Denomination	Episcopal
Churchmanship	Tractarian / Anglo-Catholic
Website	christchurch.woodburynj.org
History
Status	Church
Founder(s)	The Rev. W.H. Norris
Dedication	1856
Consecrated	September 17, 1857[1]
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Groundbreaking	July 1855[2]
Completed	1856
Administration
Province	Province II
Diocese	New Jersey
Clergy
Bishop(s)	William H. Stokes

The parish was established by the first rector, the Reverend William Herbert Norris, at the direction of Bishop George Washington Doane; the church building was finished in 1856 and consecrated September 17, 1857.^[1] In 1911, a fire in the undercroft of the church nearly caused the loss of the building; during the fire the women of the church rescued the altar cloth, bible, and bishop's chair.^[2] The bishop's chair is still used for visiting bishops today.^{[citation needed]}

The adjoining parish house was renovated in 2018. In addition to serving as the assembly room for coffee hours and parish meetings, in the 1930s and 1940s it also served as the performance space for the Woodbury Sketch Club.^[3]

In 2020 the congregation reported 862 members, average Sunday attendance of 208, and plate and pledge financial support of $261,924.^[4]

The church's pipe organ is M. P. Moller Opus 10523 (1969c) with eight ranks and two manuals. The previous installation was Hook & Hastings Opus 1747 (1897) with two manuals and 17 registers. The building includes stained glass by installed over two centuries from English and American workshops, with notable work by Paula Himmelsbach Balano (1877-1967), a German-American church artist working in a medium uncommon for women at the time of her installations. The sanctuary is designed to accommodate ad orientem liturgical celebration.

Clergy

1. The Rev. William Herbert Norris
2. The Rev. William E. Lewis
3. The Rev. George M. Bond
4. The Rev. Howard E. Thompson
5. The Rev. Abram L. Urban
6. The Rev. Malcolm Taylor
7. The Rev. James O. McIlhenny
8. The Rev. Edgar Campbell
9. The Rev. Howard M. Stuckert
10. The Rev. Robert G. W. Williams
11. The Rev. The Rev. William V. Rauscher, Jr.
12. The Rev. Douglas E. Anderson
13. The Rev. Brian K. Burgess, now Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, Illinois
14. The Rev. John D. Alexander SSC (interim)

References

1. "Christ Church - Church History".
2. "A sacred history: Here are 15 of the oldest churches in NJ". nj.com. April 14, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
3. "Sketch Club Players plan pop-up holiday show after exiting longtime Woodbury theater". November 22, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
4. "Explore Parochial Report Trends". August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.

External links

• Official website
• Highlights in the History of Christ Church, Woodbury, New Jersey (1971) from Project Canterbury