History
The
Very Beginning
From about 1745
through about 1751 the
Toms River area was served by the Rev. Thomas Thompson, an English
missionary
from the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts.
His assigned territories included the vast stretches of pine forest
that would
later become Ocean County as well as parishes in Middletown, Freehold
and
Allentown.
Between 1751
and the mid 1800’s, there is
a gap in ministry here which needs some explanation. While the original
Diocese
of New Jersey (which included the whole state) dates back to 1785, the
Episcopal Church suffered great setbacks during and after the
Revolutionary War
due to its association with the English monarchy. It wasn’t until mid
1832 that
parish life began anew.
The
Early Diocese
Under the
Episcopacy of George
Washington
Doane (1832-1859) the Diocese of New Jersey grew from 27
parishes and
missions to 85. Under his successor, William
Henry
Odenheimer (1859-1874) the Toms River missions began. (As a
footnote, under
his episcopacy the diocese’s growth continued so rapidly that in 1874
it became
necessary to divide the diocese into two parts, the Diocese of Trenton
and the
Diocese of Newark). The first mention of Toms River in the Diocesan
Journals
occurs in 1861: "Toms River Ocean Co. Mission 1860. Church Building 0,
Parsonage 0, School House 0, {signed} Rev. W. Forgus."
The Rev. Mr.
Forgus worked out of Grace
Church in Pemberton and may have reported that the Toms River area
deserved
more attention than he could offer, for in 1863 the Rev. Thomas J.
Taylor began
officiating in Toms River and the surrounding area.
Founding
of the Parish
While the exact
date is unclear, we use
the date 1865 as the date of our parish’s founding. The congregation met at
different times in Cowper- thwait’s Exchange, a small local hotel, and a
school
house. Christ Church officially incorpor- ated on February 18, 1871 as
"Christ’s Church."
In 1882 a church building was constructed
on
Wash- ington Street; to replace the original school/mission
building on
Hooper
Avenue. This building
still stands today on Washington Street and is on loan to
the Ocean Christian Community as their church. Construction of a
Rectory
followed and over the next 75 years the congre- gation of Christ Church
grew. In
1948, the church’s name was officially changed to "Christ Church."
The
Golf Course
Christ Church
may be the only parish in
the Episcopal Church to have run a golf course. In 1929, the vestry
sold over
55 acres of land south of Washington Street to the Cranmoor Country
Club. When
the club’s mortgage was foreclosed the church was forced to take over
part of
the operation of the golf course, and wound up running a 9-hole golf
course
until 1937 when the land was sold.
Growth
By 1960, the existing church building could not accommodate its 450 members and the parish voted to build a new church. Gifts from former parishioners John Peter Haines and his sister Emily Sommers Haines, allowed ample land. A new building was completed and dedicated on June 9, 1962. A new rectory was built in 1982 on the site of the original manor House of the Haines’ Cranmoor Farm, and in 1990 the office area and the Disciples Hall additions were completed. The building’s campaign theme, "For Generations to Come" reflects the care and commitment of our members for the life and work of Christ Church.
The Mortgage Is Burned
In November
of 2006, Jack and Anne Kendrick made a $500,000 gift to the parish to
pay off the outstanding mortgage. Jack and Anne (who died in 2005)
had discussed it with their family and all agreed on the donation. On
Sunday, January 28th, 2007 Jack and Mother Joan celebrated by burning
the mortgage at the annual parish meeting. This gift was
particularly valuable in allowing the parish to expand its Outreach
Ministry.
The Parish Today
Over 360 households comprise our congregation. Our ministries are many and varied within the parish, the surrounding community, and the diocese. More than 130 years of witnessing God’s love strengthens our presence in Toms River and we look forward to our future life together as a Christian community, witnessing to God’s truth as revealed in Jesus Christ.
