Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church commonly referred to as GraSP or Grace St. Paul's is an Episcopal Church (in the Anglican Communion) located in Mercerville-Hamilton Square, New Jersey.

History

Grace-St. Paul's parish, in the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, is the realization of a vision by forward-looking parishioners from two congregations, Grace in East Trenton and St. Paul's in south Trenton. Both congregations began as missions of St. Michael's which provided financial support and the properties on which each congregation built its church. St. Paul's was organized in 1847 and became a parish in 1901. Grace began as a mission in 1875 and in 1896 became a parish. Suburban expansion provided the impetus for Grace to create new possibilities for ministry by deciding to relocate to Mercerville in 1946. During the transition period (October 1946 to November 1947) worship was held jointly with St. Paul's. But a spiritual presence was necessary to begin evangelism in the new area and from August 1947 to November 1949 worship was held at the Mercerville Firehouse. The church and parish hall were completed in November 1949. The parish hall was dedicated November 17 of that year to the memory of the first rector of Grace, the Rev. Milton A. Craft, whose devotion and leadership (1893 to 1935) forged a spiritual direction for many years and also made possible the establishment of two mission churches: St. Andrew's (1895) near Lawrence Township and St. Luke's (1913) in Ewing Township. In 1952, the rectory was built with the help of many parishioners.

Again, new possibilities arose by the joint decision of St. Paul's and Grace to merge in 1955, and the present church was built. A 1600 pound bell in the tower of St. Paul's was removed and placed in the inner courtyard of the church complex. During the 1960's and into the mid-70's the parish remained fairly stable but in the late 70's families began to migrate out due to corporate relocations. The resulting decrease caused restricted budgets. Turning points for renewal began in two ways. The first was the 1981 “Venture In Mission” campaign designed to fund new ministries in the Diocese of New Jersey which renewed a spirit of commitment at Grace-St. Paul's despite the financial condition. The second was a 1988 vestry retreat which convened to reorder priorities and responsibilities. In 1989, the mission statement was formulated and was adopted in 1990. In 1994, the Rector, Wardens and vestry, along with the Long Range Planning Committee, developed a vision to carry out the mission statement and to sustain parish life into the 21st Century. That vision included expanding Christian education, sharing life in Christ through evangelism and new member ministry, engaging in ministry to others by committing funds, opening our building to community groups, providing service through efforts of parishioners and renovating our buildings to provide a better environment for worship, education, ministry and fellowship. To make this vision a reality, two programs were initiated: the Emma Henderson Fund for Mission, Ministry & Education and the Building for Ministry Campaign. The 1995 building campaign was planned in three phases. Phase I was for major repairs, Phase II was to be interior renovations and Phase III, church renovations. Stage I was completed in 1996.

In 2003 Grace-St. Paul's raised money to install a rebuilt pipe organ to replace an electronic organ which had been installed in the 1950s. As the building projects and fellowship activities of the church continue, the vision of the parish's forebearers continues. Under the leadership of Jack Zamboni the parish had High Church leanings.

Mission statement

*Provide a spiritual and physical environment for the worship of God and growth of faith;
*Spread to all people the Gospel of Jesus Christ by word, deed, and music;
*Conduct worship services and administer the sacraments according to the liturgy provided in the Book of Common Prayer;
*Provide supportive, forgiving, and caring fellowship for parishioners of all ages;
*Minister to the sick, the troubled, the infirm, and all those in need of God's love;
*Serve and assist others in our local and worldwide communities;
*Support the programs of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, promote growth of the Episcopal Church, and encourage Christian unity.

Parish leaders

In the Episcopal Church parishes are governed by a vestry, all decisions are made by the vestry which are influenced by congregational input and committee recommendations.

Current Clergy

*Rector: The Rev. Lois Schembs (Interim)

Current Lay Leaders

*Senior Wardan: Gladys Longmeir
*Junior Wardan:Jim Davis
*Treasurer: Bill Flango
*Assistant Treasurer: Mark Talbot

*Vestry:
**CLASS of 2009: Barbara Nichols, David Hobson, Scott Loh
**Class of 2010: Sue Cetkowski, Fred Scholer
**Class of 2011: Pat Hines, Steven Krecicki,Michael Register
*Director of Music: Cynthia Westbrook
*Sunday School Leadership Team: Wendy Sullivan

Worship

In addition to weekly Sunday services GraSP has a weekly Wednesday evening service in addition to special services on Holy Days.

unday services

*8:00 AM Holy Eucharist: A celebration of the Eucharist with sermon, but no music except on major feast days. Rite I in Advent & Lent; Rite II the rest of the Year.
*10:00 AM Holy Eucharist (Summers 9:30): A celebration of the Eucharist with hymns, sung service music, choir anthems, and organ prelude and postlude. Church School and Nursery are available during this service, the children joining the congregation at the Peace for the celebration of Holy Communion. Rite I in Advent & Lent; Rite II the rest of the Year.

Weekday services

*Wednesday, 7:30 PM, Holy Eucharist (8:15 PM during Lent): A more informal yet more contemplative celebration of the Eucharist than Sunday morning. The congregation sits together near the front of the Church and gathers around the Altar for Communion. Prayer for healing is normally offered on the Second Wednesday of the month.

pecial services

Special Services are held on certain Holy Days according to the calendar of the Episcopal Church.

Christmas services

*Christmas Eve, 7:00 PM: Holy Eucharist: This is the family Christmas Eve Service in which children participate in Preparing the Crèche and hear a children’s sermon. Familiar carols are sung and all are invited to share in the Christmas Eucharist.
*Christmas Eve, 11:00 PM: Holy Eucharist: The Midnight Mass is preceded by special music. The Liturgy itself begins with candles being lit throughout the darkened Church. Familiar carols, choral anthems and service music are sung and all are invited to share in the Christmas Eucharist.
*Christmas Day 10:00 AM: Holy Eucharist: A smaller and quieter Christmas celebration in which the congregation sits together near the crèche and gathers around the Altar for Communion. A few carols are part of this service.

Lent

*Ash Wednesday
**9:00 AM: Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes: Lent begins with this service in which ashes are imposed before the celebration of the Eucharist. A sermon is preached, but no music is part of this service.
**7:30 PM: Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes: The major Ash Wednesday Service includes sermon, imposition of ashes, the celebration of the Eucharist and Lenten music.

Holy Week

Holy Week is the center of the Liturgical Year at Grace-St. Paul’s. In daily worship through the Week, we are drawn into Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Cross, the Tomb and the Resurrection.
*Monday in Holy Week, 7:30 PM: Evening Prayer and Meditation
*Tuesday in Holy Week, 7:30 PM: Evening Prayer and Meditation
*Wednesday in Holy Week, 7:30 PM: Stations of the Cross
*Maundy Thursday, 7:30 PM: Holy Eucharist with Footwashing, followed by Reservation of the Sacrament, Stripping of the Altar and an all night Prayer Vigil.
*Good Friday
**9:00 AM: said Morning Prayer
**7:30 PM: The Liturgy of Good Friday, including chanting of the Passion according to St. John, Veneration of the Cross and Communion from the reserved Sacrament.
*Saturday, 8:00 PM: The Great Vigil of Easter. This most glorious service of the year begins with the lighting of the New Fire, the reading of prophecy by candlelight, Holy Baptism and the first Eucharist of Easter.

Thanksgiving

*Thanksgiving Day 10:00 AM: Holy Eucharist: This is an intimate celebration of the Eucharist in which the congregation sits together at the front of the Church and gathers around the Altar for Communion.

External links

* [http://gracestpaul.org/ Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church]