Calvary Episcopal Church has stood on Woodland Avenue in downtown Summit, New Jersey, for more than 170 years. Founded in 1854 as a mission of an Episcopal priest summering in the area, the parish today draws more than 1,700 members from across the greater Summit community to its 1896 stone church - a building famous for its rose window by Louis Comfort Tiffany and for a choir room designed, even at the time, to place music at the heart of worship. The rhythm of the parish is set by three Sunday Eucharists, daily Morning Prayer, a Wednesday healing service, and an Anglican choral tradition that has employed only seven organist-choirmasters since 1914.
From a Backyard Mission to a Parish of 1,700
The Reverend Thomas Cook, an Episcopal priest born in Cambridge, England and ordained in the Diocese of New York, was spending a summer in Summit in 1852 when he began holding services in his home for fellow Anglicans. Two years later he and his congregation succeeded in building a wooden mission church that seated seventy-five people - the first house of worship in the area. The new church was consecrated in 1855 by the Right Reverend George Washington Doane, then Bishop of New Jersey, and the parish formally incorporated in 1861 with the Reverend William H. Rees becoming its first Rector.
By 1872 the parish had grown to forty-five families, and a stone church seating three hundred was dedicated. On January 8, 1893, while the Rector and Sexton lit the gas lamps for the morning service, the Christmas greens caught fire and the entire building burned to the ground in less than an hour. Unbowed, the Vestry immediately purchased land at the corner of Woodland and DeForest Avenues and began raising the present campus. Parishioners worshiped in the YMCA hall and then in the auditorium of the new Parish House - most of whose stonework was salvaged from the 1872 building - until the present church was ready for Easter Sunday, April 5, 1896. The New York Times called the new building an architectural marvel at the time.
Membership has grown from sixteen families in 1862 to more than 1,700 today. The parish has had fourteen Rectors. The Reverend Walker Gwynne, Rector from 1893 to 1914, oversaw the construction campaign and saw the mortgage retired by the parish's fiftieth anniversary in 1904 - a legacy honored today through the Walker Gwynne Society for planned givers. The Reverend Christopher Cole accepted the call to become the fourteenth Rector in 2023.
The 1896 Church: A Tiffany Rose Window and a Choir Room Built for Music
Calvary's present home is best known for its stained glass. The "Beatitudes" Rose Window on the rear wall of the nave, installed in 1896, is one of only a few rose windows ever produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany. After a successful capital campaign, the 119-year-old window was restored by the internationally renowned stained glass conservator Art Femenella, whose career has included works by Tiffany, John La Farge, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Maitland Armstrong. The building's seventy-five stained-glass windows were photographed over three years by lifelong Calvarian Lee Clark and published in a 97-page hardcover book, The Windows of Calvary Church, available through the parish office.
The architecture itself signals music's central place. When the 1896 church was finished, the room underneath the main altar served as the original choir room. A 1927 enlargement added the present choir room on the south side of the building - placed in close proximity to the worship space as a deliberate statement about the importance of music. The Church and Parish House were both expanded in 1927 to accommodate continued growth.
The organ was originally installed with the third building, rebuilt in 1949, and replaced with a new M.P. Moeller instrument from Hagerstown, Maryland in 1962. A new console by Robert M. Turner Organ Builders was installed in 2003, along with digital stops by the Walker Organ Company.
Three Sunday Eucharists, Daily Morning Prayer, and a Wednesday Healing Service
Worship is the center of life at Calvary, and the parish's schedule reflects the breadth of the Anglican tradition. On Sundays, three services gather the parish around the Holy Eucharist. At 8:00 a.m. the spoken, said Eucharist offers a quiet beginning to the day. At 10:00 a.m. the principal service is sung by the Calvary Choir and livestreamed to the church's YouTube channel, with children joining their families in the pews at the Peace midway through the liturgy. At 5:00 p.m. a contemplative Eucharist is held; occasionally the clergy and choir sing this service with sung responses, canticles, a psalm set to Anglican chant, and a choral anthem.
On weekdays, Morning Prayer is offered at 8:00 a.m. Monday through Friday - a structured service of scripture, psalms, and prayers rooted in the Book of Common Prayer. On Tuesdays at 5:00 p.m. the parish gathers for Evening Prayer, written by the Benedictines of Calvary and grounded in the Book of Common Prayer with seasonal themes and new collects. On Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. a Holy Eucharist with Unction provides a contemplative, healing space at midweek.
Children, youth, and adults serve in nearly every visible role in worship: as acolytes (training begins in fifth grade), vergers, sacristans, Eucharistic ministers, lectors, intercessors, greeters, ushers, and members of the Altar Guild, Flower Chapter, and choirs.
Seven Organist-Choirmasters in a Century: The Anglican Choral Tradition
Calvary's choral tradition stretches back to 1887, when a boy choir was first organized. The parish has employed only seven organist-choirmasters since 1914 - a record of stability that has allowed a distinctive Anglican choral sound to take root. The current Director of Music and Organist is Joseph O'Berry, who came to Calvary after serving for seven years as Associate Director of Music at Saint John's Cathedral in Denver. He previously held cathedral and parish appointments in Nashville, Seattle, Springfield (Massachusetts), and Atlanta, and served as Organ Scholar at Blackburn and Truro Cathedrals in England. He oversees both the adult and children's choirs and shapes music for worship across the parish.
The Calvary Choir is a community of auditioned volunteers and paid professionals who rehearse on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. during the program year and sing one service each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. The repertoire spans plainchant, Tudor and Renaissance polyphony, and the best of modern Anglican composers. The Calvary Choristers program is open to boys ages eight through voice change and girls ages eight to twelve; choristers rehearse weekly, learn basic musicianship and Episcopal liturgical practices, and sing with the adult Parish Choir on the third Sunday of each month. St. Dunstan's Handbell Choir rings three octaves of Malmark handbells and handchimes and welcomes late teens through adults with basic music-reading skills.
The Pasture, the Good Shepherd Room, and the Family Eucharist
Christian formation at Calvary is understood as lifelong growth in the knowledge, service, and love of God as followers of Christ, informed by Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. Children begin that journey in age-specific rooms during the program year.
The Pasture is for children in PreK through second grade. The Mustardseed students (preschool and kindergarten) gather for a Bible story, craft, song, and snack, while the Weavers (first and second grade) emphasize creativity and belonging through activity time. Children move upstairs to the Good Shepherd Room in third through fifth grade as Cornerstones, working through the Weaving God's Promises curriculum for upper-elementary ages; some begin training as junior acolytes and serve at the Family Eucharist. The Sunday School hour runs from 9:45 a.m. until children join their parents in church at the Peace, midway through the 10:00 a.m. liturgy.
On the third Sunday of each month, the entire parish gathers for Family Eucharist at 10:00 a.m. The youngest parishioners lead worship: an interactive, child-accessible sermon is offered, the Choristers sing, and youth and young-adult acolytes and lectors guide the liturgy. The Nursery, located next to the elevator on the top floor of the Parish House, welcomes children ages zero to two from 9:45 to 11:45 a.m. under the care of two trained staff members. The Sunday School approach draws on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, with the Weaving God's Promises curriculum used throughout.
Youth Group, Confirmation, Bible Study, Book Study, and a Pilgrimage to English Cathedrals
Middle and high schoolers enter into the rhythm of worship, formation, fellowship, and service at Calvary. On Sunday mornings many lead worship as acolytes, lectors, ushers, and Choristers; others help in The Pasture or join the Good Shepherd Room. The Youth Group meets bimonthly, usually on Sunday evenings, for fellowship and formation. Past events have included escape rooms, meal preparation and distribution with Bridges outreach, and gatherings with other Diocese of Newark teens.
Confirmation is offered to ninth graders and older who wish to make a personal decision to live out their baptismal vows. Candidates discuss class content with their peers, take on a lay worship ministry, build a relationship with an adult sponsor from the parish, and engage in outreach service; the class meets twice a month throughout the program year.
Adults have rich formation opportunities as well. On Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the parish Bible Study - led by lay member Warren Loy - explores the Psalms as prayers for every season, tracing their structure, history, scholarship, and use across Jewish and Christian liturgical traditions. A weekday book study, held Thursdays from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the Reception Room of the Parish House, works through current titles such as Richard Rohr's Simplicity: The Art of Letting Go. Adult retreats offer dedicated time for prayer, silence, and group discussion.
The Men's Group meets monthly for fellowship, service, and retreats, including a regular Men's Fellowship Dinner at the Rectory. The Women of Calvary gather several times a month for activities that include a book club, handcrafts, cooking, dinners, and retreats. A multi-day Pilgrimage, led by Father Chris Cole, takes parishioners to historic English sites such as Durham, Lambeth Palace gardens, Little Gidding, and Canterbury Cathedral to explore Anglican spirituality in its own landscape.
Serving the Greater Summit: SHIP, Bridges, GRACE, and Loaves & Fishes
The parish's commitment to nourishment of body and soul finds its most concrete expression in a network of local partnerships.
SHIP (Summit Helps Its People) has prepared breakfast and packed sack lunches every weekday using Calvary's facilities since 1991, providing more than 16,000 meals a year to those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Calvary also supports the Alleluia Fund of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, Bridges (which delivers 65,000 meals and seasonal necessities each year to people in Newark, Irvington, Summit, and Rahway), the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, Family Promise (where the parish prepares Welcome Baskets for families graduating from the shelter program), GRACE (which distributes about 16,000 pounds of fresh food each week to roughly 430 Summit-area households), Loaves & Fishes (a weekly food pantry hosted by St. Teresa's Catholic Church, to which Calvary contributes food each week), Morris Habitat for Humanity, and the Diocese of Newark's Prison Ministry (where parishioners fill backpacks for children of incarcerated parents). The parish is a member of the Summit Interfaith Council, fourteen houses of worship and three nonprofits working for the welfare of the community.
Globally, Calvary contributes to Episcopal Migration Ministries (refugee resettlement), Episcopal Relief & Development (supporting disaster relief in places like Haiti, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Turkey and Syria, and Maui), and Greenfaith (a multifaith climate initiative).
Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, and the Prayer List
The sacraments of the church are woven into the rhythms of parish life. Baptisms of infants, children, and adults are celebrated within the context of the Eucharist, typically on Sundays or major feast days, by pouring water over the candidate's head with the Trinitarian formula; the newly baptized are marked with the sign of the cross on the forehead, sometimes using holy oil called chrism. Parents and godparents attend a baptismal instruction meeting and a rehearsal with the clergy in advance.
Couples wishing to marry at Calvary meet with the Rector at least ninety days before the desired date and complete four pre-marital counseling sessions; the parish's Wedding Book guides couples through the process. Funeral, memorial, and committal services are available, and the clergy encourage parishioners to file their own burial plans in advance. The Pastoral Care team visits homebound members, and the parish Prayer List is prayed daily by a group of dedicated intercessors, with names lifted up at every Sunday service.
All visitors are welcome to worship, share in the sacraments, attend classes, and participate in the activities and ministries of the parish. Office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Newcomers are invited to connect with the parish by filling out a brief form online.
The Rector, the Associate Rector, and the Walker Gwynne Society
The Reverend Christopher Cole, the fourteenth Rector, came to Calvary from St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, where he served as Rector. Before that he was Senior Associate Rector at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia, and served parishes in Athens and Atlanta. A native of Western North Carolina, he is a graduate of UNC-Charlotte and Virginia Theological Seminary. His ministry centers on spiritual formation, outreach, and cultivating religious dialogue.
The Reverend Christine Veillon, Associate Rector, was raised in a Roman Catholic family and came to the Episcopal Church through a communications job at St. James' Church on Madison Avenue after completing her MFA. She prepared for the priesthood at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and has served congregations throughout the New York metro area and Connecticut, most recently as Priest in Charge of St. John's, Pleasantville, New York.
The parish is led by the Rector and a Vestry of twelve, with Senior Warden Cynthia Falco, Junior Warden Carol Graham, and Treasurers Nancy Imbalzano and Charles Rall. The Heritage Funds - Premises, Christian Mission, Christian Education, Music, and Remembrance - allow members to direct planned gifts to areas of particular interest. Online giving and pledge forms are available, and members of the Walker Gwynne Society are those who have included Calvary Church in their estate plans - a fitting tribute to the man who helped ensure Calvary's future more than a century ago.