Riverton's First Congregation at Fourth and Main
Christ Episcopal Church sits at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets in the small Delaware River borough of Riverton, New Jersey, and has done so in some form since 1855. It is the town's first congregation and its only surviving Victorian-era house of worship, anchoring the historic streetscape along with the train station, the river, and the New Jersey side of the river-crossing neighborhoods of Palmyra and Cinnaminson. Members travel from Riverton and from those neighboring towns, and visitors from further afield are regularly welcomed into the pews.
The parish describes its purpose in plain words: to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ through prayer, worship, proclaiming the Gospel, and promoting justice, peace, and love. The doors are open on Sunday mornings, the food pantry basket sits at the rear entrance, and the tower bell rings not only for the call to worship but also once a year as a celebration of Independence Day that has become a town tradition.
The Rector and the Parish Staff
The Reverend Suzanne M. Coles became the parish's new rector in late 2025. She arrived from the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, where she served as Priest-in-Charge of St. Philip's Church in Dyker Heights and as Canon for Stewardship on the Bishop's staff. Earlier in her career she served parishes in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She is married to Ronald R. Coles, an educator and church musician who serves as Assistant Principal for the Philadelphia Virtual Academy and as Music Director at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Philadelphia. The couple has a young son named Ronnie. Mother Suzanne has spoken warmly of the parish's outreach ministries and community life, and of her eagerness to grow the congregation's witness together.
Peter Homon is the parish's organist and music director. A graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, he has studied conducting, organ, improvisation, and handbells, and has composed several works for handbell choirs in addition to serving other Episcopal congregations in the area. Two wardens, Jeff Mack and Harry Shea, share oversight of parish operations. Paul Sanders serves as Parish Treasurer and Bill Wilson as Parish Clerk. The Vestry is organized in three classes running through 2027, 2028, and 2029.
Sunday Worship at 9:00 AM
Sunday morning is the heart of parish life at Christ Church. The single weekly Holy Eucharist is celebrated at 9:00 AM, and the service follows the 1979 Book of Common Prayer with the Revised Common Lectionary and the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. On the first Sunday of each month the liturgy is Rite I, in the traditional Elizabethan and early Book of Common Prayer language. The remaining Sundays use Rite II, with more contemporary phrasing and more inclusive language.
The structure of the service walks the congregation through two great arcs. The Liturgy of the Word opens with song and prayer, then moves through as many as four Scripture readings (typically an Old Testament lesson, a Psalm often sung or recited by the people, an Epistle, and always a Gospel), a sermon, the Nicene Creed, the Prayers of the People, a corporate confession with absolution, and the sharing of the Peace. The Liturgy of the Table that follows gathers the congregation around the Eucharistic Prayer, the Lord's Prayer, the breaking of the bread, and the sharing of Holy Communion. All baptized Christians, of any age or denomination, are welcome to receive. Those who are not yet baptized are invited to come forward and receive a blessing from the priest.
The 9:00 AM service is also livestreamed each week over Zoom for those who cannot be present in the sanctuary. Weekly bulletins, sermon notes, and recorded sermons are posted online.
Music and the Handbell Choir
Music plays a central role in Sunday worship. Peter Homon directs the parish's music ministry, which includes a summer bell choir that has shared arrangements of classics like "Variations on 'Come Thou Almighty King,'" "Holy, Holy, Holy," and "Amazing Grace." Guest musicians have included the Epworth United Methodist Church Handbell Choir, gospel singer Yolanda Briggs, saxophonist Phil Hansen, and soloist Eli Goldberg.
The instrument anchoring worship is a custom-built organ by Brantly A. Duddy, Inc., dedicated on May 2, 1976, with approximately 3,000 pipes spread across three manuals and forty-five ranks. It was installed in the housing of an earlier Moller pipe organ from 1916, which had itself replaced an original hand-pumped organ. About half of the pipes in the present organ come from that earlier instrument. The chancel itself was redesigned during the church's centennial year, with a white limestone altar and matching stone lining the sanctuary walls, in a beautification overseen by William Hayl Thompson and dedicated by the Right Reverend Alfred L. Banyard, Bishop of New Jersey.
More Than a Century and a Half on Fourth Street
The first Episcopal service in Riverton took place on December 23, 1855, in a private home at 102 Main Street loaned for the occasion by Daniel L. Miller, with the Reverend H. Hastings Weld traveling over from Trinity Church in Moorestown. The bishop arranged for a weekly Sunday afternoon service the following spring, and by 1858 the congregation was worshipping every Sunday morning. Land was purchased in 1859 directly opposite the Riverton Station, and the first church building was constructed that year and consecrated on June 8, 1860, by the Right Reverend W. H. Odenheimer, Bishop of New Jersey.
By 1871 the church had outgrown its original site near the railroad tracks and was physically moved to its present location, adjoining the stone rectory built in 1868 at Fourth and Main. In 1883 a new stone church was built on the present site and consecrated on July 10, 1884, by the Right Reverend Dr. Scarborough. The Parish House followed in 1895 at a cost of $25,416.14, and a frame Sunday School building given by William P. Ellison in 1876 as a centennial offering had served the congregation in the years between. That 1868 rectory is still in use today.
The first organist was Matthew Meiser Reese, who began in 1860. The current sanctuary seats about three hundred people and is built around the classic Victorian features that lend the building its quiet, peaceful atmosphere both inside and out.
The Tower Bell and the July 4th Tradition
One of the parish's most distinctive customs is the annual ringing of the tower bell on Independence Day. Each Fourth of July, Christ Church invites members of the wider Riverton community to climb up and ring the bell in celebration, drawing visitors from across the borough to the churchyard. The custom has become a true town tradition and was kept up most recently in 2026, when the United States marked its 250th anniversary.
Fishes & Loaves: A Monthly Senior Lunch
On the third Tuesday of every month from noon to 2:00 PM, the Parish House opens for Fishes & Loaves, a free community lunch for seniors and their guests. The gathering is open to all, with a featured speaker or program each month, and welcomes friends, neighbors, and anyone who would like a warm meal and conversation. There is no charge, although donations are appreciated. A chair lift is available for accessibility, and a Parish House entrance on 4th Street provides step-free access. Volunteers from the parish help with set-up, serving, and cleanup, and the lunch is also a place for celebration: a Welcome Breakfast for Mother Suzanne and Ron in January 2026 was held in the Parish House, as were receptions for baptisms, farewells, and parish milestones throughout the year.
Riverview Estates Communion Visits
On the first and third Sunday of each month at 3:00 PM, members of the parish lead a Communion service for the residents of Riverview Estates, a nearby senior living community. Parishioners accompany the priest, offering support and companionship so that residents who can no longer easily travel to church can continue to share in the Eucharist. The visits are a long-standing outreach ministry and a meaningful point of connection between the congregation and the wider community.
Camp Faith and Children's Outreach in Camden
Each year, Christ Church provides financial support to Camp Faith, a summer day camp run at St. Paul Church in Camden, New Jersey. The camp typically welcomes sixty to sixty-five children along with about fourteen teen counselors for four weeks of Bible study, arts and crafts, games, athletics, field trips, and Christian fellowship. Breakfast and lunch are provided daily, and the camp begins the first Monday after the Fourth of July. The cost of supporting a single camper is roughly $140 per week, or $560 for the full four-week program. Parishioners also donate backpacks and school supplies so that campers head into the school year equipped for the classroom.
Fighting Hunger: The Bread of Life and Tri-Boro Food Pantries
Food collection is woven into the rhythm of Sunday worship. A basket at the rear entrance of the church accepts non-perishable donations every week for the Bread of Life Food Pantry at Epworth and the Tri-Boro Food Pantry, with high-demand items including jelly, spaghetti sauce, kids' snack bars, crackers, canned vegetables, and macaroni and cheese. The donations collected here are distributed county-wide through the pantry network, and the parish's role in the Tri-Boro Food Bank is a regular ministry. On the Sundays of Lent the collection takes on the character of a Lenten drive.
Prayer Shawls, Pastoral Care, and Prayer Requests
Parishioners knit and crochet prayer shawls that are blessed in worship and then given to people facing illness, grief, or other challenges as a tangible reminder of the congregation's prayers. The team was formally recognized in a special blessing at a recent service. Pastoral care is offered through scheduled conversations with Mother Suzanne, who is also available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). Prayer requests can be shared with the church office by phone or email and are held in the prayers of the congregation.
Adult Christian Education and Small Groups
The parish's regular weekly study offering is a Men's Bible Study Group that meets on the first and third Saturday of each month at 9:00 AM. It is described as a Bible study going through Scripture with attention to what is important for a man's spiritual life, and as a way to deepen relationships with other men of the parish. During the season of Lent, Mother Suzanne has led a multi-week study of the Passion narratives on Sundays at 10:30 AM in the Parish House, with fellowship and refreshments after the 9:00 AM service.
Music Education and the Next Generation
The handbell choir is one of the most visible ways children, youth, and adults serve together in worship. Peter Homon's compositions for handbell choirs are part of the parish's musical life, and the summer bell choir typically draws in musicians of all ages. The parish also maintains the historical pattern of choirs for both adults and elementary-age children that has been part of its music program since the early twentieth century.
Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, and the Sacraments
Christ Church celebrates the two great sacraments given by Christ to the Church: Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist. Baptisms are full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body, the Church, and are typically celebrated in the context of Sunday worship rather than privately. Baptisms of infants, children, and adults are all possible, and baptism performed in another Christian tradition with water in the name of the Trinity is recognized as valid. Weddings and funerals are also celebrated at the church, and the building is available for non-parish events through the Parish Hall rental program.
The Parish Hall and Building Use
The Parish House is available for community events as well as parish life. Maximum occupancy is set at 125 people including kitchen help, with the kitchen's utensils, dinnerware, and cooking equipment to be supplied by the caterer. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the property. Beer and wine may be served alongside non-alcoholic options, and an insurance certificate is required for any non-parish function. A donation of $400 is suggested for use of the Parish Hall, with a separate $100 security deposit that is returned after the post-event inspection. The building-use policy was approved by the Wardens and Vestry in December 2022.
Plenty of Parking, A Ramp on 4th Street
Visitors will find street parking on East Main Street and the surrounding blocks. The accessible entrance is on 4th Street, with a ramp leading into the church, and the Parish House entrance on 4th Street includes a chair lift. Restrooms are located in the Parish House. There is no dress code: come as you are and be comfortable, whether that means a suit and tie or shorts and sneakers.
Children, Communion, and Welcoming Visitors
Children are always welcome in worship at Christ Church. Families worship together, and the parish rejoices when little ones make noise, fidget, or fall asleep in the pews. All baptized Christians, no matter their age, are invited to receive Holy Communion at the Eucharist; visitors who are not yet baptized are welcome to come forward for a blessing from the priest.
The Diocese of New Jersey and the Worldwide Anglican Communion
Christ Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, part of The Episcopal Church, and a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The parish links its members to the wider work of the diocese and the national church through regular features on the diocese's news and notes, the work of Episcopal Community Services in New Jersey, Episcopal Relief and Development, and the ministry of the Presiding Bishop. The parish participates in diocesan events including the annual Bishop George E. Councell Memorial Golf Tournament, a long-running fundraiser supporting diocesan ministries.
Stewardship, the Vestry, and Parish Priorities
The Vestry, in retreat during 2026, set three priorities for the year ahead: launching one new outreach and evangelism ministry, growing Average Sunday Attendance by five, and increasing financial giving by ten percent. The three priorities are led respectively by Sheryl Telford, Chris Wachter and Ken Oyer, and Jeff Mack. Online giving is available through Tithe.ly, and the parish publishes a seasonal newsletter, The Tower Bell, alongside the weekly Riverton Bell email update.
Joining the Life of the Parish
Visitors are warmly welcomed at the 9:00 AM Sunday Eucharist, the Fishes & Loaves senior lunch on the third Tuesday of each month, the Men's Bible Study on the first and third Saturday mornings, and the Communion services at Riverview Estates on the first and third Sunday afternoons. To learn more about the parish's committees and ministries, or to arrange a baptism, wedding, funeral, or pastoral conversation, contact the church office at (856) 829-1634 or by email. The address is 500 4th Street, Riverton, New Jersey 08077, about two miles from Route 73 and a ten-minute walk from the Riverton Light Rail Station.