At 43 Elizabeth Street in Pemberton, Grace Episcopal Church is known for its 9 a.m. Choral Eucharist, a singing congregation, and a sandstone church filled with local materials and pieces of its earlier buildings. The Episcopal parish is part of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey and is affiliated with St. Martin in the Fields in Lumberton. Its four acres reach down to the Rancocas Creek, including Green Chapel, an outdoor sanctuary open to all faiths, and its hall complex houses a food pantry for families in need.
A 9 A.M. Sunday Eucharist
The Holy Eucharist is offered every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at Grace Church. It is specifically a Choral Eucharist, and music is central: Grace is a singing congregation, with hymns and music serving as a main form of praise. Members are encouraged to participate through roles including acolytes, readers, ushers, chalice bearers, youth and adult choirs, the altar guild, the organist, and the choir director.
Services are also livestreamed through the church's public Facebook Live account. Masks are optional, and both the church and hall are wheelchair accessible. Green Chapel is available at all times and welcomes people of all faiths.
A Singing Congregation with a Broad Repertoire
Fr. Ryan Paetzold serves as Priest-in-Charge. Paula Asch is Director of Christian Formation, Tara Perrien is Choir Director, and Jim Ridge is Organist. Each serves a defined ministry in the parish.
Grace's recorded choral repertoire includes 'Creator of the Stars,' 'In Silence We Wait,' 'The Star Carol,' 'O Magnum Mysterium,' 'Baby What You Goin To Be,' 'Angels Carol,' 'Wexford Carol,' and 'What Sweeter Music.' The collection also includes Psalm 96 by David Hurd, Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis by C. Stanford, and works by Rutter and K. Lee Scott. Seasonal carols sit alongside psalm settings, canticles, and contemplative pieces in the choir's recorded work.
Music is not confined to adult performance. Youth and adult choirs are both named in Sunday worship, and the annual Lessons and Carols has used the full choir and organ. The Christmas Vigil has also featured the Grace Church Choir, carrying the parish's choral tradition into observances beyond the ordinary Sunday.
From 1839 to the Sandstone Church
In 1839, five people who wanted Episcopal services in Pemberton petitioned the bishop. Services were held in homes and other buildings until the church purchased a Hanover Street building from the Baptists in 1861. Construction of the present church began in 1937. Bishop Gardner placed its cornerstone on February 20, 1938, and returned to consecrate it on October 25, 1942. Public worship and members' private prayers have been offered here for years.
Materials and Reused Glass
The building's name sandstone is literal because its stones came from Arney's Mount. Swamp white cedar came from White's Bog, walnut came from neighborhood trees, and plaster sand was mined locally. Reused window glass came from the original church and other area buildings, with etched names identifying the facilities that supplied it. Those names can be read in the glass on the outside door to the sacristy.
Inscriptions, Nails, and an Earlier Church
Smaller surviving objects deepen that history. A vestry member found a keg of handmade nails, dated to about 1700, in a building on White's Bog. After the nails were cleaned, some were incorporated into the church. Large black nails remain visible in the door between the church and sacristy. Basement inscriptions name vestry members, the contractor, the construction crew, and the plaster formula. A brick embedded in a cellar wall came from Christopher White's house, described as South Jersey's first brick building.
Grace carried pieces of the 1861 church into the new one. The altar, baptismal font, and pews came from the earlier building. Part of its rood screen stands in the right alcove beside the organ, and the cross above the pulpit came from the same screen.
Organ, Steeple, and Continuing Cross
The Holtcamp Pipe Organ is another defining feature. The design allowed for a steeple, although the 1937 budget did not. In 1950, the church erected a steeple in honor of Franklin Chambers and removed the original wrought iron cross from the roof. That cross now stands in the Holy Week garden and is usually at the rear of the church.
Four Acres and a Creekside Chapel
Grace's four acres extend down to the Rancocas Creek. Lawn and gardens offer benches and quiet places to sit among trees and flowers. The grounds include the Memorial Garden and Green Chapel, an outdoor sanctuary along the North Branch. Available at all times and open to all faiths, the chapel is a place to visit, pray, meditate, worship, and listen to nature.
During a silent retreat, Toby Green noticed a curved indentation in the creekside hillside and envisioned an outdoor chapel there. A donated cedar tree provided its pews, while stones from Arney's Mount formed the altar. Kayakers can pass on the water, and geese, ducks, a beaver, egrets, and the occasional muskrat appear around the grounds.
Green Chapel was dedicated by Bishop George Councell in 2013 and rededicated by Bishop William Chip Stokes in 2015. A small library at its entrance holds books of prayer, contemplative sayings, and even bug spray. People of every faith are welcome to visit this blessed outdoor space.
Grace and the Work of Formation
Grace's mission is to preach the Gospel and use the total resources of the congregation for God's work. It relies on the gift and mystery of God's grace, and Christ's truth defines its way and life. The parish's Nicene Creed affirms one God, Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son who was crucified, rose again, and will come again, and the Holy Spirit. Christ is named as God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten and not made, and of one Being with the Father. The creed also affirms the Spirit as Lord and giver of life, one holy catholic and apostolic Church, one baptism for forgiveness of sins, resurrection, and the life of the world to come.
Formation includes adult and child Bible study, Sunday School and Christian Education, and Vacation Bible School. Faith Formation meets by Zoom at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. Vacation Bible School has served children from pre-K4 through eighth grade, beginning with a shared meal before activities.
The parish also offers Coffee Hour fellowship, Men's and Women's Clubs, field trips that have included kayaking and camping, and a Prayer Shawl Ministry that creates shawls for people outside the congregation. Its sacramental life includes baptism, confirmation, and weddings, while the Memorial Garden provides another setting for remembrance. Together, these activities extend Grace's emphasis on Scripture, prayer, music, fellowship, and service.
Food Pantry and Wider Service
Grace's food pantry is open from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on every third Saturday of each month. It operates in the church hall complex and provides free food items to families in need. Dozens of families receive food each month, making the hall a place of regular direct service as well as parish gatherings. The pantry is one expression of Grace's commitment to follow Jesus and serve others.
The pantry belongs to a wider pattern of care. Grace has supported after-school and summer programs for children and youth at a local community center, participated in ecumenical Vacation Bible School, joined other local churches for Thanksgiving services, and contributed to the Seamen's Institute. Holiday meals, fish fries, Shrove Tuesday pancakes, flea markets, and family events have also brought the parish together with neighbors.
Gifts support the youth program, food pantry, holiday meals, organ restoration, ecumenical Vacation Bible School, children and youth programs at the community center, and care of the buildings and grounds. Giving is available through PayPal, and mailed gifts may be sent to the church at 43 Elizabeth Street in Pemberton, New Jersey 08068.
Holy Week, Christmas, and Seasonal Worship
Grace's worship extends into Holy Week, Christmas, and other marks of the church year. Holy Week observances have included Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, an Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday, sometimes shared with St. Martin in the Fields in Lumberton. Grace has also joined other local churches for Thanksgiving services and has made Shrove Tuesday pancakes and Lenten fish fries part of its seasonal meals.
The annual Service of Lessons and Carols has paired full choir and organ with scripture readings and was followed by a shared potluck reception. Christmas worship has included a choral prelude before the Vigil and Festival Eucharists with choir, organ, and trumpet. Grace also holds an annual Blessing of the Animals, inviting pets, pictures of pets, or pet toys, and has offered Blue Christmas Mass with special music and guest musicians.
Shrove Tuesday supper is tied to the night before Lent, and Ash Wednesday has been marked with solemn worship at the beginning of the Lenten season. Christmas observances have also included a Festival Eucharist after carols, with choir, organ, and trumpet adding to the music. These services place the choir and seasonal observances at the center of Grace's worship life.
Welcoming in Practice
Grace is a welcoming and diverse community whose welcome extends through Scripture, prayer, music, fellowship, and service to others. Sunday's many participation roles, the church and hall's wheelchair access, optional masks, the livestream, and the all-faiths Green Chapel make that welcome practical as well as expressed in words.
The parish's identity is closely tied to place. A choir that sings, stones from Arney's Mount, old nails and etched glass, four acres of lawns and gardens, and a chapel open beside the Rancocas Creek all belong to the life of Grace Church. Its mission remains to preach the Gospel through Scripture, prayer, worship, fellowship, and service.