Christ Church owes its beginning to the Church of England's Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which sent the Rev. George Keith to New Jersey in 1702. At a celebration of Holy Communion on Christmas Day of that year in the home of Lewis Morris, a prominent land owner and later a Colonial governor of New Jersey, a group of twenty citizens formally organized as Christ Church in Shrewsbury.

In 1706 Nichols Brown donated the property on which the church now stands, and about 1712 a small building of stone and brick was erected.

Early worship, dependent upon an occasional visit from a traveling priest, was on an irregular basis. It was not until 1733 that a resident missionary was sent by the Society to serve Shrewsbury and congregations at Freehold and Middletown.

In 1738 a Royal Charter was granted by King George II. A bequest in 1739 of a large fertile farm or glebe from William Leeds, one of the founders, made Shrewsbury a desirable spot for English missionaries. The last was the Rev. Samuel Cooke, a Cambridge graduate, who served form 1751 until 1775.

When the SPG sent to Shrewsbury in 1743 a schoolmaster, Christopher Reynolds the first common school in Eastern New Jersey was opened on the church's property. In addition to his teaching both adults and children, Reynolds on Sundays led the congregation in the singing of psalms, until his death in 1760.

During Cook's rectorship the present church building was erected in 1769, designed by a prominent Philadelphia architect, William Smith, and financed by a lottery. The building houses a 1708 "Vinegar" Bible, and many other antiquities of interest.

During the nineteenth century Christ Church prospered as the population of Monmouth County grew. The present rectory was built in 1825, bringing the rector "in town" from the church's glebe. Under the leadership of the Rev. Harry Finch, rector from 1830 to 1863, Christ Church helped in the founding of other parishes in the county, including churches at Long brand and Red Bank.

The church's interior was greatly improved in 1874, and a clock tower was added, topped by the original belfry and weathervane.

In 1899 a parish house was built, replacing the old one room schoolhouse. It was enlarged in 1955 and completely remodeled in 1976.

The church's 1769 weathervane, believed to be the only one remaining in America with the British crown atop, was restored in 1982 through gifts of neighbors and friends.

Christ Church Parish was founded in 1702. The church is on the National and State Registers of Historic Places and is part of the Four Corners Historic District, which includes the neighboring Presbyterian and Quaker houses of worship and the Allen House.

Facts retrieved from The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey 1785-1985 a Bicentennial Historical Book, compiled by Rev. David R. King, Historiographer.

Clergy of Christ Church
	1702-1703	George Keith
	1703-1713	Alexander Innes
	1733-1737	John Forbes
	1737-1746	John Miln
	1746-1751	Thomas Thompson
	1751-1775	Samuel Cooke
	1788-1799	Henry Waddell
	1799-1806	Andrew Fowler
	1809-1824	John Croes
	1824-1830	Eli Wheeler
	1830-1863	Harry Finch
	1863-1866	Thomas J. Taylor
	1866-1875	Wiliam B. Otis
	1875-1898	Benjamin Franklin
	1898-1906	William N. Baily
	1906-1919	Frederick P. Swezey
	1919-1922	Alanson Q. Baily
	1922-1942	Carroll M. Burck
	1942-1947	Robert D. Smith
	1947-1948	J. Lawrence Ware
	1948-1959	Theodore E. A. LeVan
	1959-1964	Anselm Broburg
	1964-1970	Ronald G. Albury
	1971-1988	Edward M. Story
	1988-1995	James E. LaSage
	1997-present	Lisa S. Mitchell

Triptychs

The Triptychs at Christ Church

The Triptych which has hung over the stairs leading to the basement of the Parish House was in loan last year for an exhibit at St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, NY, called "Walls Speak: The Narrative Art of Hildreth Meiere".

The exhibit was such a success that they have been granted permission by our Vestry for their request to take our piece, along wit their entire exhibit, to the National Building Museum in Washington, DC for a showing in 2011. The Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University will take care of transporting the triptych to the National Building Museum and will return it back to us at the end of the loan period.

A point of interest: the image portrayed on our Triptych is actually part an art work at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue in New York, from whom we received our Stained Glass Windows (which have been recently restored and rededicated).

Our other Triptych, which hangs on the south wall of the Parish Hall just above the small altar, also has a linked history with the first. The artist is by Nina Barr Wheeler. It is identified as No. 48 and was sent to Christ Church on June 1sst, 1973. Nina Barr Wheeler was an associate of Hildreth Meiere. This information was acquired through the records at the American Art Archives by a friend of Christ Church Catherine Kiser, who lives in the Washington DC area (and happens to be the sister-in-law of our Parish Historian, Bob Kelly).

Some Commonly Asked Questions about Triptychs…

Well, you might ask, what is a triptych?

A triptych is a work of art (usually a panel painting) divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and folded.

How did Christ Church come into possession of these objets d'art?

An excellent question to which we do not know the complete answer yet. Here is what we know. During WWII there was a group called the Committee for the Army, Navy and Air Corps that commissioned art works for use by the armed forces. One goal of this organization was to provide settings for military personnel to worship. These triptychs were two of over 500 of those commissions. While these were made of wood, some were made of metal for use on ships. Exactly how these were acquired is not completely clear, but their acquisition dates to the mid 1970s during the rectorship of Reverend Edward Story. However their mounting on the walls of the parish hall did not occur until the arrival of Father Jim LeSage who, when advised they were stored in the basement, asked for their placement as they are today.

Why were they in the basement?

One parishioner says that Fr. Story never liked them and banished them.

Well if he did not like them why were they acquired during his term?

A mystery.

Who is Hildreth Meiere?

She is a mid-twentieth century artist specializing in various forms of Art Deco style renditions. Her work can be seen throughout the country including major elements at the St. Louis RC Cathedral, St. Bartholomew's in New York City, and Rockefeller Center.

How did they know we had it?

A record of the Committee's commissions is kept at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. We are delighted that we are able to share a piece of our heritage with the broader community.

~ Information on Triptychs was supplied by Robert M. Kelly, Jr., Parish Historian