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Parish History
Grace-St. Paul’s parish is the realization of a vision by forward-looking parishioners from two congregations, Grace Church in East Trenton and St. Paul’s in South Trenton, New Jersey. Both congregations began as missions of St. Michael’s, Trenton, 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 Church to create new possibilities for ministry by relocating 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 original church and parish hall were completed in November 1949. The parish hall was dedicated November 27 of that year to the memory of the first rector of Grace Church, the Rev. Milton A. Craft, whose devotion and leadership (1893 to 1935) forged a spiritual direction for many years, including establishing 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 (see photo inset).
In the late 1970s, families began to migrate out of the parish, restricting budgets. The response was two-fold: the 1981 Venture in Mission campaign, designed to fund new ministries in the Diocese of NJ, and a 1988 vestry retreat, which convened to reorder priorities and responsibilities. In 1990, a mission statement was adopted; by 1994, the parish leadership had developed a vision to carry out that mission statement. In the following decade, we expanded Christian formation and outreach opportunities and housed homeless families as a founding congregation of the Mercer County Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in 1997. Several clergy and lay members worked diligently to help organize IHN/Mercer, serving as board members and congregational coordinators. Grace St. Paul's served as a host congregation throughout IHN’s 10-year existence in Mercer County.
The Emma Henderson Fund for Mission, Ministry, and Education allowed us to expand our clergy staff. The Building for Ministry Capital Fund of 1995 enabled us to renovate our meeting and fellowship facilities, making our buildings accessible to the disabled and improving the lighting and sound system. In 2004, further improvements added a 28-rank pipe organ to fill the balcony, and the sanctuary with music.
In 2005, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the merger of Grace and St. Paul’s congregations. The generous bequest of Mary Burgess in 2006 allowed us to establish three Funds: the Burgess Ministry Outreach Endowment, for projects beyond Grace-St. Paul’s; the Burgess Endowment for support of the ministry budget of the parish; and the Burgess Facilities Fund to fund needed capital improvements to the church facilities.