Church History

St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a mid-sized, suburban church in the northern New Jersey community of Chatham. It was consecrated as a mission church in 1909, becoming a parish in 1951. For more than 100 years we have provided Episcopal worship and pastoral services to residents of Chatham and our surrounding communities.

 

In 1885, about 800 people lived in the village of Chatham. That year, Frank Moore, a staunch Episcoplaian, moved to Chatham with his family and set about starting the first Episcopal church in town. Consecrated as a mission church in 1909, St. Paul's "graduated" from mission to parish status in 1951.

 

While we were still a mission church, The Rev'd Guy Emery "Ship" Shipler served as "Vicar" (he conducted services on Sunday's and for baptism,s weddings and funerals, but had no parochial duties) from 1917-1945.  Then, from 1945-1951, The Rev'd Karl G. Kumm (pronounced Koom) was the last Vicar and the first Rector of St. Paul's, serving from 1951-1962.

 

In 1962, the Rev'd Walter Bell was called as rector, and during his 18 years with us, we built a new sanctuary for the church, women became lay readers and a woman priest, the Rev'd Denise Haines, was called as a part-time assistant.

 

The Rev'd John Branson came to St. Paul's in 1980 and served the parish as rector for 10 years, sharing his energy and many gifts with us.

 

In April 1991, the vestry called the Rev. Franklin "Skip" Vilas, D.Min., to become the rector of St. Paul's. Skip brought to the parish a wide outward-looking focus, and he reflected in his ministry the commitment to environmental stewardship that many in the parish felt important. The Rev. Margaret "Bambi" Smithers Koeniger came as seminarian in training and then, after her ordination in 1995, was named Associate Rector.

 

During his 10 years with us, we conducted a $500,000 capital fund drive, "St. Paul's Tomorrow." The funds were allocated to provide $300,000 for needed upgrades and repairs to the physical structure, $100,000 for endowment, and $100,000 for outreach. The outreach portion was divided among three organizations: Partners for Environmental Quality (now GreenFaith) and others.  We also initiated a Creation Season for the three months before Advent, which has since been adopted by parishes around the world as a way to honor stewardship of the earth.

 

In 1999, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of our first Eucharistic service by hosting a gala brunch for the entire parish to enjoy. Former rectors and Jared Moore, a descendant of our founder and our oldest parishioner, were all in attendance.

 

In 2001, Skip announced his retirement and the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Kaeton was called as our rector in the spring of 2002. A prolific writer, outstanding preacher and teacher, and active participant in Diocesan and National affairs, she presided over many important events and challenges during her eight years with us.  Elizabeth was responsible for bringing Tim Wong to St. Paul's as a full-time Youth and Young Families Missioner, who led St. Paul's youth on mission trips to locations such as Central America, South Carolina and Appalachia. St. Paul's was the beneficiary of several bequests in this period, and we were able to make several improvements to the physical plant, including a beautiful garden area and a major renovation of the sacristy.  In June 2010, Elizabeth announced her resignation, coinciding with a planned sabbatical and appointment as a proctor fellow at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.