A Brief History of St. David’s Church
St. David’s is not the first Episcopal church in the Cranbury-Hightstown area: that was Trinity Church, an Episcopal congregation that met in Hightstown from 1859 to 1956. Attendance had dwindled by the time Trinity closed, but by 1967, a growing population in the area led to the establishment of a Cranbury-Hightstown-East Windsor Mission Committee, which began planning for a new congregation.
With the support of the Diocese of New Jersey, the mission group held its first celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the auditorium of Meadow Lakes Retirement Village in Hightstown on December 28, 1967. The mission group now had the authority to complete arrangements with Peddie School, Hightstown, to hold services in its Ayer Chapel on a regular basis. The first service at Peddie was a milestone event attended by about 60 worshippers.
As the year 1968 continued, events moved steadily toward the establishment of what we know today as St. David’s Church. An amendment to the diocesan Constitution and Canons allowing two or more parishes to establish and maintain a parochial chapel was passed at Diocesan Convention. Following the convention, clergy in the area held a general meeting to implement the new canon.
The name chosen for the new congregation — at the suggestion of two of the original members, Angela Holman, and Rae Kerr, wife of Peddie School’s headmaster — was St. David’s Chapel of Cranbury, East Windsor, and Hightstown, in honor of the patron saint of Wales. On July 7, 1968, St. David’s Chapel held its first official service at Peddie School with 97 people present. Following a search, the Rev. Laurence D. Fish was called as vicar of the new congregation.
In the early years, St. David’s received financial, physical, and moral support from other parishes in the diocese. However, the congregation was frustrated because it lacked the space for weekday services, meetings, and church events. A search was soon underway for a permanent space, and in 1973, the congregation purchased a six-acre lot in Cranbury.
Ground for a church building was broken in June 1981, and the first service was held in the new sanctuary in October 1982. In November 1987, St. David’s was recognized as a self-supporting parish by the Diocesan Convention. Fr. Fish stepped down in 2003, and in 2005, the Rev. Karin R. Mitchell became rector.
In 2008, the congregation celebrated its 40th anniversary, but parishioners already had their minds on the future, not the past. In June of 2010, St. David’s broke ground for a long-anticipated addition, and the new space was dedicated by Bishop George Councell n June 2011. It includes a large parish hall and updated kitchen; a new library named in honor of Fr. Fish; a sacristy and choir room; and new Sunday school classrooms. These new facilities not only provide a growing congregation with much-needed space, they enable St. David’s to continue its mission of offering hospitality to community groups and individuals who use the new parish hall and classrooms for meetings and other functions.
—with thanks to Helen M. Cushman, author of A History of St. David’s Episcopal Church, Cranbury
With the support of the Diocese of New Jersey, the mission group held its first celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the auditorium of Meadow Lakes Retirement Village in Hightstown on December 28, 1967. The mission group now had the authority to complete arrangements with Peddie School, Hightstown, to hold services in its Ayer Chapel on a regular basis. The first service at Peddie was a milestone event attended by about 60 worshippers.
As the year 1968 continued, events moved steadily toward the establishment of what we know today as St. David’s Church. An amendment to the diocesan Constitution and Canons allowing two or more parishes to establish and maintain a parochial chapel was passed at Diocesan Convention. Following the convention, clergy in the area held a general meeting to implement the new canon.
The name chosen for the new congregation — at the suggestion of two of the original members, Angela Holman, and Rae Kerr, wife of Peddie School’s headmaster — was St. David’s Chapel of Cranbury, East Windsor, and Hightstown, in honor of the patron saint of Wales. On July 7, 1968, St. David’s Chapel held its first official service at Peddie School with 97 people present. Following a search, the Rev. Laurence D. Fish was called as vicar of the new congregation.
In the early years, St. David’s received financial, physical, and moral support from other parishes in the diocese. However, the congregation was frustrated because it lacked the space for weekday services, meetings, and church events. A search was soon underway for a permanent space, and in 1973, the congregation purchased a six-acre lot in Cranbury.
Ground for a church building was broken in June 1981, and the first service was held in the new sanctuary in October 1982. In November 1987, St. David’s was recognized as a self-supporting parish by the Diocesan Convention. Fr. Fish stepped down in 2003, and in 2005, the Rev. Karin R. Mitchell became rector.
In 2008, the congregation celebrated its 40th anniversary, but parishioners already had their minds on the future, not the past. In June of 2010, St. David’s broke ground for a long-anticipated addition, and the new space was dedicated by Bishop George Councell n June 2011. It includes a large parish hall and updated kitchen; a new library named in honor of Fr. Fish; a sacristy and choir room; and new Sunday school classrooms. These new facilities not only provide a growing congregation with much-needed space, they enable St. David’s to continue its mission of offering hospitality to community groups and individuals who use the new parish hall and classrooms for meetings and other functions.
—with thanks to Helen M. Cushman, author of A History of St. David’s Episcopal Church, Cranbury
