Grace Episcopal Church (1852), Plainfield, NJ

Grace Episcopal Church was organized by the Reverend Philemon E. Coe and 15 members as the first Episcopal church in what was then the Village of Plainfield, New Jersey.  The church held its first service on January 11, 1852.  In 1853, the first church building, which seated 200 people, was constructed on what is now East Front Street.

The present site on East Seventh Street was purchased in 1876; and the original building was moved and enlarged. The present church, built in 1892, seats more than 500 people. In 1877, leaders of the parish founded Muhlenberg Hospital, now Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center. It was named for the Reverend William Augustus Muhlenberg, an Episcopal priest and social activist.

The highlights of the first 30 years of the 20th century included the organization in 1903 of the Grace Church mission (now St. Mark’s Church), construction of a parish house in 1905, and the Mumford Memorial Rectory in 1914, installation in 1923 of one of the largest carillons in the United States, and enlargement, in 1930, of the chancel and sanctuary.

SOURCE: GRACE CHURCH