History of Christ Church

The first services of the Episcopal Church in Warwick were held during April, 1854 in the Methodist Church and were conducted by The Rev. William H. Carter, Rector of St. Thomas' Church, Vernon, New Jersey. In 1857 a thousand dollars was raised to build a church. A lot was purchased at the corner of Main and Church Streets. Trenches for the foundation were dug, but for some unknown reason, the effort was abandoned.

The beginning years of the parish were uncertain and difficult. No services were held from 1859-1862, but they resumed on July 4, 1862 under the leadership of The Rev. George Gray. However, he remained only until the second Sunday in Advent of that year. Services ceased once again until July 17, 1864 when they resumed under the leadership of The Rev. Nicholas F. Ludlum, Rector of St. Thomas' Church, Vernon. Mr. Ludlum held services at St. Thomas' Church in the morning and at Warwick in the afternoon where the congregation averaged forty souls.

On September 23, 1865 a meeting was held to incorporate the parish and a building committee was appointed. The property at the corner of South and Second Streets was purchased and construction began. The "Carpenter Gothic" church, designed by a Mr. Jardine of New York, was built by Henry McElroy for about $9,000 including the cost of the land. The cornerstone was laid on July 17, 1866 and the building was completed in December. The first services were held on the fourth Sunday in Advent, December 23, 1866. On a very warm July 3, 1867, the building was consecrated by The Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, Bishop of the Diocese of New York. The church maintained a strong role in the community throughout the nineteenth century.

Early in the twentieth century, the church built the present Rectory on an open lot at 5 Second Street. Before that, the dwelling just west of it had served in this capacity. In the 1940's, the Drew House, adjacent to the church was purchased for use as a Parish House. Then, in 1964, this was torn down and the present Parish Hall was erected. On April 5, 1975, this building suffered a disastrous fire. It was rebuilt and rededicated on May 23, 1976 by The Rt. Rev. Harold L. Wright.

In the recent years the completion of two major projects have helped to highlight Christ Church's historical and spiritual nature. In 1988 the exterior of the church building was preserved and in 1992 a new pipe organ was installed. The Peragallo Organ Company built the organ, which contains eleven ranks of pipework and 726 speaking pipes. It was dedicated at an evening ceremony and concert on November 29, 1992.

In 2001 during a pastoral vacancy at the church, the congregation and the community came together to restore and preserve the Rectory. The floors and woodwork were restored, the kitchen enlarged and modernized, wiring was upgraded, all appliances were replaced with new energy efficient ones and the entire building was painted inside and out. The Rectory was rededicated at a special service on November 11, 2001 by the interim Pastor, Ralph E. Peterson D.D.

In the Spring of 2002, Christ Church called our newest pastor. On October 18, 2002 the Rev. J. Scott Barker was installed as the 27th Rector of Christ Church.

As the twenty-first century dawns, Christ Church, which has served as an historical and spiritual landmark in the Warwick Valley since the Civil War, is committed to serving the community for generations yet to come. We celebrated our 150th year of Christ being alive through our church community in 2004. In October 2004 just before our 150th Anniversary Gala, the time capsule that was placed in the foundations of the church was located and removed by Michael Tulin and Rev Barker's son Sam. Several weeks later the time capsule was opened and the contents that were placed in it in 1866 were found to be in a perfect state of preservation. The documents and pictures were all copied and archived and then replaced in the time capsule. On All Saints Day 2006 the time capsule was reinterred in its original location for a future generation to appreciate. We also placed a new time capsule with momentos and family histories from the present time into its resting place in the northern wall of the church marked by a plaque. Thanks be to God.

Tour our stained glass windows here. Presentation takes a little time to load.