Welcome to St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
North Arlington, NJ USA

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A Brief History of Saint Paul’s Church

Saint Paul’s Church was the first house of worship established in North Arlington. Started as a mission on April 3, 1914, the first service was on Palm Sunday, April 5 at the home of Mrs. Edgar Ward with an attendance of four.

Ground was broken on October 19, 1914, for the erection of a Parish Hall and the cornerstone was laid on November 8, 1914. Much of the labor and material for the original building was donated.

The 1940’s and 50’s saw a slow but steady growth that culminated in the mission being accepted as a Parish by the Diocesan Convention in 1958.

Saint Paul’s became Site #11 of the Bergen County Nutrition Program for the Elderly in February 1977, where it remains to this day. Hundreds of thousands of meals have been served at the church and delivered to the homebound.

Friday, June 9, 1978 was a lovely summer day and evening. This all changed with the sound of sirens at 9:20P.M. The church was on fire! It took over 100 firefighters until Saturday morning at 2:15A.M. to put the fire out. Most saddened spectators returned home at about 4:00A.M. That Sunday, the service was held in the church yard.

Plans were made to rebuild the church in its pre-1922 location. The return to the new building took place on January 21, 1980. The sad circumstance was the funeral for long- time Warden Alexander Allan. He died the day the organ and stained glass windows were being installed in the new structure.

A much happier occasion was the first Sunday services in the new church on February 10 that were attended by a total of seventy-five congregants. Over 225 were present for the Consecration of the new church on April 20, 1980.

Over the next years the parish continued to minister to older members of the community, and opened its plant to civic and benevolent organizations. AA and Al-Anon groups still meet each week in the library and parish hall.

The people of Saint Paul’s continue to reach out with the good news of Christ’s presence and God’s love to all. The care of all parts of human life are seen as one: that we do good and distribute and give of ourselves for the spread of the kingdom. The hard sacrificial work of past generations is remembered and continued by a small but growing congregation, evolving to serve the needs of a changing community.

St. Paul's is a part of the Anglican Communion, and the Episcopal Church Diocese of Newark.

Meet the Rector

Thomas Logan Jr. has been with Saint Paul’s since September 1996 and was installed as Priest-in-Charge on February 14, 1998. In that short time, he has helped to increase the average Sunday attendance of a dozen by threefold.

Father Logan comes to Saint Paul’s after twenty years of religious and military service. He has served as a Navy Chaplain after a previous stint in the US Marine Corps. A father of five, he is temporarily separated from his wife Karol and youngest daughters in Florida— while he finishes his doctorate from General Theological Seminary in New York City.

He is a graduate of Westminster Choir College and Princeton Theological Seminary; and earned his Master’s degree at General. Prior to coming to Saint Paul’s, he served two years as Chaplain at Trinity Preparatory High School in Orlando, Florida.

Father Logan’s presence has had a huge impact on the congregation of Saint Paul’s Church. More adults and children have become lay ministers and acolytes than the church has seen in a long time. The Sunday service now has a sub-deacon and several chalice bearers.

After years of decline, things have begun to turn around. Father Logan has dubbed this road to recovery as “Journey to Bell Day." After the fire, the bell from the original church building was never remounted and stood in the church yard, where it had weathered over the years. On the day he was made Priest-in-Charge, the bell was brought inside the church and blessed by Bishop John McKelvey of the Diocese of Newark. It is now a symbol and a goal for Saint Paul’s. Over the next three years, the bell will be restored and remounted. When the bell rings again, it will be a symbol that Saint Paul’s has recovered.

St. Paul's (directions) Church is located at the corner of York Road and Sunset Avenue in North Arlington, NJ - (201) 991-7252

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Worship Service Schedule

Sundays

Wednesdays - 10:00 am - Holy Communion

Education and Fellowship Activities

Further Reading

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