History: Becoming Episcopalian...


With the completion of the "new" church building in 1786, The Rev. Nicholas Collin resigned from his charge in New Jersey. He had fond memories of his parishioners and had brought the churches at Raccoon and Penns Neck from a chaotic state to a prosperous one in his sixteen years of hard work. He moved to Gloria Dei in Philadelphia mainly to improve his health and with the hope of being called home to Sweden. At this point the Swedish Mission was drawing to a close. The language was almost extinct and Collin said that the people no longer felt "the bond of sympathy with the land of their forbears that permeated their fathers." The congregations in New Jersey did not desire new pastors from Sweden and could not afford to offer them decent support. This left Trinity Church without a regular minister. Collin notes that he did return to "perform divine service every third Sunday during the summer and autumn of 1786 and by longer intervals the two following years". A Reverend Christian Street of Virginia, a German Lutheran minister, was offered the rectorship of the church at Swedesboro in 1788 but declined the offer. In October 1789 a semblance of affiliation by Trinity Church with the Episcopal Church in America began. The records show that the church engaged as a Reader, a young Episcopal divinity student by the name of John Croes for a "tryal" period of six months.

This change from Swedish Lutheran affiliation to the Episcopal Church was not surprising. In the book, The Anglican Church in New Jersey, frequent reference is made to how the Anglican Church, in its early struggles to establish parishes throughout New Jersey, depended not only on the missions in Pennsylvania but upon the Swedish Lutheran clergy "who always lived in harmony and friendship with their Anglican neighbors" to assist with services. When Penns Neck had no regular pastor (1744-50), Anglican missionaries visited on Sundays and holy days and expected the Swedes and English to form one congregation. The cordiality continued throughout the colonial period. When the Swedish Church decided to abandon its mission in America, most parishes adopted the Prayer Book of the Anglican Church as Swedish speech and customs had faded. Thus, John Croes was called to Trinity.

The Reverend John Croes was ordained as Deacon on February 28, 1790 and became the first Episcopal minister to serve Trinity. He was ordained a Priest in 1792 and attended the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey in June 1792, representing Trinity, "Sweedsborough" according to the convention proceedings.

In the book, Swedesboro Yesterday and To-Day it is noted that Croes had served as a private in the Revolutionary War and was illiterate. The drummer of his regiment taught him letters on his drumhead and after the war he continued his studies and finally entered the ministry. He never saw his drummer teacher again until he left Philadelphia to come to Trinity. Since he was very poor, he walked the entire distance and stopped at the Death of the Fox Inn (Mt. Royal) for refreshment. He found his first tutor, Daniel Coleman, as "drunk as a fiddler, surrounded by a crowd of loafers whom he was entertaining with maudlin songs". Croes rescued his old comrade, took him to Swedesboro and placed him in charge of the new school. Coleman became the most prominent of the early teachers, studied law and later became Secretary of the State of New Jersey. Croes, after eleven years in Swedesboro, transferred to Christ Church New Brunswick and later became the first bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey.

Ironically the transition from the Swedish Lutheran Church to the Protestant Episcopal Church seems to have been accomplished without a formal declaration by the vestry, the congregation or the Episcopal Diocese. Real estate transactions continued to be conducted under the corporate name of "The Swedish Lutheran Church at Raccoon" until 1952 when the vestry adopted a resolution stating that "our present name, the Evangelical Lutheran Church be legally changed to Trinity Episcopal Church, Swedesboro". Croes, without explanation, simply titled his records as "Record of the Proceedings of the Corporation of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Swedesborough called Trinity Church, late the Swedish Lutheran Evangelical Church, during the Pastoral Care of the Rev'd John Croes".

When Croes left in 1802, The Rev. Henry Feltus became rector. During his time, St. Peter's Church at Berkley (Clarksboro), then a struggling and badly served organization, was taken under the care of Trinity. It became the regular charge of the rectors at Trinity until 1826. Under the rectorship of Rev. Norman Nash in 1834, the Moravian Church was transferred to the ownership of Trinity (it is now the property of the Gloucester County Historical Society). The Rev. George Freeman served here in 1841 and later became Bishop of Arkansas. Rev. C.N. Chevrier served from 1868 to 1872 and the stained glass window over the altar is given in his memory. In the early 1800's J. Loring Woart served, as did his brother, John Woart. Their names, and those of all the former rectors, are recorded in the church records and in stories and news about the development of the town and surrounding area. Vestry Minutes record the history of the rectors and the congregations over the years.

The Swedish Lutherans founded Trinity Church. In less than 100 years, it became an Episcopal parish. Today, the Episcopal and Lutheran Churches are working together under the "Call to Common Mission Agreement". Who knows what the future will bring to our parish?