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Forget
all the clichés, the comics, and the caricatures of a state
too casually called “Jersey.”
If
all you can picture is a concrete ribbon called the New Jersey Turnpike—well,
forget that, too. Although it’s real, its mythology and its
exit signs will blind you to the depth, richness, and infuriating
complexity of a state that, more than any other, is a microcosm of
America. 
The state is small in land mass (140 miles north to south and about 65 miles wide), but its diversity, in everything from people and landscape to cities and shore, is breathtaking. So take a breath before you read this: the Diocese of New Jersey encompasses nearly all the state (see the map).
New Jersey is bounded by water on the east, south, and west: it’s a peninsula. The west border is the majestic Delaware River—wide and deep enough for battleships and ocean liners—and on the east the diocese only stops at the Atlantic. All 120-plus miles of shore facing and bracing it, from Sandy Hook to Cape May Point, is within our jurisdiction. Choose your route:
Find a surprising tranquility
Take in the skyline and the shore
Be surprised by the south
Follow the Delaware
Find
a surprising tranquility
If water is a defining characteristic of New Jersey, so are hills,
valleys, and forests. You’ll find those especially in the northwest
corner, an area within a stone’s throw of the Kittatinny Mountains
and the stunning beauty of the Delaware Water Gap. 
One
of the older parishes, St Thomas, Pittstown, and one of the newest,
the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lebanon, are tucked in the northwest
region, which is dotted with wonderful inns, shops, restaurants, and
hiking trails.
Now head northeast to Bernardsville, with its flourishing parishes of St Bernard and St John’s-on-the-Mountain, and you’re at the most northern point of the diocese. The area may seem beautiful and bucolic, but you’re only 45 miles from New York City.
Turning east towards Manhattan, follow Interstate Highway 78, which more or less defines the northern border of the diocese. From Plainfield and Basking Ridge to Metuchen and Edison, the diocese is as much at home in the cosmopolitan life in these suburban towns as it is in the slower pace of the picture-book villages dotting all the counties within our borders.
Take
in the skyline and the shore
Interstate Route 78 will take you to the city of Elizabeth, with its
mother parish of St John, a key church in the eighteenth century that
continues its vibrant ministry today. From Elizabeth salute our urban
neighbors in the Diocese of New York and while you’re at it
sail a paper airplane across one of the runways at Newark Airport
straight into the Diocese of Newark.
You’re at the northeast corner of the diocese now. So turn south along the Arthur Kill, the narrow waters that separate New Jersey from Staten Island, and pass Woodbridge and Perth Amboy, where there was an Anglican presence as early as 1685. You’ll come upon New Brunswick, where three parishes—historic Christ Church, lively St Alban’s, and St John the Evangelist—serve the city and the Rutgers University community.
The
coast now juts east into the Atlantic towards Sandy Hook. You’ll
find Episcopal churches along the Raritan Bay shore towards Highlands,
a town more than 200 feet above the beach—the highest coastal
elevation from Maine to Florida. 
Head
south, passing St George’s-by-the-River, Rumson, our most easterly
parish, and follow the coast down to the charming and consciously
Victorian city of Cape May Point, home of St Peter’s-at-the-Point,
the “Gingerbread Church.”
The shore Atlantic City, with its headline entertainment, the quieter but lovely Ocean City, and a host of parishes all along the coast, each with its own character and history, from Asbury Park to Ventnor City.
Be
surprised by the south
From Cape May, the southernmost point of the diocese, head northwest
into the semi-wilderness of the Pinelands. With more than a million
protected acres, it’s the largest tract of open space east of
the Mississippi. In that enormous swath thick with scrub oak and pitch
pine, there are treasures of wildlife, flora, and some of the best
blueberries on earth. Nearby is the stunning Forsythe Wildlife Preserve,
one of four federally-designated national wildlife preserves, more
than any other state in the East.
As you emerge from the Pinelands, the Delaware River stops any further trek westward. The town of Salem marks the southwest corner of the diocese. St John’s church, founded in 1722, is young compared to the famous Salem oak, planted around 1600 and still standing. Many parishes in this farming area have a ministry to the field workers, especially churches in Hammonton, Vineland, and Glassboro.
Some of the diocese’s oldest parishes are found in the southwest corner. Two examples: Trinity, Swedesboro boasts a long, proud history (which starts with the, er, Swedes in 1703) and St George’s in Pennsville (1714) predates the formation of New Jersey itself.
While
you’re in the southern part of the state, stop by Camden with
its several parishes, from the inner-city mother parish of St Paul’s
to its ring of suburban churches. Take in a Riversharks baseball game
at Camden Field, spend time at the New Jersey State Aquarium, or catch
a show at the Sony Entertainment Centre on the waterfront. Camden
has come a long way in recent years. Never underestimate the New Jersey
spirit!
Follow
the Delaware
From Camden, north along the river, you’ll come upon parish
after Episcopal parish, stretching all the way to quaint Lambertville,
our last river parish in the north. In Beverly, the parish of St Stephen’s
is making a difference in the life of that riverside city as part
of the Riverfront Team Ministry. The
historic city of Burlington is home to three Episcopal churches and
chapels, one of which is the mother parish of the Diocese of New Jersey:
St Mary’s, organized in 1702. Its churchyard is the resting
place of four of the eight deceased bishops of New Jersey.
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Continue along the river, past Bordentown (once the home of Napoleon’s older brother, Joseph) to Trenton, the state capital. The 1792 State House, with its golden dome, was recently refurbished with the help of New Jersey school children. Trenton is home to our cathedral and three other Episcopal churches. St Michael’s, founded in 1703, is a pre-revolutionary parish whose ministry continues to this day. Some of New Jersey’s famous patriots and founding fathers and mothers are buried in its churchyard, smack in the middle of downtown.
Surrounding Trenton is a cluster of parishes, from huge Trinity, Princeton and lively St Matthew’s in Pennington to charming St George’s in Helmetta and tiny Trinity Church, Rocky Hill, whose origins date back to just after the Civil War.
Leaving the Trenton suburbs, head northwest. Following the river, you’ll soon find yourself back in the lush hills and valleys and farm lands of Hunterdon County, the northwest corner of the diocese—where you began.