Buildings and Grounds

All Saints Church is located three blocks west of the Atlantic Ocean at the corner of Lake Avenue and Howe Street in the Borough of Bay Head, Ocean County, New Jersey. The campus consists of two separate buildings that reflect the character and growth of the parish.

The original church was a simple structure nestled on a marshy plot of land. The church expanded by the addition of a narthex and bell tower in 1901. In 1980, Bristol Hall was built on the Lake Avenue side of the church. It was designed to serve as a gathering place for fellowship. Bristol Hall is attached directly to the church building and currently contains the rector's office, parish hall and kitchen, and business office for the church. Bristol Hall is currently used for the Church School, nursery and various meetings. Community groups, including a Brownie Troop, a Girl Scout Troop, Alcoholics Anonymous, and others also use Bristol Hall for meetings during the week.

Over the years, both the church and Bristol Hall have been carefully maintained and modernized. New chandeliers were installed in the nave and crossing in 1999 to improve the lighting in the church. The following year, a wireless microphone system was installed for the lay readers and rector to ensure that everyone could hear all of the service clearly. That same year, an old storage closet was converted to a choir robing room. And to protect our parishioners as well as these buildings and many irreplaceable furnishings, the installation of a fire sprinkler system was also completed in 2000.

Fortunately in all the expansion and modernization of these facilities, All Saints has retained its rustic beauty. The exterior siding and roof of both Bristol Hall and the church are finished with natural cedar shingles, which is typical of original Bay Head architecture. In keeping with its origins as a seaside chapel, All Saints' interior from floor to ceiling remains covered by wainscoting -- resembling the hull of an inverted wooden boat. And parishioners still worship in the same rough-hewn pews of the original sanctuary area.

But perhaps it is the church setting, particularly the approach from across a footbridge, that has inspired many regional artists. Behind the church and Bristol Hall is a secluded outdoor area that backs up to Scow Ditch, a tidal waterway connecting Twilight Lake with the Barnegat Bay. A Memorial Garden is located here as well as a columbarium. With the spirea, impatiens, and more in bloom, this area offers a delightful worship space for Saturday evening services during the summer.

While the church property is professionally landscaped, parishioners tend to the grounds themselves. Several avid gardeners spend many hours throughout the year selecting the new plants and trees that are purchased as memorial gifts, planning the design of the gardens around the church property, as well as planting and weeding the flower beds regularly. Semi-annually, members of the congregation join in a Saturday morning "clean up party" for trimming and mulching the shrubbery and celebrating their efforts with lunch.

In 2000, All Saints Church purchased a residence immediately to the south of Bristol Hall at 518 Lake Avenue. As membership increased since All Saints became a year-round parish in 1984, we outgrew our facility. In September of 2002, we broke ground to connect the new building with Bristol Hall. The project is now complete, and we have formal classrooms for the Sunday School, a new commercial kitchen, more private conference space, a larger business office, a larger rector's office, and an expanded Bristol Hall to accommodate our growing parish family.