Grace Episcopal Church (Alexandria, Virginia)

Grace Episcopal Church is an Episcopal Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Grace Church is a parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. The church frequently hosts seminarians from the nearby Virginia Theological Seminary, including introducing some to Anglo-Catholic practices.

History

The church was founded in 1855 as an offshoot of Christ Church where “all may come without regard for temporal estate, freely and without fee, as brethren come one to another.” This was in contrast to the common practice at the time for parishioners to pay a pew tax. During the American Civil War, the church's building was used as a hospital. It was associated with the Oxford Movement.

After World War II, the parish expanded and moved to Alexandria's outskirts, constructing the current church building in gothic style in 1948. A school was built in 1959, and once educated grandchildren of President Dwight Eisenhower during the Massive Resistance crisis in Virginia schools.

Current practice

Today, the parish continues to proclaim itself to be a place, "where all may worship freely by God's grace." The parish is inclusive, and welcomes all persons, regardless of race, color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other attribute. The parish also includes a La Gracia, a Spanish-speaking congregation, which continues at the church but also spun off a parish in nearby Falls Church, Virginia.

Grace Episcopal School accepts children of all faiths and ethnicities.

Openly gay persons serve at every level within the parish, including as vestry members, lay eucharistic ministers, and countless other places. Additionally, for many years the parish advertised in the Washington Blade, a publication for the LGBT community.

Worship

Grace Church considers itself to be High Church or Anglo-Catholic. The Eucharist is the center of worship at Grace Church, and is celebrated at least ten times per week during most of the school year. Masses in English are at 7:30, 9:15, 11 a.m and 5p.m. Sundays, as well as 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 7 a.m. Wednesdays and 12 p.m. Thursdays. Grace Church uses both Rite I and Rite II from the Book of Common Prayer for worship services, and conducts one 9 a.m. mass on Sundays in Spanish.

Architecture

The current church building was constructed in 1948. It has eight stained glass windows, including 6 in the nave. The stained glass windows were made by Willet Hauser Architectural Glass, a leader in the Gothic Revival movement and creator of many of the windows in the National Cathedral, as well as the West Point chapel and other notable buildings. The six windows portray twelve prominent church figures, including:

• Paul of Tarsus
• Athanasius
• Augustine of Hippo
• Bede
• Dunstan
• Anselm of Canterbury
• Francis of Assisi
• Thomas Aquinas
• William Laud
• Samuel Seabury, first bishop of The Episcopal Church
• Edward Pusey
• Bishop Fabian of the Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago

The stained glass window in the narthex is a rose window and contains the phrase And the truth shall make you free.

The pulpit is wood carved, and shows images of five great British evangelists:

• St. Patrick
• St. Margaret of Scotland
• Thomas a Becket
• John Donne
• C. S. Lewis

External links

• Grace Episcopal Church website
• Grace Episcopal School website
• Book of Common Prayer