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Welcome to Grace!
Absolutely everyone is welcome at this parish. Wherever you are from…whatever your education, job status, age, marital status, physical challenge, politics, race, gender, or sexual orientation…wherever you are on your spiritual path…you are welcome at Grace, where we hope you will find a community of faith to support and encourage you.
We are an Episcopal Church which is catholic in tradition, Anglican in its heritage, centered on the life of prayer and sacraments, believing in the real presence of God in our lives. We worship God through a traditional liturgy, celebrated with open minds and generous hearts.
We are a diverse community made up of people from all walks of life throughout the greater Hartford Connecticut region. The word catholic implies a unity embracing diversity. Though we are made up of many different people, we are unified by our faith in Christ Jesus. We are one people believing in one Lord, one faith and one Baptism.
A VISION FOR GRACE CHURCH:
A Christ-centered sanctuary in which all can find inspiration, communion and purpose in their worship of God and their service to others.
THE MISSION OF GRACE CHURCH:
To build up a strong, worshipping community of caring people reaching out to others in the name of Christ.
A Brief History
Grace Church is one of the oldest places of worship in Hartford. It was consecrated on the feast of Saint Martin, November 11, 1868, by the Right Reverend John Williams, fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut. The parish began in the early 1860's as a Sunday school on Baker Road (now New Park Avenue) in Parkville, under the care of Trinity Church, Sigourney Street. It was organized as Trinity Mission in 1863, and remained a chapel of Trinity Church until 1912, when it became an independent parish with the encouragement of the Reverend Ernest de Fremery Miel, then rector of Trinity.
Since that time there have been eight rectors:
Frederick J. K. Alexander, 1913-1920
Paul Humphrey Barbour, 1920-1923
Frederick F.H. Nason, 1923-1951
Robert F. Sweetser, 1951-1954
Nelson L. Chowenhill, 1954-1970
Bruce Stewart Chamberlain, 1971- 1981
Christopher Lee Rose 1982 - 2002
[Charles Bevan, Jr. (Interim) 2002 - 2004]
Richard Anderson Maxwell 2004 - 2015
Rowena J. Kemp 2017-present
Early in the ministry of Father Nason, Grace Church became Anglo-Catholic, with masses celebrated twice on Sunday and almost every day of the week, the Reserved Sacrament, Benediction, full observance of Lent including Stations of the Cross, and observance of saints' days and all other festival occasions.
Originally the congregation lived almost entirely in the then suburban neighborhood, and walked to church. During the last fifty years the parish's style of worship and piety has attracted attendance from the whole Hartford metropolitan area, and visitors from many distant places.
Worship at Grace
We celebrate the real presence of Christ in the sacrament of the altar, in the hearts of God’s people, and in the whole of creation. We strive to greet each person we encounter as if we were meeting Christ.
Our worship is centered on the Eucharist. Each Sunday we celebrate both a low mass at 8:00 a.m. and a solemn high, or sung, mass at 10:30 a.m. Grace is noted for its very fine music in the Anglican tradition, which is an important element of every 10:30 Sunday mass. We are blessed with a gifted volunteer choir of men and women, and our music director, Kyle Swann, is well known throughout Connecticut as a pianist, organist, operatic director and accompanist.
Our worship is conducted in traditional Anglo-Catholic fashion. This means, among other things, that incense is used at every sung or high mass, symbolizing our prayers rising to God; sanctus bells are rung to indicate that something important is happening at the altar; and the priest faces “east” to celebrate the mass. These practices are unfamiliar to some Episcopalians. But they are not meant to be exclusionary or alienating; rather, they harken back to ancient church practice and are meant to point to the great mystery of God, transcending our everyday lives in this world.
In addition to Sunday worship, we have weekday low masses (please see the schedule below), solemn high masses on feast days (with festive potluck dinners following!), and special devotions during Lent with Stations of the Cross and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament every Friday evening.
We are also committed to bringing the sacrament to hospitals and nursing homes, including a monthly mass at Park Place Health Center, and regularly offer the laying on of hands for healing.
Finally, we foster the prayer life of each of our parishioners, through prayer groups, educational experiences, retreats, and quiet days. We yearn to deepen continually our understanding that we may meet Christ in the face of each person we encounter.
Weekly Service Schedule
Rite I is used for all services, except Wednesday morning low mass when Rite II is used.
Sunday:
8:00 A.M. Low Mass
10:30 A.M. Sung Mass or
Solemn High Mass
Healing Mass
(2nd Tuesday of the month)
Wednesday:
7:15 A.M. Low Mass
Thursday:
5:30 P.M. Low Mass
Worship times
(2nd Tuesday of the month)
Rite I is used for all services, except Wednesday morning low mass when Rite II is used.
Volunteer opportunities
A PLACE OF GRACE
For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me. Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it to me. Mt 25:35,36.
A PLACE OF GRACE Our food pantry provides groceries for approximately 200 needy families on a weekly basis, with the exception of the first Thursday of each month, and the month of August. All of the recipients are our neighbors in the immediate vicinity of the church, residents of the Parkville Elementary School district. Special distributions of dental and health care products are made from time to time as well.
VOLUNTEERS About 30 members and friends of Grace are actively involved in this ministry, and more volunteers are always welcome. Some of the pantry volunteers meet on Wednesday evenings to pack grocery bags, unload cartons of food and sort donations of canned goods. Every week we handle about 5000 pounds of food. Early on Thursday mornings, more volunteers are on hand to collect special bread and bakery donations from area supermarkets, to open the pantry for distributions and to enroll new participants. Much of the food which we distribute is purchased from Foodshare; some comes from USDA supplies and from collections conducted by other churches and synagogues as well as by the Scouts and the U.S. Post Office.
CHRISTMAS TOYS Before Christmas, parish volunteers shop for toys and other appropriate gifts (such as clothing) for the children of our pantry clients. Clients register separately for this service and every effort is made to give the children presents that they need and want. Each year between 300 and 400 children are given gifts.
PARISH HOUSE ADDITION In 1997 Grace church celebrated the successful completion of a major building project — a new wing of the parish house with a large basement storage where food supplies for the pantry can be kept cool and dry. The new wing also includes a convenient area for distribution of food as well as new parish offices. The parish house addition was dedicated on November 11th 1997 on the feast of Saint Martin, our patron saint.
HOW YOU CAN HELP Volunteers are needed on Wednesday evenings from 3:00 PM until 4:30 PM and on Thursday mornings between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM when the Pantry is open. You may volunteer by calling the Church Office at 860-233-0825. We have all sorts of jobs which need to be done. We can find one to fit your abilities.
“A PLACE OF GRACE” FOOD PANTRY IS CLOSED FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST EACH SUMMER and reopens the second week of September Donations for our food pantry and for our Christmas toy program are also welcome and are tax deductible. Please make your check payable to Grace Episcopal Church and write "for Food Pantry” or "for Christmas toys" in the memo area of the check. 100 % of your contribution will go toward these ministries.
55 New Park Ave
Hartford, CT 06106-2123
United States
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