Grace Episcopal Church
- This article is about the Episcopal church and parish. For the other churches see Grace Church (disambiguation).
Grace Episcopal Church is a parish church located at 5712 1st Avenue North in Woodlawn.
The church was established as Calvary Mission in 1889 and organized as a parish in 1890. The current site was purchased from Obadiah Washington Wood in February 1890 and a wood-framed meeting house erected on the present site by the congregation of about 18 families. The church was admitted to the diocese as a parish on May 22, 1902. The present sandstone building was completed in 1927. It was designed by James E. Green. Three stained glass windows behind the altar were installed in 1954. The stained glass windows were fabricated by the Birmingham Leaded Glass Works. The parish hall was built in 1959 and an education and office wing, Henckell Hall, was added in 1974.
Grace Episcopal Church operates a food pantry and clothes closet for the benefit of needy persons in the community, and serves hot meals through the Community Kitchens ministry. The church also hosts English as a second language classes and other outreach programs. Interfaith Hospitality House was founded at Grace Episcopal Church in 1983 and occupied a house next to the church now used by Three Hots and a Cot as the St Benedict's Veterans Center. Some of Grace's ministries are supported by the 55th Place thrift store, which the church established in 1989. The congregation is a member of One Roof Alabama in support of community efforts to end homelessness. In 1998 a Spanish-speaking congregation Iglesias Episcopal de la Gracia as formed at the church.
The congregation was the first mainline congregation to participate in the Birmingham Pride Parade and won the "Most Outstanding Parade Entry" in 1999. The church established a food pantry in 2004 and began a summer program GraceWorks for children and youth in 2013.
The Woodlawn EcoScape adjoins the church building on 58th Street North.
Rectors
- Daniel Forney Hoke, 1902
- Carl Henckell
- Leon C. Palmer, 1939
- Charles Horn, 1977-1987
- Maurice Branscomb, 1988–1997
- Timothy Holder, 1997
- Ruth Bradbury LaMonte, 2002- (interim)
- Roberts Poinsett Johnson III
- Robyn Arnold, 2012–2022
- Mary Bea Sullivan, 2022 (interim)
- José R. Fernández, 2023-
References
- Dawson, Caleb and Jesse Hamner, eds. (1995) Our Church, photography by Robert G. Chapman. Tuscaloosa: Robert G. Chapman.
- Schnorrenberg, John M. and Janice Ford-Freeman (1999) Walking Tours of Birmingham Churches Conducted from 1990 to 1999. Privately printed for the Birmingham Historical Society.
- Chambers, Jesse (February 22, 2017) "‘Everybody welcome’ at historic Grace Episcopal Church." Iron City Ink
- Grace Episcopal Church (November 2022) "Grace Episcopal Church Woodlawn Parish Profile" Grace Episcopal Church
- Cournoyer, Andrea and John Michael Tarleton (April 5, 2023) "Grace Episcopal Church in Woodlawn" Magic City Religion
External Links
- Grace Episcopal Church website