Grace Episcopal Church (Alexandria, Virginia)
| Grace Church Alexandria | |
|---|---|
| Location | Russell Road Alexandria, Virginia |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Episcopal |
| Website | http://www.gracealex.org |
| History | |
| Founded | 1855 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1948 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Grace Church Alexandria |
| Diocese | Episcopal Diocese of Virginia |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Robert Malm |
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.
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." [1] 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.
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.
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