Grace Church (Providence, R.I.)

Episcopal parish established in Providence, RI 1829; present church structure erected 1846; church bells first rung Easter Sunday, 1861.

Parish founded in 1829; present structure erected in 1846.

Grace Church was founded in Providence in 1829 by parishioners of St. John's Church who wished to have a house of worship closer to their homes on the city's west side. This group of "gentlemen friendly to the organization of a Protestant Episcopal Church. . .on the West Side of Providence," as they described themselves in the minutes of their first meeting, accomplished their goals in short order.

Within two weeks of that first meeting, the group rented a building on the corner of Pine and Richmond street s in Providence and held its first service on May 17, 1829. A vestry was elected on June 2nd and a charter granted by the Rhode Island State Legislature on June 29th. It was not until a year later that the first rector, Samuel Fuller, Jr., was appointed. In the interim, twenty-seven different visiting clergy served the new parish.

The small structure on the corner of Pine and Richmond Streets was inadequate for the needs of the parish and almost from its inception the parish leadership had been seeking a more suitable home. In 1832 that search ended when the parish purchased the Providence Theater building on Westminster St. (the site of the present Grace Church). The converted theater remained the parish's house of worship until it was declared unsafe in late 1844. The parish immediately undertook a subscription drive and in a short time raised $20,000 toward the construction of a new church. Lots were purchased adjacent to the existing structure to provide sufficient space for the new structure. Noted church architect Richard Upjohn of New York was commissioned to design a new Grace Church. The cornerstone was laid on April 8, 1845 and service of consecration held on June 2, 1846. The structure remains largely unchanged today.

Because of the small size and limited financial resources of the Diocese of Rhode Island, its bishop initially also served as a parish rector in order to lessen the burden on diocesan coffers and, at the same time, receive a sufficient salary to sustain him. Grace Church, as the largest and most centrally located parish in the diocese, hosted Bishops John P. K. Henshaw (1843-52) and Thomas March Clark (1854-66) as rectors of the parish. This practice ended in 1866 when Bishop Clark resigned as rector to devote his energies to the diocese as a whole.

The parish continued to grow throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century under the leadership of a series of rectors, the most notable of which was David Greer who served as rector from 1872 to 1888 before moving on to become Bishop of New York. The number of communicants had increased to nearly 1000 by the turn of the century. As its membership of Grace Church increased, so too did the size of its physical plant. A new parish house and chancel were completed in 1912 and the parish house was renovated and enlarged in 1952. The parish also amended its charter in 1920 to eliminate the long-time practice of privately owned and/or rented pews.

Dr. Clarence Horner was appointed rector in 1937 and it was during his twenty-four year tenure that the parish enjoyed its most sustained period of growth. The number of communicants continued to increase and the physical plant continued to expand. The parish also begin to reach out to the broader community through a number of cultural and social programs such as the Service Men's Club in World War II.

Horner died in 1961, but his successors continued and expanded the community outreach programs begun during his tenure. Though in a sense Grace Church's neighborhood could be said to have moved out on it, the parish compensated by expanding its "neighborhood" to all of Providence and the wider community of Rhode Island. Among its many programs are " One-on-One," a program in which church volunteers visit shut-ins throughout the city; " Meals on Wheels," which provides meals to shut-ins, the elderly, and convalescents, as well as a food bank, a thrift center, and a variety of arts and cultural programs.