Welcome to Grace Memorial

Welcome Arriving During Worship Children in Church After the Service How to Dress Contact Us

Welcome!

We are glad you are visiting our website. Grace Memorial is a beautiful church located in a traditional Lynchburg neighborhood. We are convenient to the bus line and all areas of the city and surrounding counties. Our congregation is diverse, friendly and active in outreach to our community. Our worship is gospel-centered, Christ-centered, and joyful. We hope that you will come to visit, and if you are looking for a church home, that you will find one with us.
The Rev. Cathy Montgomery

Arriving

Parking is available in the paved lot (handicap parking on the Fort Avenue side), in the grass lot on the corner, or along New Hampshire Avenue. Please enter the church through the glass doors in the center of the building, the wooden doors under the bell tower, or through the glass doors facing Fort Avenue. An usher will greet each person handing him/her a bulletin which outlines the service. Please sit anywhere that is open. Our pews are not reserved. Space for a wheel chair is available in the first pew on the pulpit side.

Notice that the sanctuary is quiet. This atmosphere of reverence allows the congregation to pray or otherwise prepare for worship. After the service, the mood takes a dramatic change as greetings are exchanged with one another.

During Worship

Most likely visits will occur during a Sunday service of Holy Eucharist. (Check the Home page or Calendar for specific services and times.) Rite I is the traditional service and Rite II is more contemporary. We use The Book of Common Prayer, The Hymnal 1982, and sometimes Lift Every Voice and Sing during worship. Episcopalians do not sit still in church. In general, we stand to sing, for the reading of the Gospel, to say the creed, and for some prayers. We sit during readings from the Old Testament or New Testament Letters, the sermon, and the choir anthems. We kneel for some prayers like the confession and for the post-communion hymn. Your kneeler may need to be lowered for use. Reach up under the pew in front of you to lower the kneeler. Worried about juggling books and our “Episcopal Aerobics”? Please don’t; we understand. And don’t be surprised if someone hands you a book opened to the appropriate page or offers a helpful word. We’re just trying to make you more comfortable. Also, please don’t hesitate to ask for assistance anytime during worship.

Before the offering, we greet one another. We call this “the peace” and say things like “peace be with you” or “peace of the Lord” as we shake hands.

All baptized Christians — no matter age or denomination — are welcome to receive communion. Episcopalians invite all baptized people to receive, not because we take the Eucharist lightly, but because we take our baptism so seriously. The ushers invite each pew to come to the communion rail. If you cannot, tell an usher you would like the bread and wine to be brought to you. At the rail, we kneel, if able, and extend cupped hands to receive the wafer of bread from the priest. The cup of wine will then be offered. Using the base of the cup, gently guide it toward you and either take a sip, or dip your wafer slightly into the wine. After the next person has received the wine, return to your pew via a side aisle. Anyone not wishing to receive the bread and/or wine may stay seated or come to the communion rail with arms crossed over the chest. The priest will say a prayer of blessing instead of offering the bread.

For a more detailed explanation of Episcopal services, visit this page: "What to Expect When You Visit" (from the Episcopal Church Visitors' Center)

Children in Church We welcome children at Grace. We offer a Children's Chapel Sundays during the eleven o'clock service. Chapel is for children approximately age three to nine. It runs from the beginning of the service to the exchange of the Peace when the children then join their parents in church for communion. If their parents so desire, children may receive the bread and wine. Otherwise, children may also come to the communion rail, cross their arms over their chests, and receive a blessing from the priest. About once a month, we have a Children's Sermon and no chapel. This change allows the children to experience a complete church service. Youth ages nine and older can serve as acolytes during the eleven o'clock service. See the Lay Ministries page for details. A nursery is also available at the eleven o'clock service for children of kindergarten age and younger. Children may stay in the nursery, or are welcome with their parents in church.

After the Service After the 11:00 service, please join us for coffee hour in the Parish Hall. The Parish Hall can be accessed through the sanctuary side door, through the large windowed hall (the Cloister), and down the stairs on the right. Handicap access is by going outdoors and around to the Parish Hall entrance on the side of the building.

How to Dress

At Grace, we wear anything from suits to business casual to blue jeans. What a person wears to church is not nearly as important as the person’s presence in church.

Contact Us

Please contact us, by e-mail or phone - (434) 846-3156, if you would like to inquire about joining the church, Baptism, Confirmation, transfer to Grace Memorial, needs, concerns, questions, and/or prayer concerns.