Worship
Sunday Liturgy includes an early (8 a.m.) It is followed at 10:30 with a Rite II Choral Eucharist. Both settings are traditional in format. There are weekday prayer services at 12:10 on Tuesdays and Fridays, and Holy Eucharist at 7:30 AM on Wednesdays. Special choral services throughout the year include Advent Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday
, Good Friday and Easter Vigil. A Brief History of Grace Church
Grace Church, Utica, began as an offshoot of Trinity Church, New York City from the efforts of twenty Utica communicants. The first services took place in a private home on May 21, 1838. The first church edifice opened in 1839 and served its membership for 21 years. The current Grace Church building opened in 1860. Many additions and improvements have been completed over the years resulting in today’s campus of the Sanctuary, the Lady Chapel, the church house, which contains offices and class rooms, and the Parish House which contains an auditorium, meeting rooms, apartments and areas for assisting the less fortunate. Please use the link for a more detailed history of Grace Church. Ministries and Organizations
Acolytes
Acolytes assist at services for Sundays, Holy Days, weddings and funerals. They lead the procession with crosses and candles, and, on feast days, with incense. They also assist the clergy at the altar. Membership is open to any member of the parish over the age of ten. New acolytes receive training before being placed on the service schedule. Current membership stands at 15 adults and 8 teenagers. All members work together to insure that the services run smoothly. Each acolyte takes a great deal of pride in fulfilling their duties and this effort is reflected in the smooth transitions that occur
during all services. Altar Society
The Altar Society consists of 18 members who serve ‘behind the scenes’ with great devotion. They are divided into two committees. The Sacristy Committee attends to communion vessels, altar linens, clergy vestments, needlepoint, and candles, assuring that the necessary items are properly maintained and readily available at the appropriate times. The Flower Committee receives loose flowers and creates their own very impressive floral arrangements for the altars and various other locations throughout the Church. Duties generally take place before and after services with additional attention during Christmas and Easter. The Altar Society holds quarterly meetings and an Annual Appreciation Luncheon, providing the members with both training and fellowship. Altar Society members also maintain a prayer chain for those who request prayers through the parish office. Chalice Bearers, Lectors and Ushers
Grace Church is blessed to have more than forty individuals trained
to provide assistance at the worship services. This large number allows us to set schedules on a quarterly basis including all Holy Week and Christmas Season services. Thrift Store
The Thrift Store, located in our Parish House collects donations of gently used items, mostly clothing, and offers them to the public from their location in the Parish House. This community ministry depends on a team of volunteers to assure the Thrift Store is open two days a week. Most items are sold for a modest price, with exceptions being made for those in need, especially for winter clothing
Drop-In Center
The Drop-In Center offers the Downtown Utica population an opportunity to have a light snack, warm beverage, a grocery ‘goody bag’ and understanding company. It becomes especially popular during the cold months of winter. A team of
volunteers staff the Drop-In Center in the Parish House. St. Margaret’s Food Pantry
St. Margaret’s Food Pantry distributes food baskets to families in need. It receives funding from the Society of St. Margaret and the Utica Food Bank. It also benefits from local food drives organized by the Boy Scouts and the Postal Workers. Karen Ministry
The Burmese Karens are an ethnic people residing primarily in Southeastern Burma (Myanmar). There has been a long
history of persecution of the Karens by the Myanmar government, recently including genocidal actions. As a result, many of the indigenous Karen have fled their ancestral homeland. Utica, New York has a long history, going back to the Vietnamese Diaspora, of being able and willing to provide sanctuary for refugee populations. Today, about forty of the Karen take an active role in the worship and ministries
of Grace Church. This last year we were able, through a cooperative effort with our Karen members and other Episcopal churches, to translate our liturgy into the Karen language. Printed booklets in native Burmese script allow them to take an active role in the services. Karen children now sing with our youth choir and several adults are learning to serve as ushers. Ministry for Shut-Ins
Members of the clergy regularly make visitations to those parishioners that are confined to their homes or health facilities. A video recording of our weekly choral service is broadcast twice weekly on our local cable network. Proctor Theatre Guild
The Guild provides a theater performance and production experience to people of all ages and backgrounds in the Greater Utica Area. They offer at least one musical production a year. Other performances are offered when the church activity calendar permits. Participants can be anyone from age five to adult. Church membership is not a requirement. Their mission is to create an interest in and to provide support for community performing arts while giving theatrical performance experience to participants. This past year the production, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” was an
outstanding success. Proceeds from this show enabled the Guild to purchase its own follow spot light. Christian Education
The current Christian Education program for youth consists of three classes: PreK-5, 6-8 and 9-12, with a total enrollment of 38. Classes run from September to May ending with our annual Youth Sunday service. During this service the children usher, acolyte, lector, and provide the music, including singing the anthems as a group in addition to performing vocal and instrumental solos. Another annual celebration during our Christian Education year is Grace Church’s traditional Epiphany Pageant. The
children entertain the congregation with both their singing and acting. All children participate, from tiniest angels and sheep to teens narrating the pageant. It’s always a wonderful
celebration highlighting the youth of Grace church. Many families attend Grace specifically because of the strong, fun program for children. The future of Grace Church sits in our classrooms – the future congregation and vestry. An enthusiastic, dedicated team of teachers devote their time and talents to provide the children with a meaningful Christian learning experience. There also is an active adult forum which meets on Sunday mornings to discuss a wide variety of topics relating to our spirituality. This forum is an important part of the continued spiritual journey of the adult participants. Interest in exploring other educational avenues for both adults and children remains a goal. Music at Grace Church
Music has been central to the worship life of this parish from the early days of its history. For over a century the parish has carefully fostered the resources that will promote the fullest expression of Anglican worship. As a reflection of the English choral tradition, the Grace Church Choir is made up of singers of all ages, with adults, teens and younger choristers forming a single choir. Vocal choir
Each academic year, from the second Sunday of September until mid-June, the all volunteer choir assumes its rightful place for every weekly sung Eucharist, both Christmas Eve services, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Additionally, each Advent season begins with a Service of Lessons and Carols. The choir plays a vital role in the leadership of our worship, and they take their responsibility seriously. In an average week we prepare two anthems, the psalm and the gospel acclamation. Literature dating from the earliest written music of the church through recent years fills the choir repertoire. The choir sings in several languages and strives to present the highest quality music. The choir consists of 19 adults, 12 teenagers and 11 choristers. Grace Church continues its active affiliation with the Royal School of Church Music. This past summer two of our choristers attended the RSCM summer training course in Newport, Rhode Island. The Chorister Program provides younger singers the opportunity to learn both music theory and choral performance. This experience, unique to our area, has choristers join the full choir at every service. It requires a significant commitment of time and attention from them, with rehearsal twice each week to prepare for Sunday service. Many of the adults in today’s choir actually started as choristers. The choir forms the core of a combined choir for an annual worship service/picnic in which several area Episcopal churches participate. Each year the choir also presents a concert as part of the community’s ‘Utica Monday Nite’ series. Both the ‘Utica Monday Nite’ concert and the Advent Lessons and Carols service draw a diverse audience from the community, reaching well beyond our Sunday-morning congregation. Handbell choir
The 11 members of the Handbell Choir rehearse weekly and perform when literature is ready. In 2010 they participated in the Easter Day service and the 11 p.m. Christmas Eve mass. They also played at the ‘Utica Monday Nite’ concert. They hold membership in the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers. In 2010 the Beginning Bell Choir actively rehearsed
weekly from January through August and they performed publicly for the first time in June. Young Music Scholars
Grace continues to have a teenager serve the Church as the Emily Clark Bink Organ Scholar. The organ scholar’s
responsibilities include playing weekly service music, hymns and psalm accompaniments, and performing preludes and postludes when literature is prepared. Summer Music
Summer liturgies engage the participation of a number of our parish musicians who sing and play during the choir’s hiatus. Our Music Instruments
Several notable organs have enhanced worship at Grace Church in its long history. The current instrument is a 1983 Holtkamp Organ consisting of three manuals and pedals that control 64 ranks of pipes. The church also has thirteen Meneeley tower bells controlled by an automatic ringer, a four-octave set of Malmark handbells, as well as three octaves of Schulmerich hand chimes. Grand pianos include a Yamaha, a Kohler and a Campbell. Each year, for the last several years, we have been able to present an organ concert by a world renowned musician. We also have other musical groups which use our church facility for public concerts and recitals
One can see from this lengthy description of musical activity at Grace Church that music is a vital part of both our worship and our church community.
