Our Mission
To Love, Proclaim, and Serve God through
life-giving liturgical worship,
joyful community,
empowering others.
We live our mission through worship, in which lay adults, children and youth participate alongside our clergy.
Traditional, life-giving Eucharistic liturgy and fine music are hallmarks of worship at our parish, and we have weekly services in both English and Spanish.
We create a joyful community with a harvest of fellowship activities and events for all ages. We empower and serve others through vital ministries, particularly around feeding the hungry. Please explore our website to get to know us or, better yet, come visit!
For more information or to be added to our mailing list, please contact us at welcome@gracealex.org.
LGBTQIA+ Inclusion
Grace warmly welcomes all, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, to join our inclusive worship and parish life. Come as you are and find a supportive community that embraces diversity.
The Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ and comprises 108 dioceses and three mission areas in 22 countries or territories. Come explore more about who we are at the main Episcopal Church website.
The Diocese of Virginia
The Diocese of Virginia is a community of disciples who love Jesus, are transformed by a faith lived out in daily life, and committed to racial justice and reconciling all people with God and one another.
Our History
A Brief History of Grace Church
Grace Church was the third Episcopal parish to be founded in the city of Alexandria. “Episcopal” comes from the Greek word meaning “Bishop”. The Episcopal Church (ECUSA) is the name of our church in the United States. We are part of the world-wide Anglican Communion of those churches with roots in the Church of England. From our earliest days, Grace has been an active parish in the Diocese of Virginia. Our history affirms the vision of our founders to be a church where “all may come without regard for temporal estate, freely and without fee, as brethren come one to another.”
- 1855 Founding by 30 members of Christ Church, Alexandria, and first services at the Lyceum
- 1860 First church on South Patrick Street completed and consecrated
- 1861 Church converted into a hospital for Union troops during the Civil War
- 1893 Weekly celebration of the Eucharist, and Choral Eucharist each Sunday, begins
- 1930 First Midnight Mass celebrated
- 1948 New church building on Russell Road dedicated by Bishop Goodwin / Father Edward Merrow serves as Rector
- 1959 Grace Episcopal School opens
- 1975 Father Robert Moody begins to serve as Rector
- 1986 First woman ordained to the Priesthood at Grace Church
- 1989 Father Robert Malm begins to serve as Rector
- 1994 Renovation and expansion of our physical plant
- 2005 Sesquicentennial celebration year
- 2019 Father Robert Malm retires
- 2019 – 2020 The Rev. Michael B. Guy, Sr., S.T.S. appointed Interim Rector by the Diocese of Virginia
- 2020 First recorded video services offered
- 2020 Grace Church Food Pantry rapidly and vastly expands to serve over 300 families per week
- 2021 First live streamed services offered via the Grace Church YouTube Channel.
- 2021 The Rev. Dr. Anne Turner is called to serve as Grace’s new Rector, the first woman in Grace’s history. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, she is formally installed as Rector in 2022, although she began her service in 2021.