New Perspectives on the Way of the Cross | February 21 to March 20

About Grace

Welcome to Grace Church, a congregation which continues to be a lively, growing and welcoming center of spiritual transformation, as we celebrate 150 years of ministry to the always changing landscape of our community. 

Members of Grace Church hold various opinions on all sorts of matters, from politics to scriptural interpretation. It is that lively interplay of God’s personal revelation to His Church which challenges us to deeper devotion and to a stronger life in unity, not uniformity.

I love my Grace Church Family. I am thankful for their fellowship, and for the commitment of many who serve our church, to make it better for all of us. All of us together are greater than each of us individually, and that's what makes our church congregation special.

How We Started

After the Civil War, a small group of local ladies began to gather weekly for prayers in their homes; within a year, they had organized a self-supporting parish and constructed a wooden church at our current location, without windows, doors or heat. From these humble beginnings, the congregation has grown to a worshipping community of over 600, including thriving Spanish and youth ministries and a vibrant ministry through St Luke’s Nursing Center, the Episcopal senior housing facility in Carthage.

1869
1869
Our new building is built, a wooden structure on the site of the current church, on land given by the developer of the new suburbs, Col. Cloud.

1869
1874
1874
Our rector, the Rev. Robert Wall, holds the first Episcopal worship services in Joplin, a town then only one year old.

1874
1972, 1992
1972, 1992
Reaching out to the community's needs, we founded St Luke's Nursing Center for seniors and the Grace Church Shelter for the homeless (now known as the Carthage Crisis Center)

1972, 1992
2000
2000
We celebrate with a commitment to education and health ministry in Haiti, and a new Hispanic ministry, among the very first ministries to reach out to our community's newest residents
2000
2011
2011
Joining with sister parishes in Joplin and Nevada, we respond to the historic Joplin tornado with squadrons of sandwiches for rescue workers, thousands of hours of direct hands-on community clean up, two massive "free garage sales" for those who'd lost everything to the winds, and the fully-funded construction of the Rose Cottage, Lafayette House's transitional home for families moving out of abuse situations
2011
2019
2019
In celebration of our 150th anniversary, numerous special observances are held throughout the year. And the third (of five) installments is paid on our new, custom-built pipe organ continuing the heritage of music started way back in 1869, when the ladies' auxiliary bought an organ before they obtained land or called a priest!
2019