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We seek every day to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40).

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
April 1869
April 1869
The first recorded Episcopal Church service held in Carthage, MO was in what was then known as Presbyterian Hall located on the second floor of a wooden building at the NE corner of the Square. It took place on the evening of April 20th, 1869.
April 1869
December 1869
December 1869
The next service took place on December 26th of that year in the old schoolhouse on the south side of the Square in the center of the block.

Two days later, Grace Church Mission was established and the next few services were held back at the Presbyterian Hall, a local hardware store and then back in the schoolhouse.
December 1869
1870
1870
On Easter, 1870, the Parish of Grace Church was organized and by July, services were held in a small wooden chapel gifted to the parish in the back of a lot on Howard Avenue. This site was used until the current church building was constructed in 1889 with the first service being held on the fourth Sunday in Advent of that year.
1870
1874
1874
Our rector, the Rev. Robert Wall, holds the first Episcopal worship services in Joplin, a town then only one year old.

1874
1890
1890
The current church building officially referred to as the “Nave” was consecrated on June 15, 1890 by the Rt. Rev. Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of West Missouri. Since then, three additions have been constructed to add to the site, completing the current look of today.
1890
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
Current
Current
Throughout these many years, Grace Episcopal Church has been a rock in Carthage and the surrounding community. The stone building with the red doors is well known by the residents and always remains open all day, every day, for personal as well as corporate worship.
Current

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