A home for the holidays

Grace Episcopal Church provides a center for the community

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA — Located majestically at the southeast corner of Central Park, on Church Street and 10th Street, stands the Grace Episcopal Church, an almost pure example of historic Gothic Revival architecture, with pointed arches, two Tiffany stained glass windows and a famous M.P. Moller pipe organ with 19 ranks of pipes.

The stately building, reflecting in stone the principles of the Oxford Movement in England prevalent in the 19th century, is the second structure to position itself on the spot. The original wooden structure was built in 1833. It was later sold to a German Catholic congregation, called the Church of St. Mary Magdalen, and moved to the present location of that church on Church and Fifth streets, but subsequently was destroyed by fire.

In 1854 a larger stone structure was erected in the place of Grace Church’s original wooden structure, and it stands to this day. However, it has suffered its own tribulations: a fire in 1883 and a flood in 1902 and 1942. The Byron S. and Hortens Miller Trust came to the rescue in 1991, providing the funds to completely restore the church’s decorations.

It was also Byron and Hortens Miller who provided the parish with an unusual gift in 1949: a parish house, which stands behind the church on Church Street. It contains an auditorium and stage, a fully equipped kitchen, sacristy, secretary’s office and rector’s study, several guild rooms, a library, church school classrooms and a sexton’s apartment. The building also houses other parish ministries like the altar guild, the church choir room, a church youth and school group, the meeting of Episcopal Church Women organization, and a vestry room. (The vestry is the church’s board of directors.)

Holiday celebrations

Grace Church has a couple of special occasions coming up for the holiday season: a special piano concert by a young area teen (see below) that will benefit the church piano fund; and a community Thanksgiving dinner, a tradition that started 26 years ago.

“At that time, the pastor found several people on Thanksgiving who had nowhere to go and decided to invite them to a turkey dinner,” said Reverend Edward Erb, the current pastor. “So we have continued the tradition and added a similar dinner opportunity on Christmas Day, New Years Day and every Saturday.”

The parish also houses several of the borough’s 12-step programs and provides office space for Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for those in need. Another project that is dear to many in the borough is the Stourbridge Model Train Club, which meets at the church and is especially popular at Christmas time.

The parish also co-hosts with the First Presbyterian Church weekly community dinners held each Saturday. “The vestry has decided to make hospitality to the community our mission,” Father Erb said.

“We like to think of ourselves as open to the entire community,” he said.

On Sundays, an “8th Sacrament” coffee hour follows the 11:00 a.m. service where worshipers linger for conversation, informal meetings and good fellowship. “Better than the sermon,” Father Erb says. “This is the time we gather as a family and share.”

Teen prodigy’s concert, trunk sale, benefit church piano fund

HONESDALE, PA — Emily Martin will be giving a solo piano concert at Grace Episcopal Church at 827 Church Street at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 28. The program will include pieces by Maurice Ravel and Frederic Chopin. There will be a free will offering to benefit the Grace Church Steinway Series O Baby Grand Piano Fund.

Emily’s family has a house in northern Wayne County. She studies at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, and has attended the New Hampshire Music Festival and the Belvoir Terrace Performing Arts Camp. She won The American Fine Arts Competition and performed at Weill Hall of Carnegie Hall. She has played at Gracie Mansion for Mayor Bloomberg, for United Nations ambassadors twice and once for a New York Congressman.

On the same day and also benefiting the piano fund, Emily’s mother Ellen Raines Martin will present her designer scarves and women’s accessories at a trunk show from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the parish hall. Prices will be at wholesale or below.

Grace Church Service Schedule

Sunday: 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist; 10:00 a.m. Christian Education; 11:00 a.m. Choral Eucharist

Saturdays: 5:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist, informal

Weekdays: 8:30 a.m. Morning Prayer

Thursdays: 12:10 p.m. Holy Eucharist and Healing

Christmas Eve: 4:00 p.m. with pageant; 11:00 p.m. Festive Choral Eucharist (candlelit)

Christmas Day: 10:00 a.m. Christ Mass

Sunday, December 27: 11:00 a.m., Christmas Festival of Lessons and Carols

Office hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For pastoral needs, call at any time of day or night, 570/241-2685