Serving with Compassion

Our outreach starts within our church, but outreach on the local, national and international levels has long been a vital part of Grace’s mission.

We Serve Our Church

Liturgical and Eucharistic Ministries

Our common prayer is the focal point of our faith life. We come together to praise God, give thanksgiving for our many blessings, lift up prayers for those in need, mourn for those who have died and participate in the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist.

Supporting the clergy, lay liturgical and Eucharistic ministers read Holy Scripture and the Prayers of the People, assist at the altar and serve as chalice bearers to the congregation. Readers and intercessors are lay parishioners who have been trained to read Scripture with understanding and clarity, and to convey the prayers of the congregation with conviction. Eucharistic ministers serve as acolytes and assist the clergy in worship at the altar.

Training sessions for all lay ministries are conducted twice yearly, in the spring and fall. For further information, please use the Contact Grace form.

Acolytes

Children 6 and older may also serve as acolytes, and those that do take great pride in their role in the Sunday service. Interested children must attend a brief training session; these sessions occur at least twice a year. Watch for acolyte training news in Sunday worship service bulletins, eGrace Notes (the weekly parish e-newletter) or call the Parish Office at (718) 624-1850, x 10 for more information.

Altar Guild

The Altar Guild is responsible for Communion service set-ups and manages the church silver and textiles. Everyone is welcome to join. For further information, please use the Contact Grace form.

Eucharistic Visitors

Every Sunday, Eucharistic Visitors are commissioned from the altar to take Communion to members of the Grace community who are unable to come to church, whether they are recovering from severe illness or surgery, enduring chronic illness or in their final days. To those confined to home or hospital, these visits are more than a simple extension of Sunday’s service—they’re a tangible reminder that despite their absence, these parishioners continue to be part of the Grace Church family. Eucharistic Visitors provide support not only to the parishioner, but also to family members, friends and caregivers.

Eucharistic Visitors are members of the parish who are trained and licensed by the diocese to perform this ministry. If you are interested in learning more, or becoming a lay Eucharistic Visitor, or if someone you know is unable to attend church and would like to receive Communion, please use the Contact Grace form.

Welcome Ministry Program

The Welcome Ministry Program seeks to ensure that all who come to Grace feel that their presence makes a difference. To this end, members of the Welcome Ministry volunteer to be at our doors on Sunday before and after the 11:00 am service to answer questions and facilitate introductions to other members of the Grace community.

In addition, the clergy reach out to those who fill out a Welcome Card in pew backs or on the Welcome Table, ensuring that all who have just come to Grace know that we are happy to meet them, as the newest members of our community. Please feel free to call our Rector, The Rev. Dr. Allen F. Robinson to continue a dialogue about membership in the Grace parish community at (718) 624-1850, x14.

If you are interested in participating in this ministry program please call the parish office at (718) 624-1850, x10 for referral to the program’s members.

Prayer

Scripture enjoins us to pray without ceasing. Grace Church is committed to embracing the power of prayer in the acceptance of God’s love for us. Clergy and trained parishioners alike provide pastoral care through leadership and fellowship in the prayer ministries described below.

Ongoing Prayer Needs

Those who are ill or otherwise in need of prayer by the clergy, parishioners and friends of Grace Church may be included in the Ongoing Prayer Needs list in Grace Notes and church service bulletins. Please feel free to add a prayer request to the “Prayer Request” book on the Welcome Table at the back of the church*, or use the Contact Grace form. Names are included for a defined period of time, depending on the need.

*in the rear of the Guild Hall during summer months.

Intercessory Prayer Team

Faithful members of our Intercessory Prayer Team “drop everything and pray” when called upon in emergency situations. All prayer requests are confidential. Please use the Contact Grace form, or call the Parish Office at (718) 624-1850, x 10, to notify our clergy and our Intercessory Prayer team ministry coordinator of urgent prayer requests.

Healing Prayer Team

During Holy Communion at all Sunday morning services, parishioners are invited to the side chapel* to receive a laying-on of hands and prayers for strength, grace and healing in body, mind or spirit, from trained members of the Healing Prayer team. This ministry is available to anyone who desires a special prayer for self or others. Like all pastoral ministries at Grace Church, Healing Prayer is completely confidential. Parishioners who are interested in learning about Healing Prayer are invited to use the Contact Grace form to contact the Healing Prayer ministry coordinator.

*in the rear of the Guild Hall during summer months

Centering Prayer Group

The Centering Prayer group provides an opportunity for people to engage in and learn about two forms of contemplative prayer: Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina. Centering Prayer is a silent, wordless form of prayer, similar to Zen mediation but based on Christian prayer traditions. Lectio Divina is the contemplative reading of scripture and other sacred texts. Centering Prayer meets in the chapel area of the church on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm, except during the summer months, for approximately one hour.

The group is led by rotating leaders, and all are welcome. See the Centering Prayer program, the weekly schedule, and a guide to Centering Prayer. For further information, please email Lindsay Boyer.

*Please note that Centering Prayer is not currently running at Grace Church until further notice.

Pastoral Care

Clergy are available for your pastoral care and spiritual concerns. Please feel free to contact the clergy at any time by calling the Parish Office at (718) 624-1850, x 10 to set up an appointment for a pastoral visit by our Rector, The Rev. Allen F. Robinson.

We Serve Our City

Daily Recovery Meetings at Grace

Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon and other self-help groups use our church Parish House every day of the week for meetings and other activities.

Entry and exit to and from the Parish House for these meetings is via our 254 Hicks Street entrance only.

For a schedule of these meetings, please check the church calendar.

Community Help in Park Slope

Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS) is a well-established Brooklyn feeding ministry and shelter in Park Slope that serves meals daily to our neighbors and houses mothers with infants in a program that helps them find permanent housing and employment. Grace Church’s CHiPS ministry provides a continuous connection between our parish community and the homeless and hungry in our immediate neighborhoods, spreading the compassion of our faith to our wider community.

Our CHiPS ministry is supported in several ways. Individuals and families donate non-perishable food items by placing them in collection baskets at the back of the church. A team of volunteers purchases and delivers food supplies on an ongoing basis. During the Christmas season, Grace parishioners donate winter clothing wrapped as Christmas gifts for distribution by CHiPS to those in need. Finally, CHiPS always accepts monetary donations, which can be made via Grace Church. When making a donation, be sure to indicate that it’s for CHiPS.

For additional information about CHiPS, visit chipsonline.org or use the Contact Grace form.

If you or someone you care about is in need or has been displaced,

please consult this comprehensive listing of local Shared Resources.

East Brooklyn Congregations

East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC) is a community-power organization of churches, schools and homeowners associations, of which Grace has been a member since the early 1990s. Centered in East Brooklyn, EBC organizes individuals and leaders of its member institutions to leverage their collective power to improve their communities through social action. EBC has influenced public policy regarding housing, immigration, police and community relations, public schools and the preservation of urban green space. Of EBC’s 20-plus member institutions, Grace is the only one located downtown.

Members of Grace Church have worked with EBC for over a decade to advance educational equity. Volunteers from Grace and other neighboring congregations work with high school students from Frederick Douglass Academy VII (FDA VII, an EBC member school) as tutors in academic subjects and writing skills, and as mentors in life skills such as looking for employment, interviewing for jobs and college, and preparing for life after high school.

In addition, the arrival of thousands of young families who have made downtown Brooklyn their home over the past 15 years has severely overcrowded many public elementary schools. Through EBC, Grace Church advocates on behalf of residents and families in its surrounding neighborhoods in an effort to address this severe space shortage.

For further information on EBC, visit their website at www.ebc-iaf.org. If you are interested in volunteering, please use the Contact Grace form.

Brooklyn Heights Interfaith Shelter

As part of an interfaith effort that includes local synagogues and churches, Grace Church hosts eight to twelve homeless men on weekday nights each November. The men come from The Gathering Place, a walk-in shelter run by CAMBA, a Brooklyn-based community support organization. Many Grace congregants share in this outreach effort: Volunteers bring hot, home-cooked meals each night, eat dinner with the men, or serve as overnight hosts. Families with children visit the shelter in the evening for conversation and desert. For further information, please use the Contact Grace form.

Heights and Hills Thanksgiving Dinner

Each year, Grace hosts Heights and Hills, one of the largest providers of services to the aging population of Brooklyn Heights, as it serves over two hundred neighborhood seniors for a traditional Thanksgiving feast in our Guild Hall. Volunteers are needed to help set the tables, bake pies (many pies!), serve the meal and then clean up afterwards. For further information on how to get involved, please contact Heights and Hills directly at (718) 596-8789 and watch for announcements in Grace Notes each November. 

In 2022, Heights and Hills will be using Grace Church for a staging area for Thanksgiving meals that will be delivered to seniors in their homes. We hope to restart the in-person Thanksgiving gathering next year.

Lenten and Christmas Outreach

Grace Church has designated the seasons of Lent and Advent as times for our community to join together in support of outreach projects that have special meaning for Grace Church or that address urgent, timely needs. Organizations that have received aid and service through these seasonal efforts include CHiPS (Community Help in Park Slope), Habitat for Humanity, Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services, and the Collateral Repair Project, which provides assistance to refugees and war victims in Jordan. To help or obtain further information, please use the Contact Grace form.

We Serve Our World

Episcopal Relief and Development

Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is the compassionate response of the Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. One of the most effective worldwide agencies for the relief of human suffering, ERD is supported by individuals and by the parish. For more information about how you can join in ERD’s good work, visit the ERD website.