An Historical Perspective of Grace Church

In the 120 year old Grace Church minute book, we read that a group of people met on August 12, 1844 to organize and build an Episcopal Church.  Eight days later, at a second gathering: Thomas Lawrence was called to the chair, Henry Hone was appointed secretary, Elbert Floyd-Jones was elected Collector of Funds for the new church and James Meinell was made Treasurer of the "subscription monies."

General Thomas Floyd-Jones donated the land. To this day, the legal title of this parish reads as follows: "The Rector, Churchwardens and Vestrymen of Grace Church, South Oysterbay."

In September of 1844 plans were approved to erect the first church building.  It was only 24 feet wide, 36 feet long, 16 feet ceilings and a brick foundation. The first annual meeting was held on March 25, 1845; the annual meetings for over 100 years being held the Tuesday after Easter.

The first Rector to be "called" was William A. Curtis at a salary of $300.00 a year. Grace Church was closed from Christmas to Easter of each year, as the handful of people who attended services went to New York or elsewhere during that time. 

On July 9, 1846 the church was first used for services, but, due to illness of the Bishop of New York (we were part of QueensCounty in those days and also part of the Diocese of New York) the building was not consecrated until April 13, 1847. The clergy from Jamaica, Hempstead, Islip, Patchogue and Huntington were present.

The first baptisms in the Parish were on July 1, 1848 - Muney and Sarah Elizabeth, the children of Henry and Henrietta Purdy. Helen and Catharine Floyd-Jones were the first confirmation candidates and the first marriage ceremony recorded was a wedding at the home of Tredwell Carman.

In 1880, a Christmas gift of seven acres of land for a parsonage was given by John D. Jones in memory of his wife. Most of this land is still owned by the parish. What we call the Floyd-Jones House was built and placed where the new church now stands; the building was moved to its present location in the summer of 1957. The small building next to the old church was built a couple of years later. This building is called Wiley Hall in honor of Dr. William Wiley whose Rectorship lasted longer than anyone's, from 1890 until 1926. His remains lie in the Church graveyard.

Grace Church was enlarged in 1905 and some of the Tiffany windows were installed. The congregation itself grew steadily larger and expanded under the Rectorships of William Wiley, Edgar Brice, Edward Rogers and Edward J. Bubb.

In 1948, the Reverend John Malcolm Haight was called to be rector and, under his vision and guidance, the present church was built and the Day School formed. A Rectory was built in the summer of 1949; additional rooms were built in 1963. In 1952 a $120,000 Parish House was built and has been in constant use ever since.

Construction of the existing church began in 1959 and the congregation moved into the new building in September 1960. Rev. Haight was succeeded by the Reverend John X. Jobson in 1974.  Under the direction of Father Jobson, the old Grace Church was given to the Historical Society of the Massapequas, the north chapel (St. Christopher's) was sold to the Carpathian Orthodox Church, and the present church was substantially renovated, incorporating the Tiffany stained glass windows from the old church.

Father Jobson was succeeded by the Reverend Douglas Hutchings, as interim priest, in 1997.  Father Hutchings empowered the laity, and was effective in transitioning the parish toward a new rector, the Reverend Sara Louise Krantz. Mother Krantz served as rector from 1999 to 2007, and was instrumental in developing and enhancing diverse parish outreach programs.

In November 2009, The Rev. Joshua D. Walters was welcomed as the 11th Rector of Grace Church.