Grace Church (Newark)
This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (August 2023) |
Grace Church | |
Gothic Revival | |
NRHP reference No. | 72000776 |
---|---|
NJRHP No. | [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | November 2, 1972[2] |
Designated NHL | December 23, 1987[3] |
Grace Church in Newark (Episcopal) is an active and historic Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Newark. It is located on Newark, New Jersey's Broad Street where it has stood since 1837. Grace is a traditional church that worships in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. Grace is notable for its architecture, music, and as the birthplace of the tune "America the Beautiful".
History
Grace Church was founded on
The church building, designed by
The tune for "America the Beautiful," called "Materna," was written here by the parish organist Samuel A. Ward in 1882.[7]
Today
Grace remains widely known[
Grace does hold High Mass on occasion, complete with liturgy sung in Latin by the ordained clergy. In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January 2020, a mass complete with special music performed by a collective of choirs from Grace Church and other nearby areas in the diocese was celebrated.[9]
The diverse congregation includes people from Africa and the Caribbean as well as Europeans, Caucasian Americans, and African Americans. Its members are young and old, married and single, LGBTQ+ and straight. The parish is committed to Catholic faith and practice in The Episcopal Church, but is receptive to new insights, including the ordination of women and affirmation of same-sex marriage.
The Rev. Dr. J. Brent Bates became the parish's seventeenth rector in March 2011.
Music
Music plays an important role in worship, and Grace has always maintained a strong choral tradition in its adult choir and chorister program. Both choirs perform mass settings throughout the year, and weekly sing the Gregorian Chant mass propers from the early, medieval and renaissance tradition. Grace holds choir concerts and organ recitals on the 48-stop tracker instrument built by Casavant Frères in 1990. The Grace Church Music Society, organized in 2008, each year sponsors a series of recitals and concerts. Recent Directors of Music include Daniel C. Romero, Tyrone Whiting, James M. Hopkins,[10] Joseph Arndt, and James McGregor, a composer, conductor, and organist who held the position for forty-eight years and was widely known throughout the Episcopal Church.[11]
Masses and services
Masses are offered on Sundays at 8:00am and 10:30am (High Mass) with Sunday School, and on many weekdays at 12:10pm. Additional family and youth activities are held weekly and forms of worship including Stations of the Cross and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament are held during Lent.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Essex County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. April 1, 2010. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "NPS Summary". Archived from the original on March 2, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
- ^ a b "Grace Church". NewarkHistory.com. April 2007. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ "THE OLD JAIL ON NEW STREET". New Jersey History's Mysteries. Archived from the original on January 1, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
- ^ Bataille, Edward F. (1937). Grace Church in Newark: The First Hundred Years, 1837-1937. Newark, New Jersey: The Kenny Press. pp. 47–48. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ Di Ionno, Mark (March 17, 2016). "'America the Beautiful' began in Newark". NJ.com. Advance Local Media. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ^ "Grace Church in Newark". www.gracechurchinnewark.org. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- Patch. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
- ^ "Brick City Live". brickcitylive.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "James McGregor Obituary (2022) - Newark, NJ - the Star-Ledger".
- ^ "Grace Church in Newark". www.gracechurchinnewark.org. Retrieved September 18, 2016.