A Poem in Cedar and Stone on Leighton Avenue
Grace Episcopal Church stands at the corner of 10th Street and Leighton Avenue in downtown Anniston, Alabama, the first church built in what had been the company town of the Woodstock Iron Company. Completed in 1885 and consecrated the following year during the 55th annual convention of the Diocese of Alabama, the stone building is still described by parishioners as "a poem in cedar and stone," a phrase that captures the interior General Daniel Tyler envisioned when he sketched its design from a church at Highland Falls, New York, that he had admired as a young cadet at West Point. The architect George Upjohn adapted the design for the Noble and Tyler families, who together raised $50,000 to construct the building on land donated by the Woodstock Iron Company, with several family members each contributing $5,000. The midnight Eucharist on Christmas Eve, 1885, was the first service in the new church, and descendants of both families remain members of the parish today.
The history of the town and Grace Church are tightly entwined. The first Episcopal service in Anniston, and arguably the first Christian service of worship, was held in the summer of 1874 by the Rev. J. F. Smith of St. Peter's, Talladega, on the long front porch of the Woodstock Hotel, while Anniston was still called Woodstock. The Woodstock Iron Company had been formed on May 4, 1872, by the Noble and Tyler families, and skilled workmen from England and Sweden had been imported to build and operate a blast furnace that was "blown in" on April 13, 1873. When a new railroad opened the town to the public and Anniston was incorporated in 1883, the population jumped from 1,000 in 1880 to 6,000 in 1884. The planners of the company town, a generation of engineers, had envisioned orderly growth, a foresight the parish credits for the look of modern downtown Anniston.
Lobsterfest and the Habitat for Humanity Connection
For more than a quarter century, the most distinctive day on the Grace Church calendar has been Lobsterfest, a benefit for Calhoun Cleburne Habitat for Humanity that the parish started in 1997 under the rectorship of the Rev. Robert Childers. Lobsterfest 2026 marks the 28th year of the festival, which runs from noon to 6 p.m. on the church grounds and has raised more than $259,000 for the local Habitat chapter over its lifetime. Whole lobsters are flown in from Maine on the Friday evening before the event, and volunteers from Grace Church and Habitat cook and serve them. A take-home live or cooked lobster sells for $22, while a take-out or dine-in full dinner, which includes a whole lobster, baked potato, slaw, French bread, and tea, sells for $30.
Tickets must be purchased in advance, either online through Eventbrite, at the Habitat office at 310 Industrial Drive Ext. in Oxford, at the Grace Church office at 1000 Leighton Avenue (Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.), or from church and Habitat members. On the festival day the parish grounds host an art and craft festival with indoor and outdoor vendor booths, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, drinks, and games for children. The parish has also built three homes for Habitat during the years since the festival began, and many members volunteered with the Jimmy Carter Work Project in 2003.
Beans & Rice on the First Saturday
On the first Saturday of every month, between 8:30 and 10:00 a.m., the Beans & Rice Ministry gives out bags of rice, pinto or red beans, and any other available staples to anyone who shows up at the church, with no questions asked. Each family typically receives three pounds of rice in one bag and two pounds of beans in another, and any additional canned goods, fresh produce, peanut butter, or other donated items are divided up as equitably as possible. Started in the fall of 2010 under the rectorship of the Rev. Dr. Lee Shafer, the ministry grew out of a desire to meet the basic needs of a community coping with high unemployment.
Volunteers of all ages gather in the days before each first Saturday to repackage beans and rice and assemble the food bags. The parish also welcomes donations of canned goods (slightly dented cans are acceptable as long as they are within the expiration date), peanut butter, and excess garden produce. Bakers contribute sourdough or other homemade bread, with a recipe for sourdough starter and loaves printed in the church's ministry guide. Monetary donations help cover the cost of the bulk beans and rice as well as the canned goods that are purchased.
Foothills Day Camp: Fourteen Summers of Crossing Lines
Foothills Day Camp, an initiative Grace Church began in 2012 after the Rev. Dr. Lee Shafer was inspired by Sawyerville Day Camp in West Alabama, is a free summer day camp for children ages 6 to 10 who would not otherwise have a camp experience. Each July the camp brings children together from every ethnic, racial, and religious background across Calhoun County, while youth and adult staff come from all over the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and beyond. The 2026 camp, the 14th year, runs July 14 to 17 at Camp Lee.
High school and college students and adults serve as staff and small-group leaders, planning music, arts and crafts, swimming, canoeing, zip-lining, and a long list of camp activities. The camp is open to children of all backgrounds regardless of religious affiliation. Because camp is free for both campers and staff, the ministry depends on donations from individuals, local churches, and community groups, and there is a published wish list for snacks and supplies. Applications are available online for youth staff (ages 15 to 23) and adult staff (ages 23 and up).
PreSchool Friends Since 2001
PreSchool Friends, established in 2001 and housed in the Grace Church building, is a four-year-old readiness program for children of low- to moderate-income families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend preschool. A child must be four years old by September 1 of the current school year to qualify. Each parent or primary caregiver, who may be a grandparent or guardian, attends class with the child every Monday, learning alongside him or her how to support early learning at home. Tuesday through Friday the children attend on their own, with enrichment in art, music, dance, or computers, a morning snack, and a focus on colors, shapes, letters, numbers, and the social skills that ease the transition into kindergarten.
Qualified preschool teachers lead classes of no more than eleven, and the program is held at Grace Episcopal Church at 10th Street and Leighton Avenue. There is a $25 registration fee per semester that covers both the parent and the child, while books, supplies, snacks, and field trips are furnished free of charge, and children bring their own lunch Tuesday through Friday. Katherine Smith directs the program. The scholarship arm of the parish has tracked the long arc of the program's impact: at least one PreSchool Friends alumna, a member of the class of 2005, went on to graduate in the top five of her class at Saks High School and head to Spelman College with plans to become a physical therapist.
The Rector, the Staff, and the Bishop's Institution
The Rev. Walter (Wally) LaLonde began serving as rector of Grace Church on June 1, 2020, and was officially instituted as the parish's 21st rector on Sunday, June 27, 2021, during a Celebration of a New Ministry and Confirmation at which the Rt. Rev. Dr. Glenda S. Curry, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, presided. The bishop's visit also includes an annual Confirmation, typically at a 10:30 a.m. service on Palm Sunday, with a reception in Tyler Hall afterward coordinated by the Grace ECW.
Day to day the rector is supported by the Rev. Deacon David Whetstone, Office Manager Keli Wigley, Director of Christian Formation and Communications Christina Dorn, Choir Director Steve Simmons, Organist Gena Vinyard, Preschool Friends Director Katherine Smith, and Youth Leader Faith Dorn. Members of the vestry serve three-year terms in three classes. Jane Wood is the vestry clerk and Gerry King is the treasurer. Communion assistance is provided in the form of a hearing assistance speaker system installed during the rectorship of the Rev. Eddie Ard, and gluten-free wafers are always available at the altar rail.
Worship: Book of Common Prayer, Rite I and Rite II
Grace Church follows the Book of Common Prayer and the Revised Common Lectionary in its Sunday worship, using the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and The Hymnal 1982. From late September through May, the fall schedule offers two Sunday services: a quiet Rite I service at 8:00 a.m. and a fuller Rite II service at 10:30 a.m., the latter accompanied by a Children's Chapel for ages four through third grade. Between the two services the parish gathers in Tyler Hall for breakfast at 9:10 a.m., and Sunday school for all ages runs from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. in the parish building. During the summer, late May through mid-September, the parish consolidates to a single 9:00 a.m. service, followed by lemonade and cookies in the Woodruff Memorial Garden, with the Lectionary Class continuing to meet after worship.
Wednesday Evening Worship is held year-round at 5:30 p.m. and is, in the words of the parish, a more contemporary setting for worship, paired in the past with a Wednesday evening supper and Bible study program. On Thursday mornings at 9:00 a.m. the parish gathers for Centering Prayer in the church, followed at 10:00 a.m. by a book study, and at 11:30 a.m. by a Healing Prayer Service. The Healing Service was incorporated into the monthly Sunday rhythm during the rectorship of the Rev. Eddie Ard, and a noon Healing Prayer Service continues on Thursdays as part of the Christian formation program. Ushers and greeters meet worshipers at the front entrance and hand each person a printed service bulletin; a downloadable bulletin is also available online in advance of the service.
All baptized Christians are welcome to receive communion at the altar rail; those who have not yet been baptized are welcome to come forward to receive a blessing, signaled by crossing the arms over the chest. Children of all ages are included in the invitation, and baptized children are welcome to receive. Worship is followed by a time of fellowship in Tyler Hall, and the parish gathers there for the parish brunch on Rally Day, the annual Blessing of the Animals, parish movie nights, and the ECW Christmas Wine and Cheese Party.
Children of Grace, Little Blessings Nursery, and the Youth
Children of Grace, the Sunday morning Christian formation program for ages four through fifth grade, meets on the second floor of the parish building most Sunday mornings from September through May, beginning each year with a popcorn-and-toppings welcome. The class alternates between "Holy Moly!" Bible video lessons and "Feasting on the Word," a lectionary-based study that mirrors the Sunday readings in age-appropriate language. Sixth graders and up gather for Lectionary Exploration and Confirmation Preparation, with extra focus on the seasons of the church year, the Book of Common Prayer, and the life of the wider Episcopal Church. The children's program has long been tied to outreach; among the projects over the years have been donations to the Anniston Animal Shelter, the Anniston Soup Bowl, the Lobsterfest for Habitat, Christmas Clearing House, Bethany Village at Camp McDowell, and a community garden planted on the church grounds during Vacation Bible School.
Little Blessings Nursery, staffed by long-tenured attendants Tammy and Patty, is the parish's child care ministry for infants through age four. The nursery opens at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday mornings during the program year and remains open until noon, and it is available during special events as needed. During the summer it opens at 8:45 a.m. for the 9:00 a.m. service. The Acolyte Ministry, open to children from third grade through high school, trains torch bearers, little crosses, servers, and crucifers in the time-honored service of the altar.
Youth of Grace is a parish-level program of fun and faith, while the wider Anniston Area Episcopal Youth (EYC) gathers once a month with Episcopal young people from across the area for events such as Mardi Grits, and Grace hosts the Anniston area youth. Faith Dorn leads the parish youth ministry, and the high-school and college-aged students who serve as counselors at Foothills Day Camp are a key part of the same network.
Daughters of the King, ECW, and the Lay Orders
St. Anne's Chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King is the women's prayer and service order at Grace Church. Members take a Rule of Life that combines a Rule of Prayer with a Rule of Service and, by reaffirmation of their baptismal and confirmation promises, pledge themselves to a lifelong program of Prayer, Service, and Evangelism for the spread of Christ's Kingdom. Each Daughter receives a modified Greek Fleury cross inscribed in Latin, "Magnanimiter Crucem Sustine," meaning "With heart, mind and spirit uphold and bear the cross." The chapter has run community drives such as a pet supply drive, and Daughters serve across the parish's outreach work.
Grace Church ECW, the parish branch of the Episcopal Church Women, gathers all women of the parish for a monthly meeting on the second Monday of the month, September through May, usually in Tyler Hall, with a $5 lunch and a program or speaker. The three guilds - St. Catherine's, St. Cecelia, and St. Helen - take turns hosting, and the ECW Board hosts the annual Christmas Wine and Cheese Party, to which women from St. Michael's in Anniston, St. Luke's in Jacksonville, and the Church of the Messiah in Heflin are invited. ECW supports Lobsterfest, the United Thank Offering, the Church Periodical Club, the Salvation Army Women's Shelter, the Altar Guild, and the brass polishers.
The parish also hosts the Cursillo and Vocare communities. Cursillo is a three-day weekend at Camp McDowell for adult Episcopalians, lay and ordained, married or single, with returning pilgrims gathering afterward in the Grace Cursillo community for mutual support and growth. Vocare, from the Latin for "to call," is a similar renewal weekend for young adults typically ages 18 to 30. Grace Church's history with Cursillo dates back to the rectorship of the Rev. Robert Childers, who revitalized the parish's Cursillo community in the early 2000s.
Adult Christian Formation and the Lectionary Class
The Lectionary Class, the parish's long-running adult formation offering, meets in King Parlor most Sunday mornings during the program year and continues to meet during the summer after the single 9:00 a.m. service. Participants walk through the upcoming Sunday's readings from the Revised Common Lectionary in a discussion-based setting. The 2010s and early 2020s saw the parish's adult formation expand under the Rev. Dr. Lee Shafer, who helped begin the Foothills Day Camp and Beans & Rice Ministry, and under the current rector, with a published Grace Ministries Project and a Spiritual Gifts Assessment that helps members identify where they might serve.
Centering Prayer instruction and practice is offered Thursday mornings at 9:30 a.m. in the church, and the Tuesday morning Bible study group and the Men's Bible study, both started in the early 2000s, continue as well. The Healing Prayer Service is offered at noon on Thursdays, in keeping with the monthly Healing Service that has been part of the parish's Sunday rhythm since the 1990s. The parish maintains a resource list of book, lectionary, and prayer resources, including the Book of Common Prayer, The Lectionary Page, Table Graces, and a collection of picture books for processing grief with children.
Scholarships, the Endowment, and the Wider Community
The parish holds four named scholarship funds: the William Stoney Scholarship, established in honor of the Rev. William Stoney for college students active in the parish; the Sara Tyler Roberts Scholarship, established in 1980 in memory of Sara Tyler Roberts for Donoho Middle School students; the Alta Weaver Scholarship, established in 1990 by Harriet Donoho in memory of Alta Weaver, for any Christian denomination student in Calhoun County pursuing continued education; and the Margarete N. Henry Scholarship, established in 1990 in memory of Margarete Nonnenmacher Henry, for seminarians, college students, private high school students, and camp or conference attendees. Applications are due by March 31 and awards are announced in June.
The Grace Church Master Trust, the parish's combined endowment, is administered by the Diocese Trustees and provides funds for building and grounds maintenance, capital improvements, additional buildings or grounds, outreach, transportation, and replacement of heating or cooling systems. The endowment grew from the 1985 Second Century Campaign, which raised more than $600,000, and a subsequent campaign that was combined with it in 1991. In 2021 the trust was amended to direct 3% of the December 31 fund value to the church each year for operations and parish programs. The parish also sponsors the Church of the Messiah in Heflin, Alabama, a mission that Grace helped to plant in 1980 and has supported with substantial financial assistance and curacy assignments.
Beyond Lobsterfest, Beans & Rice, Foothills Day Camp, and PreSchool Friends, the parish has a long history of opening its facilities to community groups. Under the rectorship of the Rev. Thomas G. Jones in the 1970s and 1980s, Grace Church hosted the interdenominational study group, the hospital-sponsored Diabetic Association Support Group, the Anniston Ministerial Association, the Soup Bowl of Anniston (which opened in 1984 and now serves thousands of meals each month), and the area's hospice program. Under the Rev. Eddie Ard, the parish continued to host Alcoholics Anonymous, the Hospice office, and the HIV-AIDS Clinic, and Habitat for Humanity housed its offices at Grace Church for many years. The All Saints Memorial Garden, a columbarium in the churchyard, was also built during the same period. The 28 stained-glass windows of the building, which are described in a parish booklet titled "Our Treasured Windows," continue to be a particular point of parish pride.
Visiting Grace Church
Grace Episcopal Church sits on the corner of 10th Street and Leighton Avenue, on the tree-lined Quintard Avenue corridor named for one of the early Alabama bishops. The building is open to visitors before each service, and greeters at the front entrance hand each person a printed bulletin that follows the entire worship service. Seating is open. Dress is an assortment across the generations, from suits and dresses to jeans, khakis, or shorts; whatever makes the visitor comfortable is fine. Children of all ages are welcome in worship, and parents of young children are encouraged to sit toward the front, where little ones can see and hear what is happening. The nursery opens at 9:00 a.m. for the program year and at 8:45 a.m. in the summer.
Adult Christian formation, the Lectionary Class, the Tuesday morning Bible study, the Men's Bible study, Centering Prayer, and the Healing Service are all open to anyone who would like to drop in. The Beans & Rice Ministry serves anyone who comes by on the first Saturday of the month. The ECW welcomes all women of the parish and beyond to its monthly gatherings, and the Daughters of the King are happy to talk with anyone curious about the order's Rule of Life. The Lobsterfest grounds, the Woodruff Memorial Garden, and the Tyler Hall gathering space are all part of how the parish lives out its identity as a grace-filled church in the heart of Anniston.