Grace Episcopal Church sits in the small Howard County community of Elkridge, Maryland, where it has answered the same call for more than 180 years. It is the third oldest Episcopal congregation in Howard County, and its story runs from a preacher named Robert Piggot riding between farmhouses in 1841 to a modern parish that runs a child care center, a thrift shop, and a livestreamed Sunday service. Grace Church lives across two buildings - the 1911 Historic Stone Church on Main Street and the Parish Hall on Montgomery Road - and what follows is what anyone walking through those doors, or tuning in online, will find.
Two Houses of Worship on One Parish
Grace is unusual in that its Sunday worship happens in two very different buildings, and the choice between them is partly a choice of atmosphere. The Historic Stone Church at 5805 Main Street is the original sanctuary, consecrated in 1911, with old stone walls, trees around the grounds, and the kind of quiet that the parish's communications director has described as a place where the noise of the world seems to fade away. The 7:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist takes place there.
The 10:00 a.m. Sunday Eucharist happens a few minutes down the road at the Parish Hall, 6725 Montgomery Road, the practical hub built in 1966 that also houses the church office, the Mustard Seed Thrift Shop, and the Grace Early Learning Center. A third, smaller service - the Thursday Eucharist at 7:30 a.m. - is held in the Parish Hall conference room. Communion is celebrated at every one of those services, so no matter which a visitor walks into, the Eucharist is the center of the hour.
On Saturday evenings from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., the Historic Stone Church reopens for Prayer Fellowship, a quiet hour of community prayer led by Father Olabanji. The invitation is simple: come whether you are looking to reflect, to seek guidance, or just to sit in silence with other people. Those who cannot make any of those times can still join in: services are livestreamed each week on the church's Facebook page, and recordings are posted on the Grace Church YouTube channel, where past services from August and September of 2026 are already archived.
Sacraments and Pastoral Care
The Episcopal Church recognizes sacraments that mark the major turning points of a Christian life, and Grace walks members and neighbors through each of them. Baptism is offered to both infants and adults as a sign of initiation into the Christian community. Confirmation is a later rite, usually administered by a visiting bishop, with candidates prepared through lessons in the church catechism. Marriage is treated as a sacrament reflecting the love of Christ for the church, and couples marrying at Grace go through a preparation process that includes counseling, conversations about faith, and wedding planning.
Around those sacramental moments sits a Pastoral Care and Outreach Team of volunteers whose work reaches both the congregation and the wider Elkridge area. The team provides prayer, practical help, and a steady presence to people facing illness, loss, or personal challenges. Within the parish, four smaller groups keep that work moving: the Celebration of Life group, the Loving Embraces blanket makers, the Discernment Ministry, the Casserole Ministry, and the Caring Card Ministry. Loving Embraces gathers on the first and third Tuesdays of the month in the Parish Hall conference room, where volunteers with no crafting experience needed hand-sew blankets for children in hospitals, schools, and shelters.
Music That Ranges From Hymns to Gospel to Taizé
Music at Grace is built around the Adult Choir, which leads the 10:00 a.m. service every week in the Parish Hall and sings at combined and Feast Day services in the Historic Stone Church. The choir's repertoire is wider than a typical Episcopal program: traditional hymns and anthems sit alongside gospel music and spirituals, multicultural music with drum and other instruments, contemplative music in the style of Taizé, and pieces composed specifically for Grace. Rehearsals run at 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays through the program year, September to June, and the choir welcomes new singers.
The Director of Music is Bonny Lally, who also shapes music for principal holy days including Palm Sunday, Easter, Pentecost, Christ the King, and Christmas Eve, with Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil as additional services in the year. The post of Director of Worship and Music is listed as part-time at roughly ten hours a week, and the church is actively recruiting for the role, with an emphasis on both traditional and contemporary Christian music, keyboard skill, and the ability to draw children into the music ministry. Those interested can write to music@graceelkridge.org.
Grace Early Learning Center
Tucked into the Parish Hall grounds, the Grace Early Learning Center is one of the parish's largest ministries, a State of Maryland licensed childcare program that cares for nearly 100 children from the age of six weeks through five years. The center runs an all-day preschool class along with a Before and After School program, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Its origin goes back to 1972, when Grace established a preschool and child development center, and in 2002 a new facility was constructed to house the program.
The Learning Center is a service of outreach that the church provides to the community, rooted in compassion and staffed with caregivers whose work is woven into the parish identity rather than running alongside it. Parents looking for more information are directed to graceearlylearningcenter.org.
The Mustard Seed Thrift Shop
If the Early Learning Center is Grace's largest ministry by enrollment, the Mustard Seed Thrift Shop is its most visible one on the ground. The shop shares the Parish Hall address at 6725 Montgomery Road and is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Inside, shoppers find gently used clothing, shoes, household items, jewelry, books, home décor, puzzles, crafts, small kitchen appliances, holiday items, and what one Yelp reviewer called "cute little church gift shop with tons of charm."
The Mustard Seed is run entirely by volunteers, and every dollar matters. A portion of sales supports Grace Episcopal Church itself - facility repairs and improvements, free Vacation Bible School each year, the Loving Embraces blanket ministry, back-to-school initiatives, and pastoral care outreach. Another portion funds mission partners: Pregnancy Center outreach, Pack for Success, hat and glove collections, and similar programs. The shop also reserves a slice of its sales each month for Store Cards for the Hungry, a program that gives $50 grocery store gift cards to households asking the church for help with food insecurity - cards usable at Giant Food or Green Valley Grocery - and supports a small pop-up market for food and hygiene essentials.
What does not sell is not wasted. Items are passed along through a free cart outside the shop or donated to partner organizations including the Vietnam Veterans of America (which picks up weekly), Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, Dress for Success, and local animal shelters. Donations can be dropped at a brown shed next to the shop door when the store is closed. The shop accepts most clothing, electronics, décor, jewelry, books, and small kitchen items, and asks donors to skip broken toys, ripped clothing, large furniture, large appliances, food, and undergarments.
Sunday School, Adult Formation, and Vacation Bible School
Children have a place of their own at the 10:00 a.m. service. Sunday School runs during the school year for ages 3 through 17, divided into a toddler class taught by Elizabeth Taylor, an elementary class taught by Spike Altman, and a teen class taught by Marci Altman. Registration for the 2026-2027 year is open through an online form covering children from preschool through grade 12. Each summer the parish puts on a Vacation Bible School free of charge for children from the wider community, with a rotating theme - the 2026 program was a five-day "Wild West" adventure held the last week of July.
For adults, the church offers an Adult Christian Education program that gathers in a welcoming, question-friendly setting to explore Scripture together. The fall session is announced in the parish newsletter and on the church's online channels. Bible Study is listed as one of the parish's standing ministries, alongside Pastoral Care, Sacraments, Sunday School, the Choir, and Community Outreach.
Outreach Beyond the Thrift Shop
Volunteering is a habit at Grace, not a side project. The parish supports a roster of community partners, each maintained by a small group of dedicated members. Remembering Armed Services keeps the parish connected to veterans and active-duty families. Scouts of America has a home at Grace, with a Cub Scout pack and other units using the parish grounds. Prepare 4 Success and the Columbia Pregnancy Center are two of the local mission partners the parish walks with, and the Howard County Speakers of Alcoholics Anonymous holds its Tuesday meetings in the parish's facilities. There is also a community garden on the parish grounds - flowers, vegetables, and quiet benches - tended by members of the parish and described in a parish blog post as a joyful reminder of God's love and the blessings that grow when we care for creation together.
A Parish in Transition
Grace Church is presently between rectors. The Rev. Mary Sulerud serves as Interim Rector, supported by the Rev. Olabanji Onamuti as Associate Priest and the Rev. Mimi Mathews as Deacon. The transition is being managed in close partnership with the Episcopal Diocese; a Search Committee was created by the Vestry on September 24, 2025, and spent the early months of 2026 gathering parish input through small-group meetings, drafting and approving a parish profile with the Vestry on April 21, 2026, and forwarding that profile to the diocesan Office of Transition Ministries for posting. As of the most recent update, the Diocese was uploading the profile into its new system, with applications to follow and interviews to begin thereafter.
The lay leadership during this season includes Senior Warden Fiona Accardi, Junior Warden Dennis Kratz, Treasurer Cathy Hudson, Registrar Dave Blackburn, and Vestry members Melanie Hill, Ryan O'Planick, Elaine Leonard-Puppa, Alex Gerus, and Lori Praniewicz, with Mad Schuster serving as a non-voting youth representative. Staff supporting the parish's day-to-day life includes Debbie Schallmo as Church Administrator and Melanie Hill as Communications Specialist.
Roots That Go Back to 1841
The parish is old enough that the buildings themselves tell the story. It began in 1841, when the Rev. Robert Piggot started preaching in local homes. A first church building was acquired west of the railroad tracks in 1845. By 1856 a new church had been built and dedicated. The building parishioners now call the Historic Stone Church was consecrated in 1911 on Main Street. The Parish Hall on Montgomery Road was built in 1966 to serve the congregation's growing program needs. The Early Learning Center was established in 1972 and moved into its current facility in 2002. In 1995 Grace partnered with Elkridge Elder Ministries to help build affordable housing for seniors in the area, a mission that remains part of the parish's footprint in the community.
That span of years is part of why the stone church still matters. A reflection on the parish blog describes it as a sanctuary where "history, faith, and God's creation come together," a place where generations of weddings, baptisms, farewells, and prayers whispered through tears have left their mark. The same post extends the parish's standing invitation: "You don't have to be a member. You don't have to have all the answers. You don't even have to say a word."
Planning a Visit
Anyone considering a first visit has several options. The 7:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist at the Historic Stone Church is the quieter, more contemplative service. The 10:00 a.m. Sunday Eucharist at the Parish Hall is the larger, choir-led gathering and the one where Sunday School is in session for children and youth. The Thursday 7:30 a.m. Eucharist in the Parish Hall conference room is a small midweek option for those whose schedules do not allow Sunday attendance. Saturday's 4:30 p.m. Prayer Fellowship at the Stone Church offers a non-Eucharistic hour of prayer.
The church office is open Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and can be reached at (410) 796-3270 or at graceoffice@graceelkridge.org. Donations can be made online through a secure giving portal, mailed to the parish address, or placed in the offering at any service. Visitors can also browse the parish's livestream and sermon archive on Facebook and YouTube to get a sense of what worship at Grace sounds and feels like before walking through the door.