A Liturgical Home on Richmond's Monroe Park
Grace & Holy Trinity Church sits at 8 North Laurel Street, facing Monroe Park in the heart of downtown Richmond, directly across from Virginia Commonwealth University and beside the Altria Theater. The parish's motto sums up its life together: "With bells ringing, beautiful song, and red doors open, we joyfully welcome all to engage in God's love: feeding body and soul through worship, service, formation, and fellowship." Around 328 parishioners gather here from across the metropolitan area for worship, formation, and a wide web of outreach ministries that reach the neighborhood, the wider city, and a partnership community in Belize.
GHTC traces its roots to two nineteenth-century congregations. Grace Church was planted in 1858 at Main and Foushee Streets; Moore Memorial Chapel, later the Church of the Holy Trinity, was founded in 1874 just across from Monroe Park as a tribute to Bishop Richard Channing Moore. The two congregations merged on June 1, 1924, at the Laurel Street location. In 2024, the parish marked its centennial with a walk retracing the merger, a 1920s-themed reception, and a timeline display. A strong music ministry and an abiding commitment to service have long been hallmarks of the parish, and both continue to define its identity.
Sunday Worship at the Heart of GHTC
The week centers on two Sunday Eucharists. At 8:00 a.m. in the Chapel, the congregation gathers for Holy Eucharist, Rite One, a spoken service rooted in the traditional language of the Book of Common Prayer. At 10:30 a.m. in the main Church, Holy Eucharist, Rite Two is celebrated with congregational singing supported by the Parish Choir and the Austin organ. The later service is livestreamed on YouTube, and bulletins for both services are posted online each week.
Worship follows the Episcopal pattern: Old and New Testament readings, a psalm, hymns, prayers, a sermon, confession and assurance of forgiveness, and the Holy Eucharist. All baptized Christians are welcome at the altar regardless of denomination. Communicants may receive the sacrament from the common cup, by intinction (dipping the wafer themselves), or in just the bread, which Episcopal teaching holds to be a full share in the sacrament. Gluten-free wafers are available with a card from the pew rack. Eucharistic Ministers also bring communion to those who prefer to remain seated.
The sanctuary's stained glass, carved wood, and chancel murals give the liturgy a visual richness that complements its music. Four Gothic Revival murals behind the altar, painted in 1929 by Frederick Auguste Benzenberg, depict the Annunciation, the Nativity, the women at Jesus's tomb, and the Ascension. Wood carvings of the Good Samaritan, the Pieta, and Christus Rex line the nave, and Tiffany Studios' "Angel Window" of opalescent glass, installed in 1905, hangs in the north aisle. Visitors are encouraged to spend a quiet moment looking closely; the parish has even written reflection questions for several windows and murals to help worshipers enter the imagery.
Visitors find a warm welcome at the door. Ushers hand out bulletins, the pews hold Book of Common Prayer copies and hymnals, and name tags are encouraged as a sign of hospitality. A nursery for children four and younger is open on the second floor of the Parish House from 10:00 a.m. to noon; children's activity packets, a changing table in the family restroom, and Children's Chapel during the 10:30 a.m. service make the building family-friendly. Parish Breakfast is served at 9:00 a.m. in the Parish Hall from September through May, with a full breakfast twice a month and continental breakfast on the other Sundays. A coffee hour follows the 10:30 a.m. service. There is no Parish Breakfast during the summer.
The Building, the Organ, and the Art
The Church of the Holy Trinity building, completed around 1894 in a Late French Gothic style designed by New York architect J. Stewart Barney, seats roughly a thousand people beneath a ceiling about seventy feet high. The 110-foot tower at the front of the church has what is likely Richmond's largest church belfry, anchored by ten tower bells installed in 2023. A 1951 tornado removed the tower's pinnacle; the late rector Hill Brown called the trimmed spire the church's "crew cut." On the exterior, a single decorative gargoyle perches where the rounded interior stairwell meets the front wall.
Inside, the organ is itself a parish history. A mechanical-action Hook & Hastings organ was built with the original church; when the congregations merged in 1924, Hook & Hastings enlarged it with electro-pneumatic action. By the 1970s the ventil chests and console were aging, and in 1979 the parish installed a new Austin organ. A Gallery Trumpet in the Trompette en Chamade style was added in 1996 in memory of Richard Caswell Cooke, Sallie Lewis Broaddus, and Gray Massie Broaddus. The console was rebuilt in 2004 with a Peterson system, and a moveable console was added in 2008 in memory of Freda Hatcher Rollings. The result is a 63-rank instrument with a versatile palette that supports both worship and concert programming.
The murals, the stained glass, and the stonework all repay close attention. The Dorcas Window, given by Thomas Nelson Page and made by Franz Mayer of Munich, shows Dorcas distributing food and clothing to the poor; it is the only nave window signed by its maker. A 1947 roof leak badly damaged Benzenberg's Ascension panel; Benzenberg himself was located and repainted the panel in 1949. In 2002, when conventional cleaners failed on soot accumulated before air conditioning, a conservator discovered that synthetic saliva removed the grime, and the murals were cleaned that way.
Music That Ministers
Music is woven into the fabric of GHTC's life. Dr. Elizabeth Melcher Davis has served as Choirmaster and Organist since 2003, holding a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music, a Master's from the Juilliard School, and a Bachelor's from the Curtis Institute of Music. She directs the Parish Choir, plays the organ at the 10:30 a.m. service and at funerals and weddings, oversees the children's and youth ensembles, and organizes an outreach concert series that draws hundreds to the church each year.
The Parish Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. during the program year and sings for the 10:30 a.m. service, Choral Evensongs, the Festival of Christmas Lessons and Carols, and a major choral work with chamber ensemble in the spring. The choir is supported by professional section leaders (sopranos Keely Bosworth Borland and Caroline Whisnant, mezzo-soprano Mary Stuart Holman, alto Abigail Stinnett, tenor Dave Maier, baritone Chase Peak, and assistant tenors and basses) and by Assistant Choirmaster and Organist Luke Brennan.
Three Hill Brown Music Scholars currently sing with the Parish Choir. The Hill Brown Music Scholars Fund honors the legacy of the Reverend Hill Brown, rector emeritus who served GHTC for almost four decades and died in January 2025; the fund supports college music majors as paid scholars. Soprano Olivia Lawrence, tenor Max Goldsmith, and violinist and singer Nathan Do are the current scholars, joined by mezzo-soprano Maya James.
The Intergenerational Choir, formerly the Children's Choir, welcomes singers of all ages and prepares music for Children and Youth Sundays. The Youth Instrumental Ensemble invites orchestral players, keyboardists, guitarists, and singers in fourth grade through high school. Performances are scheduled on select Sundays during the program year.
Beyond the church's walls, the concert series brings performances from organ recitals to choral evensongs, often followed by receptions in the Parish Hall. Recent concerts have included an Advent Organ Recital in Gibson Memorial Chapel and a Choral Evensong for Veterans Day and the Day of Remembrance. Compline services, the brief nighttime liturgy of the Church, are held periodically in the church and livestreamed, led by members of the Parish Choir.
Children, Youth, and Family Life
Children and Youth Formation aims to weave young people into the full life of the church, including worship, service, and fellowship. Children's Sunday School uses the Godly Play curriculum and meets at 9:30 a.m. from September through May in the upstairs classrooms. Children's Chapel is offered during the 10:30 a.m. service, with Children's Choir Sundays replacing it several times a year. The nursery is staffed each Sunday morning for the youngest children.
Middle and high school students have their own Sunday School at 9:30 a.m., youth fellowship opportunities such as Youth Sunday Funday outings, and a Youth Mission Project that engages young people in service around the city. The acolyte program begins in childhood and grows into adult leadership: younger acolytes may carry a torch or banner, while older acolytes lead processions with the cross, set the communion table, and assist the priest. GHTC sends its young acolytes to the National Acolyte Festival at Washington National Cathedral each fall.
Confirmation follows a two-year cycle of four full-day retreats and service opportunities, exploring what Confirmation means, what Christianity teaches, what it means to be Episcopalian, and what it means to be part of GHTC. The Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia visits to lay on hands at the end of the cycle.
The parish also supports Parents' Night Out on occasional Friday evenings: children gather at the church for dinner, games, and a movie while parents enjoy a few hours of fellowship elsewhere. The Hill Brown Music Scholars and the partnership with the Greater Richmond Children's Choir extend musical formation to children and teens across the wider Richmond community.
Adult Formation and Sunday Mornings
Adults at GHTC find several ways to learn together on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. The Adult Forum meets most Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in the First Floor Classroom during the program year, with topics spanning parish life, formation, mission, and worship. The Lectionary Group gathers at 9:30 a.m. in the library to dig deeper into the scripture readings appointed for the day. Lectio Divina meets on Wednesday evenings by Zoom from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with sessions lasting six to eight weeks.
Other small groups for adults include the Spirited Readers Book Club, meeting on the third Monday afternoon of each month; Spirited Sisters, a monthly dinner group for women of the parish and their friends; the Men's Group, which meets monthly on Saturday mornings at a local coffee shop; and a Taizé Retreat pilgrimage to the ecumenical community in France, most recently traveled by Father Brent, Pastor Marissa, and Madeleine Preston. Sunday Morning Breakfast Crew members gather in the Parish Hall most Sundays between Labor Day and Memorial Day to cook and serve an old-school hot breakfast, with continental breakfast on the off weeks.
Prayer Shawls, Pastoral Care, and a Pastoral Care Line (active for parishioners experiencing a pastoral emergency when the church office is closed) round out the formation and care ministries. Holy Strollers, a walking group led by Susan Hankins, sets out from the church to explore Richmond's neighborhoods, rivers, and parks on foot several times a year.
The Red Door Ministry: Friday Lunch
Each Friday at noon, the parish opens its red doors to neighbors who are hungry, houseless, or hurting. The Red Door Ministry has been serving a hot lunch since the early 1980s, when the women of the congregation began a simple soup kitchen. Today, around one hundred guests are fed each Friday in the Parish House from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., followed at 12:40 p.m. by a brief prayer service in the Chapel. The ministry also maintains a clothing closet that collects socks, men's underwear in medium to extra-large sizes, jeans, toiletries, and plastic grocery bags, with seasonal coat, hat, and scarf drives in the fall.
Volunteers help with cooking, setup, and cleanup. Kitchen volunteers must be at least sixteen; younger volunteers can help alongside a guardian. The Red Door welcomes donations of clean, well-kept clothing and financial gifts designated to the ministry. Andrew Peacock coordinates volunteers; those interested can sign up through the parish contact form.
Mission in the City and in Belize
Outreach is one of GHTC's four pillars, alongside Worship, Parish Life, and Formation. The parish operates its own ministries and supports a roster of community partners through an annual Outreach Grant Program. The 2027 grant cycle is now open, with awards generally ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 for general operating support.
For nearly two decades, the Belize Mission Team has traveled to the Cayo District of western Belize, near the Guatemalan border. The work includes dental and vision screenings for more than a thousand children each year, community service projects, and an annual Summer Camp for seventy-five to one hundred Belizean children ages five to thirteen. Youth ages fourteen and up serve as counselors alongside adult mentors, and parishioners of all skill levels and ages take part. A portion of the proceeds from paid event parking in the church lot supports the Belize Mission Youth Team.
Closer to home, GHTC partners with The Pace Center, an inclusive, multicultural, interfaith campus ministry at Virginia Commonwealth University that shares a covenant relationship with the parish. The Pace Center hosts Bible studies, weekly communion, small groups, Stories and Lunch, and volunteer opportunities; the Rev. Russ Kerr serves as the Student Engagement Coordinator. GHTC also houses the weekly Tuesday evening gatherings of Circles RVA, a volunteer-driven effort that pairs "Circle Leaders" working to move out of poverty with "Allies" who walk alongside them; Circles RVA was incubated at GHTC beginning in 2015.
Among other partners are Anna Julia Cooper School (K-8 scholarships); Art for the Journey (art classes for women in prison and recovery); Better2gether (support for families of children with complex medical needs); Boaz and Ruth (affordable housing and workforce development); Boys and Girls Club of Metro Richmond; Circle Center Adult Day Services; Communities in Schools; Peter Paul Development Center; Real Life (fatherhood programming); Richmond Hill (prayer, hospitality, and racial reconciliation); St. Andrew's School in Oregon Hill (a tuition-free elementary school where GHTC members volunteer); Shood (shoes for student athletes); and WoMen of Connections (support for mothers of NICU babies). Parishioners volunteer, donate supplies, and provide financial support.
The Christmas Ministry provides Christmas gifts and clothing for twenty-five to thirty-five students at a local elementary school each year, while the Grant Recipients and Partners page lists all current outreach relationships with a contact for each.
Clergy, Staff, and Governance
The Rev. Dr. Brent A. Melton serves as Priest-in-Charge. A native of Wilmington, North Carolina, he holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from the College of Charleston, a Master of Divinity from the School of Theology at Sewanee, and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Sewanee. He has served parishes in North Carolina, was an Episcopal school chaplain in Charlotte, and most recently served at All Saints in Richmond before returning to "the state made for Lovers."
The Rev. Marissa Sotos serves as Assistant Priest. A pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who serves at GHTC through an ecumenical agreement with the Episcopal Church, she holds a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance from St. Olaf College, a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and a Graduate Certificate in Liturgy from St. John's Seminary. The Rev. Jenny Montgomery serves as a part-time Priest Associate, bringing decades of parish experience and a Doctor of Ministry from Virginia Seminary. The Rev. Steve Pace, a Richmond native and 2021 graduate of the Deacon School of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, serves part-time in preaching, worship leadership, and pastoral care. The Rev. Russ Kerr, an ordained Presbyterian (USA) teaching elder, serves as Campus Minister and Pace Center Student Engagement Coordinator.
Dr. Elizabeth Melcher Davis directs the music program. Madeleine Preston serves as Minister of Formation and Connection, working with children, youth, newcomers, and volunteers. Abigail Stinnett directs the Intergenerational Choir. Tyler Brady handles communications and design; Jane Coffey serves as Financial Administrator; Coco Provance directs administration and facilities; Barbara Hobson-Simpson staffs the reception desk; and three sextons, Mack McElwain, Rufus Pittman, and Otis Swain, keep the buildings clean.
The Vestry is an elected body of confirmed adult communicants in good standing who serve three-year terms. Officers for 2026-2027 are Lisa Dawson, Senior Warden; Thomas Bradshaw, Junior Warden; Susan Hankins, Register; and Mike Joyce, Treasurer. The Vestry meets monthly on the third Wednesday and gathers once a year for an all-day retreat.
Beliefs and Episcopal Identity
Grace & Holy Trinity Church is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, led by Bishop E. Mark Stevenson, and belongs to the worldwide Anglican Communion. Episcopal worship is rooted in liturgical tradition, drawing on the Book of Common Prayer; a typical service includes Old and New Testament readings, hymns, prayers, a sermon, confession and assurance of forgiveness, and the Holy Eucharist. All baptized Christians, regardless of denomination, are welcome to receive communion. The Episcopal Church ordains women and men, including LGBTQIA+ persons, as bishops, priests, and deacons, and any couple may marry in the church regardless of sexual orientation.
The parish observes the seven sacraments of the Episcopal Church. Baptism is celebrated several times a year, often at the Easter Vigil, the Day of Pentecost, All Saints' Sunday, the Baptism of our Lord, or the annual bishop's visitation, and is open to infants, children, and adults. Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, funerals, and unction are all part of the parish's pastoral life, and a columbarium on the property holds the cremated remains of members and their families.
The church's annual stewardship theme, "Stewards of Hope," anchors giving around the four pillars of parish life: Worship, Education, Parish Life, and Mission. The 2026 goal is $800,000. Pledges may be made online through Realm, by automatic transfer from a financial institution, by check or cash in the offering plate, as securities, or through planned giving.
Getting Connected
First-time visitors will find handicapped parking in front of the church on N. Laurel Street, additional spaces in the lot behind the church within the parking gates, and free parking at the VCU West Main Street Parking Deck one block away (with a QR code from the Sunday bulletin). An entrance ramp is on the N. Laurel Street side, and an elevator serves the N. Cherry Street entrance at the rear. During the week, off-street parking with purple bumpers sits in the alley between the church and the Altria Theater; after 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, the yellow-bumper lot behind the church is reserved for GHTC.
Worship is livestreamed on YouTube, and bulletins are posted in advance. Visitors are welcome to dress however they feel comfortable, from business casual to suit and tie. Newcomers are invited to fill out a Connect Card from a pew rack or the Connect Form online; someone from the parish will follow up. The parish sends a Parish News email on Fridays at 7:00 a.m. and a Preparing for Sunday Worship email on Sundays at 7:00 a.m., with separate lists for Music and Children and Youth news. The Realm Connect app lets members RSVP for events, manage giving, and message groups.
The parish publishes a welcome brochure, an annual report, and brand and wedding guidelines, all available online. Members and newcomers alike are invited to explore the four pillars, pick a ministry that suits their gifts, and join the life of a church that has been singing, serving, and welcoming in downtown Richmond for more than a century.