In downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at the corner of North Queen and East James Streets, Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church has gathered Lutherans and their neighbors for more than a century and a half. The congregation's motto - Holy Worship, Wholly Serving - sums up what it means to be a downtown ELCA parish in a city shaped by Lancaster County's deep Lutheran roots. The current building, designed by C. Emlen Urban, Lancaster's celebrated designer of theaters, schools and churches, has stood at this corner since 1908, and a major renovation completed in 2020 made the historic structure fully accessible while adding a Center for Education and Fellowship on the lower level.
Pastor Stephen P. Verkouw, who has led the congregation for many years, often opens his worship writings with a line from Psalm 19 - "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer." The same spirit shapes the church's broader life: worship that takes seriously the catholic tradition of Christian liturgy, and a steady stream of outreach that asks members to love their neighbors in practical, hands-on ways.
The Building at Queen and James
Grace traces its story to 1855, when Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, one of Lancaster's long-established mother Lutheran churches, started a Mission Sunday School for the growing neighborhoods north of the square. By 1872 the mission had grown large enough that Trinity voted to build a church on the corner of North Queen and East James, naming the new congregation Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Grace was chartered on April 22, 1874, with the Rev. David Geissinger, a former assistant at Holy Trinity, as its first called minister.
The current sanctuary is the congregation's second building. Between 1906 and 1908, a larger church designed by C. Emlen Urban replaced the original structure, with the congregation worshiping nearby in the Jewish synagogue Temple Shaarai Shomayim while construction went on. On December 6, 1908, the dedication service for "New" Grace was held, with baptisms and confirmations at later services that day. The Intelligencer Journal described the finished basement - in selected yellow pine - as containing a large Sunday School room, classrooms, infant rooms, a church school (a parochial school that operated until 1923), kitchen, library, and heating room.
The recent renovation reduced the loan balance on a $1.4 million mortgage that the congregation began repaying in December 2020. New education space was created, an elevator was added, mechanical systems were upgraded, and the building gained a rainwater capture system and native landscaping that qualified the grounds as a National Wildlife Federation certified urban wildlife habitat.
Sunday Worship and the Saturday Chapel Service
The weekly rhythm of worship at Grace centers on Sunday services at 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. in the large nave of the historic building. The 10:30 service is livestreamed on YouTube, with recordings available afterward for those who want to revisit the service or join from a distance.
Once a month, on the last Saturday evening, the congregation gathers for a smaller service at 6:00 p.m. in St. Peter Chapel, a quieter space tucked within the church building. The Saturday services use a two-manual tracker-action pipe organ built in 1986 by Roger Pulham of Charsfield, Suffolk, England, in the 18th-century French style - a 14-rank instrument moved to Lancaster as a memorial gift in 1991 and recently refurbished by the Soli Deo Gloria Organ Co. of Millersville.
Sunday mornings also offer an hour of Christian formation from 9:00 to 10:15 a.m. for all ages, with children's Sunday school, confirmation classes for sixth through eighth graders, and adult study. Children are invited to step out of the 10:30 service during the sermon for "Fishbowl" - a short lesson and a craft in the K-second grade Sunday school classroom - before returning to their families for communion.
A Building Built for Music
Grace is known in Lancaster for the quality and variety of its music program. The nave organ is the Warfel Memorial Organ, built by Hermann Schlicker of Buffalo, New York, in 1976. With 52 ranks in 44 speaking stops, it was given in memory of M. Eva and Naomi E. Warfel's parents. Abram Longenderfer chaired the organ committee that planned for the instrument, and digital electronic 16-foot and 32-foot Bourdon stops were added by Walker Technical Company under the direction of Dr. Karl Moyer in October 2000.
The 30-plus-member Grace Choir, directed by Dr. David A. McConnell, sings at the 10:30 service from September through early June each year, with rehearsals on Thursday evenings from 7:15 to 8:45. A separate Requiem Choir supports congregational singing and offers anthems at funerals and memorial services. Three bell choirs - the Sanctus (young ringers, Wednesday evenings), Kyrie (high schoolers and adults, second Sunday morning of the month), and Gloria (adults, Monday evenings) - each offer an anthem during communion at least once a month. The volunteer "Grace Folk" string band appears regularly to bring another genre into the liturgy.
Above it all, a 15-bell chime in the tower rings before and after the 10:30 service every Sunday and again at 6 p.m. Sunday evening, played by a rotating team of chimers. Expect to hear chanting, psalms, hymns, organ, bells, and other instrumental music drawn from the deep well of the Lutheran and broader Christian tradition.
Christian Formation for Every Age
Christian formation at Grace spans every age. Children's Sunday school gathers in the morning with hands-on Bible lessons, games, and crafts. Confirmation classes for sixth through eighth graders walk through the Bible and what it means to be Lutheran, taught by a team of volunteers. Adults gather for Sunday school at the same hour, recently working through studies on art and spirituality. A periodic Silver and Gold Discovery Class led by Pastor Verkouw takes a deeper look at scripture, the Lutheran confessions, and the congregation's ministry priorities.
Vacation Bible School is offered each summer. Middle and high school youth gather for Christ-centered events, activities, and retreats through the year, and a Young Adults community also meets regularly for fellowship and study. Members have built intergenerational practices into the program year - including weekly "Faith at Home" cards designed by Grace member Colin Kerr to help families pray and discuss the lectionary together, and a Rally Day at the start of the program year that brings all ages together for shared conversation before scattering into classrooms.
Fellowship, Bookshelves, and the Annual Calendar
Grace maintains a strong fellowship life beyond Sunday morning. Two book clubs meet monthly - an in-person group on the fourth Monday afternoon in the Nolt Auditorium, and a virtual group on the second Tuesday evening that shares recent recommendations over coffee under the theme "Books, Coffee, and Conversation." Home fellowship groups meet monthly or quarterly in members' homes, with seasonal open-up times for newcomers.
Annual events anchor the social calendar year after year: an Advent Fair, an Easter Breakfast, a church picnic, a neighborhood cookout, and a Hope & Healing Service. The Nolt Auditorium is a busy space during the week, hosting the fellowship hour after the 8:00 service, Sunday school for all ages, and a host of small gatherings that knit the congregation together.
The church also offers everyday devotional resources through the Liturgy of the Hours and the LSS Prayer List, plus seasonal materials for Advent and Lent - including the "Fling Wide the Door" series from Luther Seminary, Sparkhouse Family Advent videos, and ELCA World Hunger devotionals and calendars.
Outreach in the Neighborhood
Grace takes seriously the second half of its motto: wholly serving neighbors. A weekly community meal, coordinated by Karen Scheffey, brings neighbors to the church for a hot meal with volunteer help from across the congregation. L-HANDS - Lancaster Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, founded by Grace members in 1998 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2000 - acquires and maintains properties in the Queen and James neighborhood, with the volunteer board made up of Pastor Verkouw and six other Grace members. L-HANDS currently rents ten apartments in five houses on East James Street, across the street from the church, to families earning at or below 80% of area median income.
The English Language Learners (ELL) program, formerly ESL, has been meeting for several years and now gathers on Zoom on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. Learners work through four levels of fluency using the Future: English for Work, Life, and Academic Success curriculum, with students from North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. The program has received three grants from Penn Medicine to support its work with immigrants and refugees here in Lancaster.
The church building also houses the Community Action Partnership's "Thrive to 5" childcare and learning program, which serves children with a staff of 18 from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Grace provides the facility at no charge and covers major repairs, and CAP runs the program, hiring staff, selecting enrolled children, and helping with utilities.
Missionaries and Creation Care
Grace supports missionaries with SIM: the Longenecker family, members of the congregation, serve in West Africa, where Joseph works with local families and businesses to develop water resources critical to life and economic development in a dry region. Erin provides administrative support to the team, and their children Lucie and William attend a local preschool five mornings a week. The congregation follows their work through regular updates and prayer.
In 2015, Grace began keeping bees on its grounds - the "Metro-pollen-tan" honey has, when available, been sold to support the project. The 2020 renovation included a major rainwater capture system: with Lancaster's average 43 inches of rainfall per year, the church can capture 111,800 gallons and return it to the aquifer through pipes and an underground basin rather than sending it to the overloaded city sewer system. Working with the Lancaster Conservancy, the congregation removed invasive plants and replaced them with native species, earning certification as an urban wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. Grace has also become a member congregation of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, pledging to honor and care for the watershed.
Day-to-day, the church recycles office paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, and Styrofoam; uses sustainably grown coffee for fellowship hour; purchases sustainably harvested palms for Palm Sunday; and has upgraded its mechanical systems to efficient digital controls. Future plans include expanding recycling, reducing single-use products, and exploring solar energy.
What Grace Confesses
In its constitution, Grace confesses the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The congregation accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God, and affirms the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the Christian faith. Grace accepts the Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the Gospel, along with the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord - the Apology, the Smalcald Articles, the Small and Large Catechisms, and the Formula of Concord - as further valid interpretations of the church's faith.
The congregation is shaped by the Lutheran tradition's understanding of worship as "catholic" in the broad sense - rooted in the deep, wide tradition of Christian worship - and "evangelical" in the older Reformation sense, meaning rooted in the gospel.
The mission statement puts it this way: "Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church makes Christ known in the world. In response to God's grace, forgiveness, and transforming love, we worship with the saints, see Christ in others, and serve God's people near and far." The vision statement commits the congregation to being "a faithful growing servant at the corner of Queen and James Streets in Lancaster," offering worship rooted in the Word and Sacrament, supporting local, national, and worldwide missions, and lifting up each member's gifts for ministry.
Grace has publicly committed to welcoming all God's children as they are and affirms the celebration of same-sex weddings when requested - a position held by the majority of the congregation after respectful dialogue under the guidance of Holy Scripture, tradition, and gentleness with each other. The congregation reflects the diversity of Lancaster's wider community, including African American, Hispanic, and other national backgrounds.
Pastoral Leadership and the R3 Renewal
The pastoral team is led by the Reverend Doctor Stephen P. Verkouw. Director of Music is Dr. David A. McConnell. Kathryn H. Verkouw serves as Program Director and as Director of Bell Choirs and Children's Music.
Since 2019, an R3 - Re-Form, Re-New, Re-Vision - team has been walking through a renewal process with coaches including Pastor Dave Daubert, a former ELCA executive staff member for renewal, and Pastor Chuck Miller. The team has worked on practical questions like how to welcome visitors clearly into the life of the congregation, and on spiritual questions like deepening members' prayer lives. Partnering with the renewal team at Zion Lutheran in Leola, the R3 work continues to inform how Grace moves forward as a regional congregation for worship, witness, and transforming ministry.
Visiting Grace
The church sits at 517 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17603, at the corner of Queen and James. Free parking is available in the church lot off North Queen Street, on the ground level of the Penn Medicine/Lancaster General Health parking garage on Sundays (entrance off North Christian Street), in the Lancaster Parking Authority's Queen Street garage in the 400 block (pick up a free voucher in the narthex before worship), and on unmetered street parking on Queen and James. The office phone is (717) 397-2748 and the email is gracechurch517@gmail.com. Online giving is available through Vanco, supporting the General Fund, the Capital Campaign, and other projects.