The History of Grace Church

Grace Church, Ocala, is the oldest church in the Diocese of Central Florida.  On July 20, 1853 the Bishop of Florida, Francis Rutledge, noted in his diary, “Canonical notice was received on the formation of a new parish at Ocala, the county seat of Marion County to be known as Grace Church.”  There was no church building, but the owner of the general store opened his home to his Episcopal friends, and they gathered there and worshiped on Sunday mornings together. The Bishop visited occasionally, and four times a year a priest visited from Jacksonville.

The Civil War and After

Growth over the next several years was slow and the mission almost went out of existence until, in 1861, the presence of seven families and a newly arrived priest breathed new life into it.  Regular services were suspended for a time as the community concentrated on equipping volunteers for the army of the Confederacy, who enlisted in large numbers from Marion County.  During the war years services were held at a local plantation where a clergyman was in residence.  After 1865, with the war over, a schedule of regular services was resumed with a missionary priest who rode circuit via horseback, stagecoach, and private carriage.  Episcopalians in Ocala shared a new Baptist building along with all the other denominations in the city and they occasionally shared ministers as well.

The First Rector and a New Building

In 1874 the Bishop sent the Rev. Reginald Weller to Ocala to minister to 10 or 12 families.  In 1875 a building fund was started, and in 1880 Grace Church acquired its own building that seated 80 people and held its first service on Christmas Day of that year.  By 1888 membership had grown from the original 74 to 200, and the building was enlarged.  Two wings were added each seating 20 people.  In 1893 the first rectory was built.

Moving the Church

In 1902 the present location was purchased for $300, and plans were made to move the church to its new location.  After services in March 1905 the building was disassembled, timber by timber.  Horse-drawn wagons pulled the timbers to the new location, and the church was reassembled and slightly enlarged.  Five carpenters worked on this project for five months.  The first service at our present site was held on Trinity Sunday, June 18, 1905. 

A Parish Hall, Church changes, and a School

In the 1930’s a program was begun to purchase native rock for a Parish Hall.  Children in the Sunday school classes purchased native rock at $1 a load.  The pile grew higher and higher on the north side of the church. In 1948, the Parish Hall was built and the rectory moved to the next lot east.  Following completion of the Parish Hall, work began on the adjoining wings to the east.  The original west end entrance was closed and a niche created for the baptismal font.  New doors were added to the south and north sides.  Grace Church Day School opened with kindergarten classes in 1956.  Grades were added annually through the years, and in 1974 the seventh and eighth grades accepted students.

Growth and More Changes

From the 1960’s to the present time, growth in the congregation has resulted in many changes.  In 1960 the first associate rector was called.  In 1972 the sanctuary was enlarged and the altar was moved from the east wall to its present position.  In 1995 the steeple was replaced, and the original steeple from 1888, with its unusual shaped cross, was cleaned and placed in the Memorial Garden on the north side of the church.  More changes took place in 2002.  The west wall was extended to allow 80 to 100 additional seats and new stained glass windows were installed on the north and south sides of the  building.  In June of 2003 Grace Church celebrated 150 years of ministry.

Grace Church is a beautiful, historic, carpenter gothic building, but a church community is not the building but the people.  The history of the church is important, but what took place inside is more important.  Over 155 years of baptisms, weddings, funerals, worship services, sermons, Sunday school, meetings, picnics, choirs, Christmases, and Easters.  Much worship has taken place here.  Many, many lives have been touched and blessed here at Grace Church.