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While the formal founding of
Grace Episcopal Church,
Pontiac, Illinois is
observed as being organized on December 11, 1878, the
seeds of its
growth were planted twenty years earlier. The first
Episcopal service was
conducted in 1858 at the Methodist Church. The
following year Episcopal
services were conducted by a clergy person on alternate
Sundays of
summer and fall at the courthouse. Finally, in 1878
Grace Church mission
was organized. The stone church on N. Main St. on the
courthouse square
was built and dedicated in 1887, opened for services on
February 20, 1887
and on November 12, 1889 it was consecrated upon the
retirement of the
$800 debt incurred to build it. On Easter Sunday 1907
the congregation
had a pleasant surprise when the deed to the house at
Frisbee place was
laid on the offering plate by Mrs. Harriet Humiston for
use as a rectory.
Under Rev. George E, Young Grace Church flourished and
was admitted to
parish status on April 9, 1913. Over the intervening
years our congregation
experienced successes and discouragements but remained
earnest, faithful
and persevering as it returned to mission status in
1930 after the financial
crash of the stock market. By 1958 the congregation was
breaking ground
for the new church on the current four acre site on the
southeast corner of
Torrance and Manlove streets; laid the cornerstone in
1959, then opened
for services and was dedicated on September 25, 1960.
In the interim, the
old stone church was extensively damaged by a fire in a
nearby building
and was sold, but the church was allowed to remove all
furnishings,
windows and altar rail which were all incorporated into
the new church.
Our congregation returned to parish status with the
consecration of the new
church on October 24, 1973. For a variety of reasons
the priests over the
history of Grace Episcopal Church, Pontiac have
experienced short tenures.
Nevertheless, the parishioners from one generation to
the next have kept
the missionary power whose source is love and devotion
to Christ burning
in their hearts from age to age.
In more
recent years as a memorial
in loving memory of his
wife, Erma W.
Pearre, the late Jerome Pearre made possible the Grace
Episcopal Church
Parish Hall expansion and improvement project that
extended the Hall with
a beautifully appointed commercial style kitchen and
added a lovely more
informal contemporary sacred space for a chapel and
library complete with
a chapel window depicting a contemporary scene of the
dawn of the
resurrection donated by Erma’s daughter, Vickie Glennon.
All dedicated for
the glory of God and for the use of God’s people.
There is no
way that a complete history
of more than 125 years in
the life
of a church congregation can be fully rendered from
sometimes incomplete
and sketchy records of the past. As with all the saints
of every generation
and age in the church, so much that has occurred is
known only to God –
the sacrifices, heartaches, successes, joys, failings,
kindnesses and
generosities. It is our prayer for this newest chapter
of our faith community’s
story that we will grow and flourish more fully as
Grace Church living into
God’s purposes for the light of the world.
“Glory to God
whose power, working in us,
can do infinitely more than
we
can ask or imagine; Glory to God from generation to
generation in the
Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever.
Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Grace Pontiac Episcopal
Church is a member of PAMA -
the Pontiac Area
Ministerial Association and the Pontiac Chamber of
Commerce.
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Below are the definitions of
some commonly used words and
phrases:
1. Member (Church and Parish). A person who has
received the
Sacrament of Holy Baptism
with water in the name of
the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, and whose baptism in
the Parish or
elsewhere has been duly
recorded in the Parish
Register, and whose
membership has not been
terminated as provided in
qualifications as
set forth in National and
Diocesan Canons, is a member
of the Parish
and the Church.
2. Communicant. A member of the Episcopal Church
who receives Holy
Communion in this Church at
least three times a year is
a Communicant
of this Church.
3. Communicant in Good Standing. A Communicant
who regularly
attends corporate worship -
unless "for good cause" is
prevented from
doing so - and who faithfully
works, prays and gives
toward the Church's
own work is a Communicant in
Good Standing. The Rector
shall
determine who is a Communicant
in Good Standing in a manner
consistent with National and
Diocesan Canons, subject to
appeal to the
Bishop.
4. Adult. An "Adult" in the Episcopal Church is
age 16 or older.
5. Voting Member. At every Parish meeting, any
member of the Parish
who is an Adult and whose name
shall have been recorded on
the
Parish Register for six months
prior to the meeting at
which voting will
occur, is entitled to vote if
they also regularly attend
the public services
of the Church in the Parish,
are recognized members of
the Parish by
the Rector and at least one of
the Wardens, pledge by
subscription or
otherwise to the funds to meet
the expenses and other
obligations of
the Parish during the six
months immediately previous
to the Meeting,
and in addition declare their
willingness to conform to
the Doctrine,
Discipline and Worship of the
Church. (Title III: Canon
22)
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The
Sacraments are an outward
sign of an inward grace
assured to us by
Christ giving us Christian hope to live with confidence
in newness and
fullness of life to sustain us in the present and to
anticipate its future
fulfillment. The two great sacraments of the Gospel
given by Christ to his
Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist (aka:
Holy Communion, the
Lord’s Supper and mass). Other sacramental rites that
evolved in the
Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit include
confirmation,
ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a
penitent and unction (laying
on of hands and/or anointing with oil for healing and
wholeness).
Holy Baptism
is the rite
of Christian
initiation, the
liturgy through
which we
enter into the Paschal mystery of our Lord's life,
death, resurrection
and
ascension. Holy Baptism
is full initiation
by water and the
Holy Spirit into
Christ’s Body, the Church. It is the sacrament
by which we are
adopted as
God’s children and makes us members of Christ's Body,
the Church, and
inheritors of the kingdom of God" (BCP, p. 858).
Every time we celebrate a Baptism at The Church of the
Holy Spirit, the
congregation renews our own Baptismal Covenant to
emphasize the
communal nature of the sacrament. We join those being
baptized in reciting
the Apostles’ Creed and in responding to the covenant’s
five other questions
which are intended
to spell out the
most important
implications of
living the
baptismal life in our time and place.
The questions and answers of the covenant, found on
page 304 in The
Book
of Common Prayer, lay the basis for living the
baptismal life, and
Christians
renew their commitment to this life whenever we
participate in a
baptism
and join in these promises. The first three questions
deal with the
personal
nature of the sacrament and the fourth and fifth
questions deal with
the
social implications of baptism: seeking and serving
Christ in all
persons,
loving neighbor as self, striving for justice and peace
and respecting the
dignity of every human being. Baptism is not a private
religious activity
without implications for life in the world. The
baptismal covenant
commits
us to live out our own baptism in our daily lives.
At
Grace Episcopal
Church Baptism is
administered only
during the principal
celebration of the Eucharist on the following Principal
Feasts: Easter,
Pentecost, All Saints' Day (or the Sunday after), the
Baptism of our Lord
(the first Sunday after Epiphany) and the Bishop’s
visitation, with
exceptions
made for special circumstances. All baptismal
candidates and their
parents
and sponsors undergo a period of prayer and education
before each
Baptism; all Baptisms are approved by the Rector.
Godparents must be
baptized
Christians. It is
recommended that
they be
either a confirmed member of this parish or active in
their own parish.
Please call Pastor Carolyn to arrange for the baptism
and to schedule pre-
baptismal instruction (contact us).
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(Click on the
pictures to view
a larger
version.)
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D.
R. Kiser Baptism
at Grace Church. |
Roberta Robinson
and Bishop
William Persell
at St. James Cathedral, Chicago for
the
Fall 2006 liturgy for Confirmations
and
Receptions in to the Episcopal
Church. |
Confirmation
In the course of their Christian development, those
baptized at an early
age are expected, when they are ready and have been
duly prepared, to
make a mature public affirmation of their faith and
commitment to the
responsibilities of their Baptism and to receive the
laying on of hands
by the
bishop.
Those baptized as
adults, unless
baptized with laying
on of hands by a
bishop, are also expected to make a public affirmation
of their faith and
commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism in
the presence of the
bishop and to receive the laying on of hands.
When there is no Baptism, the rites of Confirmation,
Reception and the
Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows are administered by the
bishop.
There
is no “correct” age
for Confirmation.
The proper time
varies with
each individual. A child should have reached a level of
spiritual maturity
that generally occurs around the early teen years to
have a fundamental
comprehension of the difference between right and
wrong, and an
earnest
desire for the right besides being stable and
dependable.
Additionally,
instruction is necessary to have some background and
acquaintance and
knowledge of the Church and its teachings. But it is
always possible to
confirm children who have been brought up in a
religious home where
the
parent(s) regularly attend and support the Church
earlier than those
from
homes where they would have to stand alone in
maintaining and
living out
their faith and religious ideals.
Adults should be confirmed or received into the Church
whenever they are
sufficiently acquainted with the ways and teachings of
the Episcopal Church
to be convinced that they wish to make it their
spiritual home and,
in
addition feel a sense of rededication to God and a
consequent desire
for the
strengthening aid of the Holy Spirit.
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Celebration and
Blessing of a
Marriage
in Holy Matrimony is
a
sacramental rite of the Episcopal Church and a sacred
liturgy. It
celebrates |
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the covenant
commitment a
couple
has one for the other in a lifelong
union, and is solemnized only after
instruction by the
clergy. All
marriages
are performed by the clergy of Grace
Church, but at the
rector’s discretion,
who is occasionally assisted by another
member of the
clergy (Episcopal, or of
another denomination or faith). The
penitential
season of Lent is
not
appropriate for weddings. |
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It is
not necessary to be
an Episcopalian to
be married at Grace
Church,
Pontiac, but at least one of the persons must be a
baptized Christian.
Premarital counseling is required of all couples
married at Grace.
It is
recommended that six months’ notice be given prior to
the wedding date,
longer in the case of second marriages.
Episcopal canon law
requires a
minimum of thirty days between the official declaration
to the Church of
intent to marry and the wedding. If one or both of the
persons is divorced,
the clergy must obtain the permission of the Bishop of
Chicago in order to
perform the marriage. If there has been more than one
divorce for either
of the persons, the Bishop may request a personal
interview with the
couple.
This sacrament is the celebration of the beginning of a
lifelong union and
is
a means of grace by which our Lord blesses those who
come to God in
Christian marriage. It is the union of husband and wife
in heart, body and
mind and is intended for their mutual joy, for the help
and comfort given
one another in prosperity and adversity and, when it is
God's will, for the
procreation of children and their nurture in the
knowledge and love
of the
Lord. The Church, as represented in the Bishop or
Priest, announces
God's
blessing and grace on the newly-united couple.
Click here to arrange a time
with the rector for
a pre-nuptial
conference.
If you have any
further questions, please
contact us. Need
directions to
our church? Click
here.
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