Grace Church has a fascinating history!  As you may be able to tell when you see our beautiful building, Grace Church has been around a while.  The cornerstone of the building was laid in September 1864, though the parish - the community of people - began to meet in 1863.  We were founded by the Wheelock, Burroughs, Harwood, and Hodges families.  Motivated in large part by the death of young Welcome Hodges and her mother's deep desire to have an Episcopal community in which to grieve, these families came together to found the church.  In May 1865, the parish was admitted to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.  The first services were held in the current church building in October of that year.

Grace Church had a bit of a rocky adolescence, with a few temporary closures between 1869 and 1903.  In 1903, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts split, with Grace Church coming under the care of the newly formed Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.  Grace Church today is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

The people of Grace Church were faithful and committed to keeping it going through its ebbs and flows.  In 2013 Grace Church celebrated is 150th anniversary as the Episcopal community in Oxford.  The people of Grace Church continue to look forward to the future, with curiosity and excitement about where the Holy Spirit will lead us!