Grace Episcopal Church located at 1011 North 7th Street in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is an

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

parish of the Episcopal Church, part of the

Diocese of Fond du Lac The Diocese of Fond du Lac is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the northeastern third of Wisconsin. The diocese contains about 3,800 baptized members worshiping in 33 locations. It is part of Province ...

. It is one of four churches comprising the

Downtown Churches Historic District The Downtown Churches Historic District is a historic district in downtown Sheboygan, Wisconsin consisting of four churches and five other buildings associated with the churches. The four churches which comprise the district are Grace Episcopal ...

that is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

Early in 1847 a small lot was bought in Sheboygan on which a wood-frame church was built. The first service of the new Grace Episcopal Church was held on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

1847, and two years later a new church was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, missionary Bishop of the Northwest Territory. The present church was built in 1871 in High Victorian Gothic style. It was listed on the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places on July 17, 2009 as part of the Downtown Churches Historic District. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 1, 2010.

Relics

Built within the structure of the church are several

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

from the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

. Inside the foundation are rocks from the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

, and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

arch contains several small stones from

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. Inside the High

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

are pieces of olive wood from the Garden of Gethsemane, and five stones from under the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

The Gardens

Grace Episcopal is well known in the area for its large and beautiful gardens. They contain many different varieties of flowers and plants including: Columbine, Daisies,

Hyssop ''Hyssopus officinalis'' or hyssop is a shrub in the Lamiaceae or mint family native to Southern Europe, the Middle East, and the region surrounding the Caspian Sea. Due to its purported properties as an antiseptic, cough reliever, and expecto ...

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

Lady's Mantle ''Alchemilla'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to ''Alchemilla mollis'' when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herb ...

, Lavender,

Lily of the Valley Lily of the valley (''Convallaria majalis'' (), sometimes written lily-of-the-valley, is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays in spring. It is native throughout the cool temperate No ...

Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...

Pansies The garden pansy (''Viola'' × ''wittrockiana'') is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section ''Melanium'' ("the pansies") of the genus ''Viola'', p ...

, Periwinkle,

Strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

, and

Violets Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...

The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham

The

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

, on the west side of the transept, is considered to be the National Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham for the Episcopal Church. It was built in 1930 and consecrated in 1931 during the 1938-1955 tenure of William Elwell as rector. On the altar is the replica of the original statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk, England. It is believed to be the first shrine to Our Lady dedicated in any

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church in the United States. Since 1980 the Lady Chapel has been the object of an annual Walsingham Pilgrimage. In the middle of the floor is a small wedge-shaped stone brought from

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

, England. The five paintings above the altar represent the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

enthroned, attended by

Saint Agnes Agnes of Rome () is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches. St. Agnes is one of several virgin martyrs com ...

St. Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the patroness of music and musicians, i ...

, and Angels. They were painted by T. Noyes Lewis of London.

Windows

The stained-glass windows within the church in the nave are the work of a local

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

glass company. Each portrays a different part in the life of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

. All have been installed since 1968.

All Saints Chapel

In the late 1930s the Rev. A. Parker Curtis began using a room at the Sharpe Resort, to offer Eucharist for Episcopalians on vacation at

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Elkhart Lake is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, located within the northwestern part of the county within the Town of Rhine. The population was 967 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolit ...

, during the summer months. Eventually it was decided that a chapel should be built in the area and Grace Church bought a small piece of land. In 1951 the chapel was completed and consecrated. The chapel is constructed of native

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

. A wooden beamed ceiling is used throughout the chapel. The floor is a special slate used all over the area, and is also used in complement with the floor of the Walsingham Shrine in Grace Church.

Services

Grace Episcopal is an

parish and has a very rich heritage of elaborate services and festivals. On Sunday the main worship services are Low Mass and a family Solemn Mass. During the week Low Mass is offered along with

Morning Prayer Morning Prayer may refer to: Religion *Prayers in various traditions said during the morning * Morning Prayer (Anglican), one of the two main Daily Offices in the churches of the Anglican Communion * In Roman Catholicism: ** Morning offering of C ...

, and

Evening Prayer Evening Prayer refers to: : Evening Prayer (Anglican), an Anglican liturgical service which takes place after midday, generally late afternoon or evening. When significant components of the liturgy are sung, the service is referred to as "Evensong ...

, followed by the

Rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

in the Lady Chapel. Confessions are heard every Saturday, and a

Healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...

Mass is offered every Monday night.

References

{{reflist

External links

Grace Episcopal Church (''Sheboygan'', Wisconsin)
* ttp://episcopalfonddulac.org/ Diocese of Fond du Lac Buildings and structures in Sheboygan, Wisconsin Episcopal churches in Wisconsin Anglo-Catholic church buildings in the United States Anglican National Shrines Shrines to the Virgin Mary Churches in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Historic district contributing properties in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin