Grace Episcopal Church

April 2025

Friday 18th 3:00 pm

Tenebrae Service

Church

Sunday 27th 11:00 am

Morning Prayer in the Chapel

Coffee hour and treats to follow

Three buildings house our church and activities. The central building, currently our Parish house, is the most historically interesting. Originally built in 1835 by General John Hartwell Cocke as a chapel for the enslaved persons on his Bremo plantation. It served that purpose until after the Civil War when the Cocke family donated it to the Bremo Bluff community for its church – and was moved 5 miles for that purpose.

A small building, it was outgrown and retired as a church in 1924. A new, larger brick church was erected (the current Grace Episcopal Church,) and the now Parish House was moved yet again behind the new church. It is listed in both the National and Virginia Registers of Historic buildings.

The Ranson House, which is the small white house on the north side of the Parish House, briefly served the community children as a schoolhouse and currently houses our church office.

Thank you for the Homecoming Memories!

Thank you to all who attended our celebration of 100 years of worship in our church and 140 years in Bremo! Among our distinguished guests……

Bill and Carrie Ancell from Montana. Bill has ancestors buried at Grace. He is actively engaged in collecting genealogical information. Please reach out to us if you would like to contribute information .

Ashby and Merrit Shipp joined us from Northern Virginia. Ashby’s grandfather was the master carpenter for the church – no wonder it is so gorgeous!

Tom and Cathy Hendrickson came from Richmond. Tom was our Priest many good years in the early 2000’s. Always special to have Tom back with us!

Peter Way’s daughter Kristi also came from Richmond. Peter was our Priest in Bremo for many wonderful years in the 70’s and 80’s.

Wayne Cain our neighbor and glass artist celebrated with us too, with his wife Marcia. They were married in the Parish House. Wayne made two original windows for the church as well as cleaning and restoring all the windows and rebuilding our church steeple cross. We are so blessed to have such a great neighbor and friend of Grace!

Many grandchildren and great grandchildren of Howard and Hazel Ranson joined the celebration – they came from Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and throughout Virginia.

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Member of The Diocese of Virginia

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