NL_120618

4 | December 6, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot NEWS
newlenoxpatriot.com
Grace Episcopal Church marks 150-year milestone
Megan Schuller
Freelance Reporter
Brightly colored red doors
mark the one of the historic
religious pillars of the New
Lenox community, Grace
Episcopal Church. It’s a
church that has served the
New Lenox area for a milestone
150 years after hitting
its anniversary on Nov. 22.
When the church began
as a “mission” church more
than a century and a half
ago , it had about 20-30
members in 1868. It was
an branch of the St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church in Manhattan
before it was closed
in the 1960s and their memberships
merged together.
Now, Grace Church now has
nearly 150 members.
“It is an amazing place,”
Sue Sommer, the first female
priest at Grace Episcopal
Church, said. “It doesn’t
surprise me that it has been
here 150 years, and I won’t
be surprised to see it have
150 more years. It was a
privilege to have formed my
priesthood here.”
The Rev. Greg Millikin
was named the first openly
gay priest at Grace Episcopal
Church earlier this year.
Millikin’s husband, is currently
in seminary to become
a priest, as well. Millikin
said that Grace Episcopal
Church is well-poised for a
bright future looking down
the road to the next 150
years of worship.
“It’s a huge testament to
its endurance and the love
its people that it is stood
the test of time here in New
Lenox, right in the heart of
the village for a century and
a half,” Millikin said.
Grace Episcopal Church’s
prairie-gothic sanctuary currently
stands as the oldest
worship space in continual
use in New Lenox. Designed
by New York’s Richard
Upjohn, it was completed
in 1871, although the congregation
had already been
worshipping in the original
Methodist church building
for two years prior on Hickory
Street, which has since
been demolished.
The sanctuary was later
restored to its original state
in 2015. The parish hall was
constructed in the 1970’s
and now is a multipurpose
space used for parties and
community events, such as
the gala.
“I don’t think Grace
- much less many other
churches - would have accepted
a queer priest even
as recent as fifteen or twenty
years ago, so I am indebted
to someone like Sue - and all
women clergy - for paving
the way for the LGBT community,”
Millikin said.
Longtime church member
and re-elected State Rep.
Margo McDermed presented
the church with a resolution
from the House of Representatives
to honor the historic
milestone of the church.
“Being here every Sunday,
you don’t think of the
lineage and tradition of the
church within the community,”
McDermed said.
“This resolution refers to the
long standing history of the
church.”
Mayor Tim Baldermann
stopped by the gala to drop
off a Village of New Lenox
resolution to also nod to the
significance of the church to
the local community.
As the village continues a
trend of upward exponential
growth, the church plans to
also grow with and alongside
the community.
“Grace can really stand
out in the community as a
place that, like all Episcopal
churches do at their best,
holds together traditional
Anglican worship with modern,
progressive values and
teaching,” Millikin said.
“And Grace really stands
on the shoulders of all the
amazing people who have
led and worshipped here for
this past century and a half.”
Millikin said the biggest
thing that the church did this
year was be present at Mokena’s
first Pride Festival to
send a positive message to
the community.
“It was a huge evangelical
tool for us, and I was able
to speak to the crowd and
tell the LGBT community
that they are welcome at our
church, and that I will gladly
perform same-sex marriages
at Grace, too,” Millikin said.
Bishop of Chicago Jeffery
Lee said during his speech
that the narrative of the past
150 years is what stands out
to him about the church.
“What struck me is the
story of the people here, the
founding families and faithful
parishioners,” Lee said.
“A church is nothing more
or less then the people a part
of it.”
Lee said the church parishioners
embodied the definition
of sacrament which he
defined as an “outward and
visible sign of inward spiritual
grace” before giving a
toast and reciting a prayer.
“God has chosen us to be
the agents of reconciliation
and hope in this place,” Lee
said.
Parishioner and Church
Historian Pam Bloom, of
Frankfort, said that she
hopes residents remember
how the church dug its roots
in the community through
the St. Paul Church.
“I’m very happy to be here
tonight,” Bloom said during
a gala event Nov. 10 celebrating
the anniversary. “I
hope as a church community
we don’t forget about the
Please see church, 5
This photo was taken in time of the turn of the 20th century, where Grace New Lenox
welcomed a priest and his family, the Rev. Charles R. Hodge (left), pictured in front of the
sanctuary with his wife and three children. Photos Submitted
Grace’s Sunday School program was in full swing in 1946 when this photograph of the
church’s little worshippers was taken.