A Sanctuary on Monument Avenue
Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church stands on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, in a brick sanctuary completed in 1923. The congregation traces its roots to a church meeting in the city around 1790 and has grown through several mergers and moves over more than two centuries, including a former Shockoe Hill church that was destroyed by fire in 1865. Three years after the current sanctuary opened, Grace Covenant began broadcasting its Sunday services on the radio, a ministry that has continued without interruption.
The church's stated vision is to train grateful disciples of Christ by doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God, and to be a body gathered across generational, ethnic, racial, and economic lines around the Gospel. Its co-pastors, the Reverend Calvin H. Sydnor IV and the Reverend Joanna W. Sydnor, share that calling alongside the Reverend Nelson Reveley, Ph.D., who serves as Pastor for Discipleship. Christopher D. Martin, MSM, directs the music program as organist.
Sunday Morning at 11:00
Worship at Grace Covenant is held each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary and follows a traditional Presbyterian pattern. Weekly bulletins, released in advance, list the Scripture readings and hymns for each Sunday. Visitors may dress however they feel most comfortable, though the congregation as a whole tends toward a more formal style. Sunday School begins at 9:45 a.m., with the adult class meeting in Room 212 and covering Scripture, Church history, theology, and Christian living. Newcomers are welcome to join at any point in the year.
Children begin worship in the sanctuary with their families and are led to the Fellowship Hall after the Confession and Assurance of Pardon. Childcare is provided for children ages two through six in the Fellowship Hall and for children under age two in Room 103.
A Building That Welcomes Everyone
Wheelchair access is available from the alley entrance, with elevator service reaching all four levels of the building. Large print bulletins are available in the Narthex, as are hearing assistance devices. Parking is offered in the lot behind the church between Allen and Lombardy, or along Monument Avenue in front of the building, where street parking is free on Sunday mornings until 2:00 p.m.
A Century of Music and Radio
Grace Covenant's music ministry reaches across generations. The Chancel Choir, open to singers from the teen years through adults, rehearses on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. and provides the primary musical leadership for Sunday worship, drawing on a wide repertoire from standard church music to new compositions. The Handbell Choir, a multi-generational ensemble ringing five octaves of bells, rehearses on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. and plays for special services such as the Candlelight Carol Service and Easter Sunday. The Junior Choir, for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, rehearses on Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m. and sings in worship several times a year.
Grace Covenant's radio ministry predates the current sanctuary. On January 27, 1924, the church hosted famed evangelist Dr. R.A. Torrey and built the first radio station in Richmond to carry his sermon. That station became WLES, which still broadcasts the church's Sunday service each week at 11:00 a.m. on 590-AM and 97.7 FM, with the same feed streamed live through the Truth Network. Those interested in seeing how the service reaches the airwaves can arrange a visit to the church's Radio Room.
Each summer, Grace Covenant hosts the August Musicales, a concert series now in its thirty-seventh year that features renowned artists from Richmond and beyond.
Growing Together as Disciples
Beyond Sunday School, Grace Covenant offers several ongoing opportunities for formation. Prayer 101 is an intergenerational class that meets from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month in the Fellowship Hall. Facilitated by Reverend Nelson Reveley alongside the co-pastors, the class welcomes anyone wanting to grow in prayer, from those with a long-standing practice to those who feel unsure how to begin. The Ladies Morning Bible Study gathers women of the church for monthly Bible studies, seasonal meals, special programs, and service opportunities to the community.
Noontime Prayer is a daily rhythm the church offers Monday through Saturday. Members and friends pause wherever they are at noon to pray together using shared guides, joining one another in spirit even when apart.
Wednesday Nights Around the Table
On Wednesday evenings from September through May, the church gathers at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall for the Wednesday Night Supper, a homemade meal followed either by a program or simply time for relaxed fellowship. Dinner is ten dollars per person, seven for seniors over sixty-five, with a family maximum of twenty dollars, and credit cards are accepted. The supper is open to everyone, and with the Junior and Chancel Choirs also rehearsing on Wednesday evenings, the building is a busy and intergenerational place on those nights.
Hands Extended Beyond the Church
Grace Covenant supports a number of mission efforts in Richmond and beyond. Volunteers serve regularly with Shalom Farms, helping to bring nutritious produce to neighbors who need it. The church has a long-standing partnership with the KHISH Project, which organizes an annual brigade to southern Honduras providing medical, dental, and eye care to local communities. Grace Covenant also hosts frequent blood drives through the American Red Cross.
On the first Sunday of every month, the congregation collects items for FeedMore, the local food bank. Items most needed include peanut butter, canned lean protein, canned vegetables, canned fruits, tomato products, beans, whole grain cereal, whole grains, and healthy snacks.
A Congregation Across Generations
Grace Covenant's vision names the kind of community it hopes to be: a body of believers from college students to retired professionals, from hardened skeptics to committed believers, drawn together across generational, ethnic, racial, and economic lines to hear the Good News and respond with generous service. The session, diaconate, and trustees share in that work alongside the pastors and the Director of Music. Church offices are open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and the Grace Covenant Child Development Center serves families from the same address. The church's services can also be watched via livestream on YouTube, and giving is available online.