Grace Episcopal Church, Walker's Parish, sits along Gordonsville Road in the rolling Virginia countryside south of Charlottesville, and the parish it anchors has gathered for Christian worship on this site for nearly three centuries. From its earliest identity as a colonial "mountain chapel" through its current life as a parish in the Diocese of Virginia, Grace has combined a love of traditional liturgy, sacred music and historic architecture with a quiet, steady ministry of service to its neighbors in Keswick, Cismont and Stony Point. Its identity today is shaped by a Gothic Revival sanctuary, a Taylor and Boody organ known as Opus 77, the mission chapel of All Saints in Stony Point, and a yearly rhythm that includes the spring Grace Historic Farm Tour and the Thanksgiving morning Blessing of the Hounds.
From Mountain Chapel to Gothic Revival
The history of Grace Church reaches back to the earliest English settlers in the area, who erected a "mountain chapel" on or near the present grounds, probably in the 1730s. In 1745 the Vestry of the Fredericksville Parish of the Church of England commissioned a proper church at this site. First known as the Middle Church and later as Walker's Church, that first building was constructed of wood and completed in 1748. The foundation stones of that 1748 structure are still visible today in the front yard of the present church.
The parish takes its formal name, Grace Episcopal Church, Walker's Parish, from that colonial heritage. After a fire in 1895 the interior was reconstructed, and the three windows over the altar were installed at that time. Although they are not Tiffany windows, they reflect the Tiffany glass style popular in the era, in lighter greens and lavenders that contrast with the more intense colors of the nave windows. Over time the parish grew into the pastoral, multigenerational congregation that worships there today, a community that its mission statement describes as "deeply rooted in the past and an eye to the future," with Thomas Jefferson once counted among those who served on the Grace Vestry.
A Sanctuary, an Organ and a Choir
Inside the historic sanctuary the central liturgical fixtures are the altar and a tracker organ built for the room. In 2015 heavy rains overwhelmed the water abatement systems on the church roof, and plaster fell onto several components of the old organ. The damage prompted the Vestry to appoint an organ task force, and the result of their work was "Opus 77," a bespoke tracker organ created for Grace Church by the builders Taylor and Boody and dedicated in 2019. The organ is accompanied each Sunday morning by an all-volunteer choir led by Music Director and Organist Dr. Jonathan Schakel. The 11:00 am liturgy typically includes several hymns chosen for the season of the church year, sung service music, and anthems, with Michael Latsko serving as Emeritus Organist and Choir Director.
The church is also a venue for musical life beyond its own parish. Grace regularly hosts organ concerts by members of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists and performances by Three Notch'd Road, and occasional choral or instrumental concerts are held in the sanctuary throughout the year.
Sunday at Grace Church
Worship is at the heart of life at Grace, and the weekly schedule follows the seasons of the church year. During the fall and spring the parish gathers for two Sunday services in the Gordonsville Road sanctuary: Holy Eucharist at 9:00 am on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays, and Holy Eucharist with choir and organ at 11:00 am on every Sunday, with Sunday School and Nursery provided at the later service. During the summer, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, the schedule consolidates to a single Holy Eucharist at 10:00 am, accompanied by music, with Nursery provided.
The liturgy follows Rite II in the Book of Common Prayer. Each service includes prayers, Old and New Testament readings, a psalm, a sermon, the recitation of the Nicene Creed, the Prayers of the People, a confession, and the passing of the peace. Visitors who are not baptized Christians are welcome to come forward during Communion to receive a blessing from the presider; all baptized Christians, regardless of age or denomination, are welcome to receive the bread and wine.
Ushers hand out bulletins at the door, and worship bags and children's bulletins are available for families who would like to keep little ones engaged during the service. The offering plate is entirely voluntary, and visitors are not expected to give. For those who cannot be present, the 11:00 am service is livestreamed (10:00 am during the summer months), and past homilies are posted online through the parish's sermon archive.
All Saints Chapel in Stony Point
On the far side of the Southwest Mountains, in the Stony Point community, Grace Church keeps a small mission chapel known as All Saints Chapel, located at 3929 Stony Point Road next to Stony Point Elementary School. All Saints exists today, as at its founding, as a mission of Grace Episcopal Church at Cismont, established through the efforts of the Rev. Frank Leslie Robinson, who also founded two other chapels in the area. All Saints is the only one of those three still in use.
The chapel seats roughly 35 people and follows the same simplified pattern as the parish sanctuary. On the 2nd Sunday of the month it celebrates Holy Eucharist at 9:00 am, and on the 4th Sunday it offers Morning Prayer at 9:00 am. Coffee hour follows the 9:00 am service at All Saints on 2nd Sundays, giving the small congregation a chance to gather in the adjoining parish hall.
Christian Formation for Every Age
Grace's Christian Formation program is led by Christian Formation Director Suzanne Nash, whose role is to develop, coordinate and implement formation for all ages. On Sunday mornings during the school year, children ages 5 to 13 gather in the Parish Hall basement for Sunday School during the 11:00 am service, with two teachers always present in the classroom. Younger children, from birth through age four, are cared for in the staffed Nursery during the 11:00 am fall and winter services and during the 10:00 am summer service. Worship bags and children's bulletins are offered at the door for parents who prefer to keep their children in the pew.
Formation continues for adults through a variety of recurring groups. Adult Forums offer short courses of a spiritual or theological nature, often during Lent, Advent, or in preparation for confirmation, and may include film, lectures, or discussion. A bimonthly Book Club rotates leadership and discussions, alternating between fiction and nonfiction and meeting in the evenings. A Thursday morning Women's Study Group gathers for Bible study, theology, and spirituality, often spending several months on each book. Foyer Groups, formed at the start of the year and reshuffled annually, bring together about eight parishioners for four or more shared meals in homes, restaurants, or other public spaces, while Men of Grace meet monthly for breakfast and parish projects. A Grace Salon series presents community speakers on topics of intellectual and creative interest throughout the year.
Once a year the parish travels together to Shrine Mont, a retreat center in Orkney Springs in the Shenandoah Mountains operated by the Diocese of Virginia, for a weekend of hiking, fishing, learning, and worship.
Sacred Ground and the African American History Project
In the wake of the events in Charlottesville in 2017 and the racial reckonings of 2020 in the United States, Grace parishioners committed to a sustained program of local racial history research. A "Bridges to Understanding" task force guided the parish to acknowledge the past, build knowledge of the area's African American history, and share that knowledge with anyone who wants to learn.
The resulting African American History Project, Keswick-Cismont gathers essays, interviews, timelines, and recommended reading on the parish's history pages. It draws on the work of scholars such as Niya Bates, on parish archivist E. H. Sutton's collections, on the documentary films of Lorenzo Dickerson, and on the histories of nearby congregations including Zion Hill Baptist Church, St. John Baptist Church and the Rosenwald School that once stood at St. John Family Life and Fitness Center. Grace hosts virtual and in-person presentations connected with the project and points visitors to related oral history interviews and films.
Outreach, the Farm Tour, and Blessing of the Hounds
Grace organizes its outreach around three commitments: Community, Congregation, and Creation. The parish supports local nonprofits through an annual outreach grant program, which is funded by two of the parish's signature events.
The Grace Historic Farm Tour and Country Fair, begun in 2010 and held on the second Saturday in June, opens several historic farms and estates near the church to visitors. The event has raised roughly $750,000 over its history for local community organizations, with proceeds distributed through an application and selection process. Volunteers serve as hosts at each farm, on parking and grounds crews, and in the church kitchen.
The Blessing of the Hounds, held on Thanksgiving morning, draws riders and hounds from the Keswick Hunt Club to the church grounds. The tradition began nearly a century ago to honor a colonial English heritage of stewardship and prayers for animals and riders, and it unites the local community in gratitude at the start of the holiday. Donations collected at this service support local nonprofits, animal rescues, and conservation initiatives. On the same Thanksgiving morning the parish also gathers canned goods through the Salvation Army.
Other outreach efforts include the Stony Point Back Pack Ministry, in which volunteers pack backpacks with food obtained through the Blue Ridge Food Bank and drop them weekly at Stony Point Elementary School for distribution to students in need. Parishioners also cook for the Salvation Army meal program in Charlottesville.
Re-Creation Spaces and the Labyrinth
Grace's wooded grounds are as much a part of its ministry as its buildings. The parish's Re-Creation Spaces include the Play and Learning Space, known as PALS, with a swingset, a wooden Ark, a playhouse, and picnic tables, all open to the community from dawn to dusk. In 2025 the parish added a trail system winding around the cemetery and stream, and the planned final phase of the Re-Creation Spaces is a seven-circuit labyrinth. The labyrinth will be accessible through the Memorial Garden or the wooded walk trail and is intended as a place of spiritual sustenance and quiet retreat for all.
The parish also maintains the Grace Church cemetery, which now measures approximately eleven acres and contains graves from across the past 275 years of parish life. Burial plots in the cemetery and in a smaller memorial garden are available to church members.
Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals
Grace welcomes couples planning both Christian and civil ceremonies. For Christian weddings, at least one member of the couple must be a baptized Christian, and the ceremony is not conducted during Advent, Lent, major feast days, October, or Sundays, or when clergy are unavailable. A complete application must be submitted at least six months in advance, and one year is recommended. If either partner has been divorced, the clergy apply to the Bishop of Virginia for permission to proceed.
For couples who want a simpler civil ceremony, Grace offers space on the church grounds, with the understanding that the ceremony itself takes place outside the church building. Donations to the church are welcomed, and an application and security deposit are required.
Baptisms are normally administered within the Holy Eucharist during a principal service, in the presence of the congregation. They are especially appropriate during the Easter season, on the Day of Pentecost, on the Sunday after All Saints' Day, on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord, or when the Bishop is visiting. Baptisms are not normally conducted during Advent, Christmas Eve or Day, or Lent. The Episcopal Church teaches that the spiritual bond established in baptism is permanent and cannot be broken, and all baptized Christians are welcome to receive Communion thereafter.
Funerals at Grace follow a Pastoral Care Plan for the Christian End-of-Life Journey that the parish provides, and church members may purchase interment rights in the Grace Church cemetery or memorial garden.
Becoming Part of the Parish
Visitors who would like to know more about Grace are encouraged to fill out a visitor card found in every pew, to read the weekly homily online, to ask to be added to the Weekly Messenger mailing list, or to request a meeting with the Rector or office staff. The office is open Tuesday through Thursday from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, and can be reached at 434-293-3549 or at parishadministrator@gracekeswick.org.
The Rector, G. Miles Smith, provides the spiritual leadership of the parish. He is supported by Seminary Intern Matthew "Matteo" Carter, who is studying through General Theological Seminary while participating in parish life. Membership is not required for receiving Communion, and Grace values its many friends who worship and serve alongside the parish without formally joining. Those who do wish to become members may do so by being baptized here or by requesting that their membership be transferred from another church. Adults preparing for membership may take an Inquirers' Class, which covers Episcopal beliefs, history, worship and practices, and may lead to baptism, confirmation, or reception.
The parish supports its ministry through an annual pledge, one-time gifts, and a range of planned giving options including bequests, gifts of stock, donor-advised fund grants, real estate, and Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs. Donations can be made online through the parish's giving page or by mail to the parish office.
A Welcoming Refuge in the Virginia Countryside
Grace's self-understanding, set out in its mission statement, is that of "a welcoming refuge, a place of beauty, belonging, and spiritual renewal for all who seek transformation through Christ's love and truth." The parish sees itself enriched by the cultural and intellectual life of the nearby University of Virginia, and it actively welcomes a growing suburban community of young families and others seeking a church home in which to raise children in the light of Christ. With its sanctuary and chapel, its gardens, trails and future labyrinth, its choir and organ, its formation offerings and its program of outreach, Grace Episcopal Church in Keswick extends an open invitation to all who seek to worship God and know the love of Jesus Christ.