We hope you find the information here helpful in getting to know Grace Episcopal Church. We invite you to contact the Rector if you have any questions that are not answered through our website or our on-line links to Episcopal Resources.

Admission to Holy Communion

"All baptized persons are welcome at the Lord's Table."
All persons baptized in the name of the Trinity are admitted to Holy Communion at Grace Church. In practice, children are admitted as soon as they express interest and desire, or when their parents believe they are ready. The Rector is available to present communion instruction to young children if this is desired. More information on Holy Baptism and Confirmation can be found on our Sacraments page.

Membership

While the average Christian tends to associate membership within the church with particular beliefs or concepts about God, loyalty to the person of Christ has been from the earliest days the hallmark of the Church. One has only to look at the New Testament to see this point illustrated. The Church is a community of people whose loyalty is to Christ. Our community is recognizable doctrinally by our loyalty to the sacraments, ministry, creeds, etc. There are different latitudes of belief within the framework of this doctrine. The Church contains liberals and conservatives, educated and non-educated, rich and poor. Our unity is in Christ, not opinion.
Formally, one becomes a member of Grace Church through Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, or transfer of church letter.

Members of the congregation include all persons baptized with water in the name of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit who have been baptized at Grace and enrolled in the Grace Church Register of baptized persons; or

a) have been baptized elsewhere, and have worshipped regularly with the congregation, and requested to be enrolled in the Grace Church Register of baptized persons; or

b) have been confirmed at Grace; or

c) have been confirmed or received elsewhere in the Episcopal Church and have transferred their letter of membership to Grace; or

d) have been received into the Episcopal Church at Grace.

Transfer of Membership

We are members of the Episcopal Church and the larger Anglican Communion, and our membership should go with us to whatever locality we move. If you have moved to Rice Lake or the surrounding area, you should be transferred into Grace Church. If you leave Grace, the Rector will write your new home and arrange for the transfer of your membership. If you are not a formal member of Grace Church, you are not entitled to vote at congregational meetings or to be elected to the Vestry.