From the Pastor, Douglas Ridley...


Dear Friends,

 I like to give gifts to people, and if all goes well - which isn't very probable just now, and maybe not even possible - I will have a small volume of poems to give to you around the beginning of June, as well as a surprise "connection" gift.   I am also inviting any and all of you to come to Magnolia, Delaware, on Sunday, June 22, for an "Open House".   I want those of you who are worried to see that I will not be living in a pup tent in a vacant lot, but rather in a nice, and not-so-modest, house.   It is the house Anne picked out, and upgraded.  Right now, it belongs to the bank, but I will soon begin paying them off, so it will be mine.   I cannot begin to adequately express the gratitude I feel for the many ways my life has been gifted - blessed - over these past twelve years.   This time - being here at Grace Church - has just been the most wonderful gift imaginable.  I thank God for his amazing grace to have allowed that to be, and for having allowed Anne to be here, and to go home from here.   I also thank each and all of you for the amazing grace with which you have blessed Anne and me, and now me, these twelve years.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

See you at Sunday School and worship.






HISTORY OF GRACE .......
A Methodist society was formed in Cambridge in the late 1700's. In 1783, it became a congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America. On May 1, 1863, 48 Methodists from Cambridge joined together to organize a new church. They were the charter members of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

They met in a "neat but small" wooden structure loaned by a Presbyterian Church that never really took root in Cambridge. In November 1881, land at the corner of Race and Muir Streets was purchased from the estate of Dr. Handy, a contractor and church member. He and J. Benjamin Brown took on the task of building the present sanctuary building. The church opened for services in August 1883, with Bishop John G. Granberry preaching the dedication sermon. Grace Church was called a "model of architectural beauty and symmetry."

The orginal gray stone exterior of the church has not changed, although several additions over the years have brought the church to its present design. The most recent of these provided a covered, accessible ramp and entrance area, accessible bathrooms, and an expanded, modernized kitchen. Steeple reinforcement and dormer replacement, roof repairs, and exterior painting are the most recently completed work.

From it's earliest years, Grace Church has been an anchor to the life of downtown Cambridge. It has reached out to the community in worship, study, fellowship, witness, and service. Through its members, it has had a voice in major economic, political, and educational decisions, given countless thousands of hours of volunteer service through community agencies and boards, and been an active participant in cooperative ministries with other churches in the county. Through radio broadcost of the Baraca Class weekly since 1946, and of the worship service monthly, Grace Church has touched and inspired people with the love of Christ in the surrounding region. Grace still stands at the corner of Race and Muir Streets, welcoming people to join in worship, study, and fellowship.









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