How it all started...
In 1878, a group of devoted church men and women organized what is now Grace Reformed Episcopal Church. Since inception, it has operated as one of the churches of the then Charleston-Atlanta-Charlotte Synod and now Diocese of the Southeast of the Reformed Episcopal Church. In later years, Mr. Walter Frost made arrangements for the church to have the tract of land on which it currently sits.
Before the death of Mrs. Alice Frost, the deed was drawn to acknowledge the tract of land officially belonging to Grace Reformed Episcopal Church. The legal record of the transaction was official and the first church building was erected in the early 1920’s (exact date unknown). Some of the early founders of Grace Reformed Episcopal Church were: Mr. Walter Frost, Mr. Franklin Holmes, Mr. William B. Smith, Mr. Frank Gadsden, Mr. B.C. George, Mrs. Harriet Jenkins, Mrs. Clara Anderson, Reverend Theodore Yeadon, Sr. and Mr. Franklin Joy.
The church continued the work of the Gospel in Moncks Corner and surrounding areas over the years. There were several ministers who served the church during that span including: Rev. Steven Bash, Rev. D. J. Mack, Rev. Z. R. Mazyck, Rev. R. A. Madison, Rev. P. J. Grant, Rev. C. L. West, Rev, Felder, Rev. James Harris, Sr., Rev. Peter West, Rev. Aaron Mazyck and Rev. Thomas Addison. In 1965, Rev. Paul Nesbitt began serving as pastor and led the church until 1994. During his tenure, he was tasked with building two church buildings on the same tract of land. The first was out of necessity from the original building and the second was due to the destruction of the church building with Hurricane Hugo in 1989. He was a dedicated and beloved pastor during his twenty-nine years of service.
The Rev. Fred Garnett served the church from December of 1994 through July of 2009. With Rev. Garnett’s vision and leadership, along with the Vestry Board and members of Grace Reformed Episcopal Church, the church mortgage was paid off and major improvements were made. Rev. Garnett’s love for children and music led the congregation to invest in youth programming and audio visual improvements. At one point, the Sunday School was bursting with youth from the community due to the love and outside-the-box approach to ministry by Rev. Garnett.
After Rev. Garnett’s retirement in 2009, Rev. Tony Copeland became pastor and served from November of 2009 until December of 2014. He was considered a great teacher and helped to build a solid foundation of theological understanding and hunger for God’s Word.
Rev. Copeland’s departure in December of 2014 left Grace without a pastor for seven months. However, the congregation remained faithful and committed to the hope that they would survive this period in their rich history. In August of 2015, Grace Reformed Episcopal Church called Tory J. Liferidge to serve as their pastor. He brought with him a God-given vision for the church to become fully integrated in the life of the community and serve as a beacon of light and hope for all. In almost four years under Pastor Liferidge’s leadership, the church has seen tremendous growth spiritually and numerically. Grace is excited about all that God has in store.
Before the death of Mrs. Alice Frost, the deed was drawn to acknowledge the tract of land officially belonging to Grace Reformed Episcopal Church. The legal record of the transaction was official and the first church building was erected in the early 1920’s (exact date unknown). Some of the early founders of Grace Reformed Episcopal Church were: Mr. Walter Frost, Mr. Franklin Holmes, Mr. William B. Smith, Mr. Frank Gadsden, Mr. B.C. George, Mrs. Harriet Jenkins, Mrs. Clara Anderson, Reverend Theodore Yeadon, Sr. and Mr. Franklin Joy.
The church continued the work of the Gospel in Moncks Corner and surrounding areas over the years. There were several ministers who served the church during that span including: Rev. Steven Bash, Rev. D. J. Mack, Rev. Z. R. Mazyck, Rev. R. A. Madison, Rev. P. J. Grant, Rev. C. L. West, Rev, Felder, Rev. James Harris, Sr., Rev. Peter West, Rev. Aaron Mazyck and Rev. Thomas Addison. In 1965, Rev. Paul Nesbitt began serving as pastor and led the church until 1994. During his tenure, he was tasked with building two church buildings on the same tract of land. The first was out of necessity from the original building and the second was due to the destruction of the church building with Hurricane Hugo in 1989. He was a dedicated and beloved pastor during his twenty-nine years of service.
The Rev. Fred Garnett served the church from December of 1994 through July of 2009. With Rev. Garnett’s vision and leadership, along with the Vestry Board and members of Grace Reformed Episcopal Church, the church mortgage was paid off and major improvements were made. Rev. Garnett’s love for children and music led the congregation to invest in youth programming and audio visual improvements. At one point, the Sunday School was bursting with youth from the community due to the love and outside-the-box approach to ministry by Rev. Garnett.
After Rev. Garnett’s retirement in 2009, Rev. Tony Copeland became pastor and served from November of 2009 until December of 2014. He was considered a great teacher and helped to build a solid foundation of theological understanding and hunger for God’s Word.
Rev. Copeland’s departure in December of 2014 left Grace without a pastor for seven months. However, the congregation remained faithful and committed to the hope that they would survive this period in their rich history. In August of 2015, Grace Reformed Episcopal Church called Tory J. Liferidge to serve as their pastor. He brought with him a God-given vision for the church to become fully integrated in the life of the community and serve as a beacon of light and hope for all. In almost four years under Pastor Liferidge’s leadership, the church has seen tremendous growth spiritually and numerically. Grace is excited about all that God has in store.
Expanding the vision...
Currently, the church has completed a community center (Community’s Hope Impact Center) in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Berkeley County, Lowe’s and the Wall Street Neighborhood Coalition. In addition, a food pantry and resource building will be opened in late 2019 by using a rehabbed building from the Berkeley County School District. Grace Reformed Episcopal Church is also funding a new Community Development Corporation (CDC) called the Grace Impact Development Center (GIDC). GIDC was just given an acre of land to use for affordable housing. Because of faithfulness to the call, God continues to shower our community with blessings.
Grace is Committed to Connecting to ALL Creation with Love, Compelled to Cultivating ALL Connections with Grace and Conditioned to Confronting ALL Circumstances with Hope!
Grace is Committed to Connecting to ALL Creation with Love, Compelled to Cultivating ALL Connections with Grace and Conditioned to Confronting ALL Circumstances with Hope!