Our History

The San Marcos Historical Society gave the derelict church at the corner of Pico Avenue and San Marcos Boulevard to Grace Episcopal Church with the understanding that we would move the church from that location. Under the direction of Rev. Ted Johnson, the church was moved to its present location at 1020 Rose Ranch Road. On November 4, 1984, Grace Church was dedicated. The ability of Rev. Johnson to put it all together will always be remembered by those of us who witnessed his ability and dedication.

When Bishop Gethin Hughes started the Season of Transformation, Rev. Eric Menees was at Grace Episcopal Church and many of us gave additional financial support to upgrade the church. The wall on the north side of the church was removed and the area where the church offices had been was opened up to be where the choir and organ are now. The pews that had been given to us by St. Bartholomew in 1984 were replaced by ones that fit better, and a new carpet was installed. The steps to the east of the main entrance were installed. A new exit from the north side of the church was also installed. As an interesting side note, this transformation began on September 11, 2001, it was comforting for those who were here on that day to be a part of a new life on such a tragic day.

In 2005 we realized a long-time goal of becoming a self-sustaining Parish after years of being a Mission Church. In September 2006, the schism that affected many Episcopal churches over the ordination of the openly-gay Bishop Gene Robinson also affected Grace. Rev. Eric Menees left Grace taking a number of parishioners with him. Rev. William Lieber was asked by the bishop to be our interim priest.

On December 7, 2008, Rev. David Marshall joined the church and remained its Priest-in-Charge until April 2012. Then Rev. Hugh Tudor-Foley was our transitional priest until the end of 2013. At this time Grace went back to Mission status.

In December 2013, the Rev. ClayOla Gitane joined the Grace family as our Priest-In-Charge. She was the first woman priest called to Grace and served until August 2016. These were hard times for Grace financially but we kept the doors open and attendance at our services slowly increased.

In May of 2018 Rev. Gwynn Lynch, our interim priest since May 2017, became our Priest-in-Charge and served until January 2020 when she was called to be the Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese.

In 2018 we started a capital campaign fund and were able to do much-needed repair work to the church and coach house. All dry rot was removed, the porches were replaced and the church received a new coat of paint. In 2019 we were able to replace the roof on both the church and Coach House.

In 2020 The Rev. Dr. Frank Muñoz became Grace’s current Priest-in-Charge. Also in 2020, we had a disastrous flood in the coach house after torrential rain. With the help of insurance money, we gutted and refurbished it with a completely new kitchen, carpeting, and cabinetry, and now it’s practically brand new! In 2022 we revitalized our landscaping with drought-resistant plants and installed a butterfly garden.

Grace in the News

Learn about our History

We created a short video of our history.

San Marcos Historical Society

Made a video a number of years ago before the inside of our church was expanded.

Quilt in a Day

Grace was the backdrop for a Quilt in A Day episode on PBS

A Biography of a Country Church

Long ago a book about Grace was written and illustrated by a parishioner, Charlotte Geary.