A Message for You from the Rector

Hello! And welcome to St. John's-Grace Episcopal Church in
Buffalo, New York!

St. John's-Grace is located in the beautiful old residential neighborhood of Buffalo's Upper West Side, but our members come from all over the Buffalo area. Our congregation still has the feeling of a neighborhood church, however, due to our attitude, cultivated over many years, of welcoming everyone regardless of where they are in their personal lives and spiritual journeys.

As you look over the pages of our web site I hope you will get a sense of the truly diverse community of faith that occupies this place on Colonial Circle. We meet in this space for prayer, celebration and worship. But we are really just as much about cultivating life-giving relationships, affirming and nurturing each person's unique spiritual journey, and caring for each other, our community and our world. This is what it means to us to be "People of God."

St. John's-Grace is a very active parish. We continue to look for new windows into the Reign of God as it breaks through into our individual experiences and the life of the community as a whole. People get together for scripture discussions, book groups, movie nights, family activity nights, in-home dinner groups, pot lucks, morning prayer, healing team meetings, community service, community organizing, choir and chorister rehearsals, spiritual retreats, and many other activities.

Are you looking for a community in which you can feel comfortable exploring your own personal spirituality, where you can freely discuss your beliefs and doubts, where you can share your joys and disappointments, where you can find support in the struggles you may experience with relationships, family, personal loss, divorce, abuse, illness, chemical dependency, or bigotry? We have such a community here, and you are welcome to join us.

If you think you might be interested in St. John's-Grace, or you have spiritual or personal needs you think we might be able to help you with, please give me a call at (716) 885-1112 or e-mail me at rector@stjohnsgrace.com Our office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, but you can leave a message on the answering machine at any time. I'd be happy to talk with you on the phone or by e-mail, or meet with you in person. And of course you can just come any time for one of our regularly scheduled services.

Again, welcome, and thank you for spending some of your internet time with us.

May the peace of the Lord be always with you!

                                                                                         Rev. Philip W. Dougharty, Rector

For more information on St. John's-Grace, click on one of the items below.