Grace Episcopal Serves on Many Cultural Fronts

Grace Episcopal Serves on Many Cultural Fronts

The Reverend Weston Mathews of Grace Episcopal Church.

Photo by Vicky Moon

By Emma Boyce

Reverend Weston Mathews has served as rector for Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains for only four years, yet he has bridged the difficult gap between tradition and innovation in building a burgeoning cultural center within the church.

At Grace, there is space to create. Along with art classes and the Grace Church Concert Series, now in its 21st season, Mathews has welcomed two resident theater companies, Natasha Parnian-Farms’ Dark Horse Theater and Shakespeare Opera Theater.

“With theater, you can address community issues in a way that’s sometimes harder to do on a Sunday morning,” said Mathews, who, among many other interests, has a background in theater. “I think good, strong local theater helps build healthy communities. I also think people who are spiritual but not religious might plug in and see a different side of kindness and compassion by coming to the show.”

Most recently, Mathews has been working with Miriam Burns, former conductor for the New York Philharmonic and Ohio State University Director of Orchestral Studies, to bring a resident philharmonic ensemble to Grace.

“The goal is for us to be a community center where people can find a place of rest and refreshment.” Mathews points to the parish green, historically a common ground for villages. He envisions people gathering for picnics, watching plays, or simply enjoying nature. Whether a member of Grace or a fleeting visitor, Mathews wants anyone who comes to the church to feel welcome.

“People can see something beautiful and be a part of that,” he said. “No screens.”

The path to the priesthood hasn’t always been straightforward for Mathews. In graduate school at William and Mary, he re-examined his faith after having stepped away from the church in college. After teaching six years of American history at Nelson County High School outside Charlottesville, he finally attended seminary in Alexandria.

After graduation, he served as associate priest at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond. St. Stephen’s, with membership in the thousands, has a far different pace than Grace. Surprisingly, it didn’t take much for Mathews to make the transition.

“I knew there was a great value in the land and water and animals here,” said Mathews, who is passionate about conservation

Away from the church, he also runs Interfaith Alliance for Climate Justice, an environmental nonprofit, which fought and won against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

In the fall of 2019, Mathews also helped found Grace Montessori, a diverse faith-based school, available to ages 18 months to six, that works closely with Windy Hill, Virginia Department of Social Services and Fauquier Social Services. Mathews and School Director Micah Earle has seen it grow even more during the pandemic.

“It’s really important that early childhood care is accessible to all,” Mathews said, crediting its scholarship program with increasing diversity. “That’s been a real blessing to get to see a lot of young families and meet their needs.”

During the pandemic, Mathews partnered with other churches, organizing joint worship services and, with First Baptist down the road in The Plains, blended feeding programs. Grace’s weekly food pantry, Peas and Grace, open Tuesdays and Saturdays, remains an essential resource for families.

“I’ve seen people be so resilient and so kind during Covid-19,” he said. “Our church really pulled together and rallied around each other. It’s emblematic of the spirit of this place and it’s not just Grace, it’s Marshall and Middleburg and The Plains. We’re all very connected to each other.”

After more than a year of outdoor and online services, parishioners are finally returning to the pews. When Mathews speaks about his faith, it’s hard not to “plug in.” It’s intertwined, of course, with Grace Church, his environmental pursuits and interests in the arts, but also with the surrounding community.

“It’s the communion table where people from every background all kneel together,” Mathews noted. “There are not a lot of spaces in our life where people can come from very different backgrounds and do the same thing. Here we start with oneness.”