Emmanuel Episcopal Church

122 East Court Street

Woodstock, Virginia 22664

540-459-2720

beckfordparish(at)gmail(dot)com

Sunday services:

8:00 AM service

Holy Communion with a homily and no music.

11:15 AM service

Holy Communion with music.

After the service, you are invited to our coffee hour in the adjoining Parish Hall. Come and Visit with us!

Emmanuel has several special services during the year. Please consult the calendar for details.

Sunday School

10 am to 10:45 am from the Sunday after labor Day through Memorial Day.

We provide an organized program (September - May) of Christian education for children. Emmanuel encourages a pattern of attendance at worship and education that shall last a lifetime. We work with the Worship Committee and Fellowship Committees to involve the Sunday school children and their families in the worship services and the life of the church. Children are nurtured here.

Adult Sunday School

9:00 am Bible Study Group – All Welcome!

Women's Group

Meets Monthly on the third Monday of the month. Each month has a hostess who picks the activity or focus of the meeting. We range from book discussions, enjoying each others' gardens, craft projects, to meeting at a local restaurant for fellowship. Please call 459-3953 for details.

Nursery

We have volunteers who will stay in our nursery with your child while you enjoy the service. Please ask the usher.

DIRECTIONS TO EMMANUEL EPISCOPAL CHURCH

From the North and DC/Northern Virginia area: Take I-66 west to I-81 south, I-81 exit #291 – Toms Brook. Turn left (east) at the top of the ramp and go to “T” intersection with Route 11 (Old Valley Pike). Turn right (south) on Route 11. Go through the towns of Toms Brook and Maurertown until you get to Woodstock. Turn left at the second traffic light (Court Street – the new county courthouse will be on the far right corner as you turn). Emmanuel Church is the first church on the right across from the bank drive-in window. There is a small parking lot on the right as well as street parking.

From the South (Richmond/Harrisonburg/Staunton) From Richmond, take I-64 west to I-81north. -Take I-81 exit #283 – Woodstock. Turn right (east) at the top of the ramp and go to the intersection with Route 11 (South Main Street/Old Valley Pike – there is a Sheetz store on your right at the corner). Turn left onto Route 11/Main Street. Pass the hospital on your right, Massanutten Military Academy on your left, and turn right at the second light (Court Street – the new county courthouse will be on your left before you turn). Emmanuel Church is the first church on the right across from the bank drive-in window.

Emmanuel’s History

The first Anglican congregation in Woodstock met in a little log church located approximately one hundred yards from where Emmanuel Church stands today. The congregation was probably formed about 1770, and the first (log) church was built about 1774. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, ordained by both the Lutheran and Anglican churches, was the first priest. He began serving the congregation in 1772 and immediately became as involved in political matters as he was in the religious concerns of his parishioners. At the end of his last service in January, 1775, Muhlenberg is reported to have set aside his clerical robes, revealing his uniform as a colonel of militia, marched from the church, and recruited a local regiment which he commanded throughout the Revolutionary War. Emmanuel Church still owns Peter Muhlenberg’s Bible and Prayer Book.

Without a priest, both the Anglican congregation and its little church building in Woodstock deteriorated. It was not until 1880 that the congregation again became active, holding services in the old Court House on Main Street. By 1882 the vestry had built a new, this time brick, Emmanuel Episcopal Church. This building burned in 1890, leaving only the walls and the bell tower standing. A frame building was then constructed within these walls and it continues to be the place of worship for Episcopalians in the community.