About Grace Gathering Place (GGP)
Our Company
In a traditional sense, many people will categorize Grace Gathering Place as an event space or event venue, but we are more than that. Grace Gathering Place is a space where connections will be made, and community will be fostered. It is a place and space where folks will gather to learn with and from each other. It is a space to tell your story and to hear the stories of others. We will come together to meet, learn, laugh, celebrate, sing, dance, commune, break bread, cry, reflect, breathe and heal. So yes, events will occur in this venue and as importantly, community and connections will be the consistent thread and theme at Grace Gathering Place.
Past
1940s
Present
2025
Our Inspiration
Behind Our Story
Grace Gathering Place is named after our mother, Grace Forbes a.k.a. Mama. Grace was born in 1938 in Barrouallie, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. As the sixth of nine children, she learned about the importance of family. From her mother, who raised her and her siblings as a single parent, Grace learned about the power of prayer and faith.
Family and Career
At the age of 17, Grace decided to become a nurse and lived in the nursing quarters in Kingston, St. Vincent until 1964 when pregnant, she left her homeland and migrated to the United States. She met and married Grafton Forbes, a fellow Vincentian, in 1969 and they had four children: Camille, Debbie, Paul and David. From Mama, we too learned about the importance of family, the power of prayer and faith. She also embodies and personifies patience, perseverance, hard-working, love, and grace. After 40+ years of tireless, passionate, dedicated service as a Registered Nurse in Brooklyn, Grace retired and God willing, will celebrate her 87th trip around the sun in May (2025).
Honor and Legacy
Grace Gathering Place also honors and remembers our father, Grafton Forbes (a.k.a. Dada) who migrated to the United States from Sion Hill, Saint Vincent in 1969. After being a commercial airline pilot for Pan American, where he visited 50+ countries, Grafton came to NYC, went to theology school and became an ordained minister. In 1976, he was asked to lead Pilgrim Chapel Brethren in Christ Church located at 403 Rogers Avenue (the same site and location where Grace Gathering Place is located). For over 40 years, he dedicated his life to preaching God’s redemptive and saving grace as well as the gospel of forgiveness and love. In November 2023, Dada transitioned from this life at the age of 89.
