All Saint's Church on Chevy Chase circle

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give me an idea of what this Episcopal church is like in terms of style of services, parishoners, etc? We are looking for a family friendly Episcopal church that is not overtly conservative/political. All Saint's is very close to our house.

[Anonymous]

Last I heard (8 years ago?) All Saints was very, VERY conservative. Again with the old gossip, but St. Columba's was then considered the best church for families with kids (but that gossip is 4-5 years old).

[Anonymous]

I would characterize All Saints as very conservative as well. They kicked the longtime secular preschool there out so they could start their own religious preschool in the space, and several families have come from there to my church - St. John's Norwood in Chevy Chase - because they haven't liked the current pastor and the one before.

[Anonymous]

All Saints has taken a stance against the Episcopal Church's decision to ordain gay clergy and consecrate gay bishops.

[Anonymous]

We went there a few times about 8 years ago. Everyone around us was ancient! Definitely liked St. Columba's more.

[Anonymous]

I've heard that it is a friendly church. I don't know about their politics. Most of the politically conservative Episcopal churches in the area are on the other side of the river, but All Saints could be an exception.

In the area near you, St. John's Norwood (Bradley & Wisconsin) is also known for being a good Episcopal/family church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went there a few times about 8 years ago. Everyone around us was ancient! Definitely liked St. Columba's more.

Please define "ancient!"

[Anonymous]

You owe it to yourself to visit Grace Episcopal in Silver Spring, which has Bethesda and CC parishioners. A growing parish with lots of young families of every persuasion. Take East-West Highway to Georgia Avenue. It's not that far. But light years away from All Saints!

[Anonymous]

When we were looking (7 years ago?), All Saints was most definitely on the conservative side of the fence and against the inclusion of gays. We were not comfortable going to a church that would not be accepting of some of our family and closest friends.

[Anonymous]

To the person who posed the original question, thank you for asking about All Saints in Chevy Chase! I just came across your post. While you and your family may already be attending St John's Norwood or St Columba's, I want to clear up some of what has been said below about my parish. It's funny how parishioners of self-described "inclusive" and "welcoming" parishes can hate on All Saints Church--especially when some of them have not even visited All Saints. Let me note that I am not on the parish staff, nor have I been asked by anyone to write this. I am just sharing my own experience as a relatively new parishioner.

I am a young adult, and began attending All Saints after finding it down the road from me on the Circle last year. I do not know about how All Saints was 5 or even 3 years ago, but I can tell you that the people of All Saints are not "ancient". Our congregation is not about to become an extension of Rock Creek Cemetery! In fact, just this past Sunday, June 3rd, our Student and Young Adult Ministry Director--who came to us in March with his wife and family of 3 kids--was officially commissioned along with our new Poet-in-Residence. Father Alex, who is our Assistant Rector (he's in his 30s and has a family), oversees the Youth and Young Adult ministries. There are many young families at All Saints, and their proportion in the parish are growing. When I attend the 9am service, I see tons of children coming up the aisles to sit on the carpet at the front before Communion. Many middle schoolers were confirmed last and this year. As far as I've seen, the "Kids Church" and youth ministry for all ages is vibrant. This summer, the youth (middle & high schoolers) are going on respective short mission trips. Yes, families are very welcome! (Now, if you attend the 8am Eucharist, you won't see kids, for obvious reasons.)

Our rector Father Ed, who is in his 50s and came to us last fall with his wife, is an amazing man of God who is loving, welcoming, and joyful in his work. His preaching is sound and definitely not boring--you will not be rolling your eyes staring at the vaulted ceiling. He was raised Roman Catholic (his parents were Irish immigrants) and became Episcopalian as a young adult. He practiced public interest law on behalf of vulnerable children, and later found himself called by God to the priesthood.

Here is a list of all official staff & their positions on our website: http://www.allsaintschurch.net/ASC_staff.html

As to your question of conservatism: From what I have garnered, politically, All Saints parishioners tend to be moderate to conservative. But there are people from both sides of the aisle in the pews. On Sundays, I see bumper stickers for Obama, and I see bumper stickers for Republican candidates. We do NOT bring our political views into the church. I have never heard Fathers Ed, Alex, or Tom preach a sermon that included any sort of call to vote x way on y issue, or to vote for or against x person. The pastors do not see the pulpit as a convention podium. Neither do the parishioners.

We are a theologically conservative parish, and we make no apologies for that. We interpret the Word of God in the way the Anglican Communion and other historic churches have long interpreted it. But we are not dogmatic about it. If, for instance, you passionately believe that the Episcopal Church should authorize same-sex marriages and ordinations, then, yes, your beliefs will not agree with those of our priests or of most parishioners. However, no one will shun or dismiss you for your beliefs. We are not a crazy Pentecostal church or whatnot that shuns reasoned discussion. I am sorry if any of the earlier respondents experienced such treatment from anyone in All Saints, because that behavior does not represent us. We do not believe we are better than anyone else; we are sinners and Christ died for all of us.

Finally, I'd like to comment on the preschool issue that was raised. While I do not know the whole story behind the "kicking out" of the secular preschool in favor of a religious one, I will say this: It makes little sense (common & financial) for a religious entity to establish and support a private school that has nothing to do with religion. I have never heard of a Muslim mosque establish a school that says it will not emphasize Muslim values. The same goes for Jewish schools. I grew up in a liberal, 50% Jewish town with 4 synagogues--Not even the liberal Reform synagogue's school was non-religious. Same thing with Catholic parishes and their schools. In fact, just look at Blessed Sacrament Shrine and its school across the street. And even Chevy Chase Presbyterian, which also sits across the street and is an unapologetically liberal parish, has this on their nursery school webpage: "The Weekday Nursery School (WNS) is an integral part of the Christian Education program at the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church." The bottom line is, it doesn't make sense: Why should a church support a non-religious school? How does that further the church's mission? Simply put, All Saints finally decided that, if it were to continue operating a school, the school should have some connection with Episcopalianism, and not in a mere nominal, name-only way. I don't see how that is 'intolerant', 'mean', or detrimental to children. There are many great non-religious schools in DC, and churches do not run them.

Even if you have found another parish by now, I still invite you and your family to visit All Saints Church. (If for nothing else, the church building is beautiful, and so is the traditional music!) I felt welcomed the first time I visited. Beverly Kennedy, our Newcomers Ministry Coordinator, was one of the first to welcome me afterwards and introduced me to other people. We have a wonderful coffee hour (though it is not a full hour!) that follows both the 9am and 11am service, where "Land of a Thousand Hills" Rwandan coffee, which we have partnered with, is served alongside donuts and pastries. I hope you can visit us one Sunday; we'd be humbled to have you worship with us! God bless you and your family!

[Anonymous]

St. Margaret's at Dupont Circle. Nice and liberal.

[Anonymous]

As a Catholic who believes I may actually be a better Episcopalian could the pp who wrote insightfully about All Saints please give me a quick primer on how I could go there on a Sunday and kind of blend in with my family? I've hesitated because I was afraid we would somehow do something wrong and stand out. We want to be low key and just check it out before talking to the pastor, in case we get cold feet (the Catholicism runs deep if you know what I mean).

For example, can all of us including our three year old just come in and sit in a pew or will the kids have to go to a separate service?

[Anonymous]

I know this thread is old, but can anyone answer the PP question?

I was looking for a non-liberal Episcopal church. I just don't want to hear politics in my church at all, conservative or liberal and I have found that liberal churches tend to be very activist in this area.

I have kids so it would have to be a family-friendly place.

[Anonymous]

I know this thread is old, but can anyone answer the PP question?

I was looking for a non-liberal Episcopal church. I just don't want to hear politics in my church at all, conservative or liberal and I have found that liberal churches tend to be very activist in this area.

I have kids so it would have to be a family-friendly place.

I cannot answer the question re All Saints or Grace Church.

However, I can tell you about St. John's Norwood. I fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum politically (would describe myself as liberal in some respects and more conservative in other respects - I know, this is not permissible in DC!). Like you, I don't want to hear politics in my church at all. I found St Columba's too be too activist/political for my taste. St Columba's has an amazing, wonderful pre-school service (never seen anything like it before or since in terms of having a "real" service adjusted for young families), but when I attended services in the main church, I found myself feeling very annoyed at the sermon. I am particularly not interested in Episcopal Church politics - this is not what I come to church to hear about from the pulpit. Strident is the adjective that comes to mind for me re St Columba's preaching.

In my experience, St. John's has been apolitical. It is very welcoming to all kinds of people, and I appreciate this. There is a very strong sense of community and mission of serving others. My impression of the rector, Sari Ateek, is very positive. Maybe more positive than for any other Episcopal priest that I've ever heard preach. His sermons provoke thought, are well-delivered and interesting. He is a father of young children himself. The church is very family friendly, with a well-attended, well-organized sunday school. What is perhaps amazing is that the pews in the 9am service are pretty well full (particularly with families). I don't know how many Episcopal churches can say this. There is a children's chapel at the 9am service for kids pre-K through 2nd grade - they come up and join parents/family for communion at the end of the service. Sunday school is at 10am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this thread is old, but can anyone answer the PP question?

I was looking for a non-liberal Episcopal church. I just don't want to hear politics in my church at all, conservative or liberal and I have found that liberal churches tend to be very activist in this area.

I have kids so it would have to be a family-friendly place.

Dear Anonymous,

I am the Anonymous parishioner who posted on 06/05/2012 at 22:03. Somehow I came across this thread again after a year, and I would love to answer your question. Since my first posting, I have continued to regularly attend All Saints Episcopal Church. It is a caring and family-oriented congregation. First, your children will have plenty of opportunities to get involved--and I don't mean politically! The Youth and Young Adult Director (Minister Gary Wieder) and his family are wonderful, and along with the other lay youth teachers, have developed a great curriculum, events, and trips for the youth. Second, All Saints, contrary to what some implied at the beginning of this thread, is NOT political. Fathers Ed and Tom talk Biblical theology, not politics. After all, if our Lord Jesus Christ did not come down to preach to the Israelites on Roman and Greek politics, why should we? I have learned a lot from their sermons, and always look forward to hearing them each Sunday. (Not to be comparative here, but a devout Catholic that I brought along to last Sunday's Eucharist thought +Ed's sermon was much better than what was preached on the same Scripture at Blessed Sacrament Shrine, the Catholic parish across the street.)

Third, can I mention that All Saints hosts a FREE lunch every Sunday after the 11 o'clock Eucharist?! Yes, the congregation actually hired a chef who cooks wonderful meals for all. It's a chance for everyone to get to know each other, which doesn't really happen with the "Peace be with you," lol. Fourth, I'd like to mention that All Saints is not judgmental. Yes, it's true that the congregation is wealthier than most. But this is Chevy Chase, MD--what does one expect? Two Sundays ago, I sat down at lunch with who I discovered were 3 lawyers who've been practicing in DC for decades. Not once did I feel that they were looking down on me because I was not wealthy or a DC native. Also, about a month ago, a gay couple just happened to visit the church (no, no one asked, I could just tell because they were holding hands/kissing, etc.). At lunch that Sunday, other parishioners invited them to join their table. Like most others in the church, I am theologically conservative, and I didn't notice anything to suggest that the gay couple were being disrespected.

So in sum: Yes, All Saints Church is generally theologically conservative (we prefer just to call it biblical, lol). But we are not some congregation of Baptists (there's a Baptist church anyway on the Circle, lol). We worship proudly in the Anglican tradition, and our Eucharists are solemn without being stiff. And you'll never hear our rector or priests denounce, praise, or even remark upon, say, gay marriage laws or Obama. So yes, please feel free to visit us this coming Sunday! Our parking lot is small and fills up quickly, so most of us just park on one of the side streets on the Circle. Note: The 8am Eucharist tends to be attended by elderly persons. The 9am Eucharist is Rite II and more family-oriented--there are many families with children at that one. The 11am Eucharist is Rite I--that's the one I attend, because I prefer Rite I to Rite II as it is more traditional.