Recommend a church?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone can recommend a church for my family. We are looking for a reasonably liberal Christian or Unitarian church in DC or near-in Northern VA (Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, parts of Fairfax). We are an African American family, and since we find ourselves in the situation where my 3-year-old son is in a preschool and a neighborhood where he is the only AA kid, I'd like to find a church with a really significant AA population (not just 1 or 2 families). We don't really fit into the typical, historical Black churches in DC (at least the ones that I know of), in terms of our beliefs, however. And we like the idea of a diverse place of worship, anyway. Any ideas? I also want to find one with a good children's program and a lot of young families. I am not sure this church exists, but I thought I'd put the question out there.

In looking into this just online, it seems like All Souls Unitarian in DC, Foundry United Methodist in DC, The Church at Clarendon, and Trinity Episcopal in Arlington are possibilities. Does anyone have any experience with those?

Thanks so much for any help or advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

I am wondering if anyone can recommend a church for my family. We are looking for a reasonably liberal Christian or Unitarian church in DC or near-in Northern VA (Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, parts of Fairfax). We are an African American family, and since we find ourselves in the situation where my 3-year-old son is in a preschool and a neighborhood where he is the only AA kid, I'd like to find a church with a really significant AA population (not just 1 or 2 families). We don't really fit into the typical, historical Black churches in DC (at least the ones that I know of), in terms of our beliefs, however. And we like the idea of a diverse place of worship, anyway. Any ideas? I also want to find one with a good children's program and a lot of young families. I am not sure this church exists, but I thought I'd put the question out there.

In looking into this just online, it seems like All Souls Unitarian in DC, Foundry United Methodist in DC, The Church at Clarendon, and Trinity Episcopal in Arlington are possibilities. Does anyone have any experience with those?

Thanks so much for any help or advice!

All Souls Unitarian certainly fills the bill in terms of demographics and beliefs. You should attend a few services to get a feel for it - and keep in mind that summer is often different in any church -- lots of programs on hold and lots of regulars on vacation.

[Anonymous]

Columbia Baptist is very family oriented, lots of families with young children. Some African American families. Moderate, doesn’t get political which is nice in this city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Columbia Baptist is very family oriented, lots of families with young children. Some African American families. Moderate, doesn’t get political which is nice in this city.

Yes, but OP wanted liberal. Baptist is rarely liberal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

I am wondering if anyone can recommend a church for my family. We are looking for a reasonably liberal Christian or Unitarian church in DC or near-in Northern VA (Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, parts of Fairfax). We are an African American family, and since we find ourselves in the situation where my 3-year-old son is in a preschool and a neighborhood where he is the only AA kid, I'd like to find a church with a really significant AA population (not just 1 or 2 families). We don't really fit into the typical, historical Black churches in DC (at least the ones that I know of), in terms of our beliefs, however. And we like the idea of a diverse place of worship, anyway. Any ideas? I also want to find one with a good children's program and a lot of young families. I am not sure this church exists, but I thought I'd put the question out there.

In looking into this just online, it seems like All Souls Unitarian in DC, Foundry United Methodist in DC, The Church at Clarendon, and Trinity Episcopal in Arlington are possibilities. Does anyone have any experience with those?

Thanks so much for any help or advice!

All Souls Unitarian certainly fills the bill in terms of demographics and beliefs. You should attend a few services to get a feel for it - and keep in mind that summer is often different in any church -- lots of programs on hold and lots of regulars on vacation.

And keep in mind it just had a very tough time where part of the Congregation is split (like anything, there are sins on both sides). However, it is the only UU Congregation with any significant AA population in your footprint.

I would also check out Covenant Baptist UUC. United Church of Christ is a very liberal Christian Denomination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

I am wondering if anyone can recommend a church for my family. We are looking for a reasonably liberal Christian or Unitarian church in DC or near-in Northern VA (Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, parts of Fairfax). We are an African American family, and since we find ourselves in the situation where my 3-year-old son is in a preschool and a neighborhood where he is the only AA kid, I'd like to find a church with a really significant AA population (not just 1 or 2 families). We don't really fit into the typical, historical Black churches in DC (at least the ones that I know of), in terms of our beliefs, however. And we like the idea of a diverse place of worship, anyway. Any ideas? I also want to find one with a good children's program and a lot of young families. I am not sure this church exists, but I thought I'd put the question out there.

In looking into this just online, it seems like All Souls Unitarian in DC, Foundry United Methodist in DC, The Church at Clarendon, and Trinity Episcopal in Arlington are possibilities. Does anyone have any experience with those?

Thanks so much for any help or advice!

All Souls Unitarian certainly fills the bill in terms of demographics and beliefs. You should attend a few services to get a feel for it - and keep in mind that summer is often different in any church -- lots of programs on hold and lots of regulars on vacation.

And keep in mind it just had a very tough time where part of the Congregation is split (like anything, there are sins on both sides). However, it is the only UU Congregation with any significant AA population in your footprint.

I would also check out Covenant Baptist UUC. United Church of Christ is a very liberal Christian Denomination.

pp meant UCC, not UUC. Here is the website http://www.covenantdc.org It looks very liberal and very racially mixed.

[Anonymous]

I’m a member at Foundry UMC, and we would fit most of what you’re looking for. Diversity is a bit of a question because we don’t have a ton of AA families, but there are numerous mixed-race families. Your kid certainly wouldn’t be the only Black kid. It’s definitely worth your time to check out a Sunday morning, but I’ll warn you that Sunday school is on hiatus for the summer. You also could just watch the live stream of our worship services on our website if you want a glimpse.

[Anonymous]

Covenant Baptist is an amazing, GLBT friendly, mostly African American community. Not sure about the size of the youth programs but a very special community.

All Souls is NOT a diverse place right now. Easily 50% of the African American households there are deeply wounded and have stepped back from participation in the church. I know at least fifteen long-time Black members who will not step foot in a service when Reverend Rob is preaching. No one repeating Reverend Rob's line about there being fault "on both sides" has ever been able to actually state what Reverend Susan actually did wrong, other than get accused of plagiarism by a vindictive person whose allegations have been repeatedly proven false and dismissed by other organizations, including the Unitarian Universalist Association. She remains on the board of the UUA's seminary, and UUA task forces on structural racism within the denomination are continuing to investigate the situation at All Souls after very publicly taking Reverend Susan's side in the matter of separation negotiations.

[Anonymous]

OP here--thanks for all of the replies. I really appreciate your help! I will definitely be looking into Covenant Baptist, and I am so grateful to have learned about it here.

[Anonymous]

I would look for a Unity Church, OP. More Christiany than UU, but very similar otherwise.

[Anonymous]

We go to National Community Church - the campus that meets at Lincoln Theater. We aren't AA but are non-white, and it's a very diverse congregation. It's a social justice-minded church, and we enjoy being part of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We go to National Community Church - the campus that meets at Lincoln Theater. We aren't AA but are non-white, and it's a very diverse congregation. It's a social justice-minded church, and we enjoy being part of it.

OP is looking for a liberal church and I see that National Community is aligned with Assemblies of God and the Willow Creek Association. I don't think of either of those as being particularly liberal (although they are more liberal (and I would say Biblical) than Baptists and evangelical churches when it comes to female pastors but not sure about other justice issues). How is it being there?

[Anonymous]

River Road Unitarian has a small but growing AA membership. The new associate minister hired to start in September is AA and quite dynamic.

[Anonymous]

You could try:

Calvary Baptist (not very baptist; calvarydc.org)

Metropolitan Community (mccdc.com)

[Anonymous]

Grace covenant church in Chantilly
https://www.gracecov.org