Our New Home (2019-Present)
“In the months leading up to the consecration of our new sanctuary, our rector, Sam Ferguson, called our congregation to ‘Gospel Welcoming’ and ‘Gospel Neighboring.’ A number of people responded to that call by becoming involved with our ESOL and job search ministries to immigrants. So many in our church have been excited about God’s call in our new neighborhood … Many months before our sanctuary was built, parishioners began to quietly minister as tutors at Falls Church High school and as volunteers at the Willston Center, among other ventures.
In beautiful congruence with ‘Gospel Neighboring,’ when COVID-19 shut down our offices and sanctuary, the lower level of our sanctuary was turned into a large food pantry. While dropping food off one day, I was initially struck with irony that our sanctuary, for which we had waited seven long years, had been open just shy of seven months before closing. I had been reading the Gospel of Matthew, paying attention to the things Jesus did. Repeatedly, Jesus taught, He healed the sick, and He fed people with miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes. As I looked over our property, I had the beautiful realization that our church is still teaching (sermons, small groups, children’s and youth ministry, and other classes online), the medical offices are caring for the sick, and we are feeding our neighbors. God is ever faithful.”
—Susan Ward
