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Welcome

Welcome to St. Alban’s Church! Every Sunday, and most days in between, people gather in this place to worship, to learn, to grow, to share the joys and struggles of our lives, and to seek God’s grace in the midst of our lives. We do not come because we have it all figured out, but because we are seeking light on the way. We come as we are and welcome one another.

On this website, you can find information about our worship, our classes for people of all ages, membership at St. Alban's, and about how we seek to make a difference in this world. We warmly encourage you to join us for a Sunday service or for some of the many other events that happen here. You belong at St. Alban’s.

Please fill out this welcome form to connect with us.

Contact us with any questions. Call (202) 363-8286 or email the church office.

 

Service Times 

Weekly In-person Sunday Service Schedule (Please note: Service times may be changed during the seasons of Christmas and Lent and during the summer. Please refer to our calendar to confirm the times.):

8 a.m. (English) in the Church
9 a.m. (English) in the Church
11:15 a.m. (English) in the Church
11:15 a.m. (Spanish) in Nourse Hall (same building as the Church)

Communion in one kind (i.e. wafers) will be offered at the main altar, although we will happily bring communion to those for whom steps are challenging. 

Weekly Live Sunday Services are live-streamed on our Youtube channel (St. Alban's DC) at 9 a.m. every Sunday, as is our Spanish service at 11:15 a.m. 

Evening Prayer Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. via Zoom, join us for a time of reflection and sharing at the close of your busy day. Contact Paul Brewster for the link. 

 

Directions

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church is located next to the Washington National Cathedral at the corner of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues in the northwest section of the District of Columbia.

From either direction on the north loop of the Capital Beltway/I-495 follow signs for Route 355/Wisconsin Ave south toward DC. St. Alban’s is located on the left just before the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues NW. Make a left onto Lych Gate Rd before you reach Massachusetts Ave. As you enter the drive, the church will be on your left and Satterlee Hall and the Rectory on the right. Stay on Lych Gate until it becomes Pilgrim Rd.

From any Virginia main in-bound thoroughfare (George Washington Memorial Parkway, I-395, Route 50, I-66), follow signs to Rosslyn and take the Key Bridge from Rosslyn north across the Potomac River into Georgetown. Go right on M St, left on Wisconsin Ave. St. Alban’s is located on the right just after the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues NW. Make a right onto Lych Gate Rd after passing Massachusetts. As you enter the drive, the church will be on your left and Satterlee Hall and the Rectory on the right. Stay on Lych Gate until it becomes Pilgrim Rd.

Parking is available on Pilgrim Road Monday-Friday after 3:30 pm and all day Saturday and Sunday. Parking is also available in the Cathedral’s underground garage for a fee Monday- Saturday and for free on Sunday.  You may also park on neighborhood streets according to DC parking signs.

What to Expect

Visiting a church for the first time can be a bit daunting. So we have tried to put together the answers to some of the questions you’re likely to have and to ensure that you find a warm welcome here. Click on the questions to learn more.)

How do you worship?

What time are services on Sunday morning?

How long do services last?

Where can I park?

Do you offer programs for children?

What should I wear?

Do you have provisions for the differently-abled?

For Your Kids

Children’s Ministry

At St. Alban’s, we believe that a child’s spiritual growth is just as important as their physical and intellectual growth. Our goal is to help children name and value the presence and love of God in their lives. We do this through a variety of means – by providing stable and consistent adult mentors, encouraging strong peer relationships, and supporting parents in their families’ faith lives at home.

Worship: This Fall, Children's Chapel meets during the first half of the 9:00 a.m. service in Nourse Hall (a spacious parish hall in the same building as the main worship space.) Kids and families join "big church" at the Peace so everyone can receive Communion together. To learn more, contact the Rev’d Emily Griffin.

Education: We've resumed our formation programs for the 2022-2023 period. Here’s everything you need to know:

  • Sunday School and Youth Group Classes are from 10:15 to 11:05 a.m.
  • Nursery, 2s & 3s, PreK to 1st Grade, 2nd to 3rd Grade, and 4th to 6th Grade all meet upstairs in Satterlee Hall. Youth classes meet downstairs in Satterlee Hall.
  • If you haven’t registered your child or teen yet, it’s not too late. Register in person at the start of class or click here

Questions? For children, contact the Rev’d Emily Griffin at . For youth, contact the Rev’d Yoimel González Hernández at .

Learn more about Children's Ministries
Youth Ministry

Four teen groups participate in formation classes at St. Alban’s on Sunday mornings. We use the nationally recognized Episcopal curriculum “Journey to Adulthood," or J2A. J2A has two guiding principles: 1) Manhood and womanhood are gifts of God; and 2) Adulthood must be earned. This is a strong program with over 50 youth participating, many of whom engage in a wide variety of ministries at St. Alban’s. Two or three adults mentor each of the groups for two years, sharing their own faith journeys and forming strong bonds of fellowship with the participants.Learn more about Youth Ministries

The Episcopal Church

As Episcopalians, we follow Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe God is active in our everyday lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

The mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and with each other in Christ. The Church pursues its mission as it prays and worships, proclaims the gospel, and promotes justice, peace and love. The Church carries out its mission through the ministry of all of its members.

We uphold the Bible and worship with the Book of Common Prayer. We believe the Holy Scriptures are the revealed Word of God. In worship we unite ourselves with one another to acknowledge the holiness of God, to hear God's Word, to offer prayer and praise, and to celebrate the Sacraments. The Celebration of Holy Eucharist is the central act of worship in accordance with Jesus' command to His disciples. Holy Communion may be received by all baptized Christians, not only members of the Episcopal Church.

The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion with 70 million members in 165 countries.  The word "Episcopal" refers to government by bishops. The historic episcopate continues the work of the first apostles in the Church, guarding the faith, unity and discipline of the Church. Both men and women, including those who are married, are eligible for ordination as deacons, priests and bishops. 

We strive to love our neighbors as ourselves and respect the dignity of every person. We welcome all to find a spiritual home in the Episcopal Church.

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Lent at St. Alban's

02.24.17 | Worship, Learn

    Most Americans (74%) give up one thing more than any other in the liturgical season of Lent… observing Lent itself! This year we are pleased to offer opportunities for all ages that we hope can become part of our collective Lenten discipline.

    Sunday Forums in Lent*

    Led by Priest-in-Charge the Rev'd Geoffrey Hoare, this five-part series will introduce us to Geoffrey’s liturgical theology regarding worship in general and Eucharist in particular.  This series is an opportunity both for him to listen to us and also for him to share some of the central pillars of his own thought regarding the purpose of worship in the Church.

     March 5: What is Worship? 

    March 12: Scripture and Sermon  

    March 19: Response to the Gospel  

    March 26: Around the Table--The Practice of Generosity  

    April 2: Around the Table--Nourished for Service  

    Lenten Reading Groups

    Our reading picks for Lent this year include four texts.  The books will be available for purchase at church, and we hope that many will choose to join a discussion group on the book of their choice. To sign up for a discussion group contact the Rev. Jim Quigley, or sign up in the Narthex on Sunday, February 26; Ash Wednesday (March 1); and Sunday, March 5. Our selections:

    Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles our Judgment, by Rowan Williams (141 pages)

    The former Archbishop of Canterbury looks in depth at the trial of Jesus, using it to teach readers how to face the challenges of life in trying times. Throughout the book, Williams draws not only from the Bible but also from fiction, drama, and current events, pointing up ways in which society today continues to put Christ on trial.

    I Am With You, by Kathryn Greene-McCreight. (224 pages)

    Episcopal priest and theologian Greene-McCreight examines the biblical portrayal of God’s presence among us as light in darkness. Close readings of Scripture are woven into a framework patterned on the seven monastic hours of prayer and the seven days of creation.  

    The Shape of Living: Spiritual Directions for Everyday Life, by David F. Ford (224 pages). 

    Ford asks how Christians can practice their faith in what he believes is a hostile environment. We live in a "culture of distraction," he writes, where we are constantly overwhelmed by experiences of love and pain, grief and joy and a fear of the future or dread of the past. As he recounts his own spiritual journey, Ford uses examples from scripture and wisdom.

    Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace, by Miroslav Volf (247 pages). 

    We are at our human best when we give and forgive. But we live in a world in which it makes little sense to do either one. In our increasingly graceless culture, where can we find the motivation to give? And how do we learn to forgive when forgiving seems counterintuitive or even futile? A deeply personal yet profoundly thoughtful book, Free of Charge explores these questions – and the further questions to which they give rise – in light of God’s generosity and Christ’s sacrifice for us.

    Lenten Practices for Individuals or Families

    Sometimes we need help incorporating the practices of prayer, fasting and alms-giving into our daily routines. Here are a couple of options for doing just that:

    Take Out – Take Home Lent Boxes

    Each box will contain different objects and questions for reflection, as well as cards with specific suggestions for prayer, fasting (i.e. giving different things up for a short time rather than just one thing for the whole season), and giving.

    Lenten Practices Calendar for Families by Traci Smith

    Each day you’re given one simple practice to try – whether it’s a new way to pray, a specific thing to fast from, a behavior to change, or a suggestion for giving. Click here to print your calendar.

    Lent Madness

    Patterned on March Madness, this is a lighthearted way to learn about the Episcopal Church’s calendar of saints and to consider what a holy life might really look like. The format: 32 saints are placed in a tournament-like single elimination bracket. Each pairing is open for 24 hours, and people vote for their preferred saint. Here's the 2017 bracket. Who will win the coveted Golden Halo?

    Daily Devotions

    For daily devotions, copies of the 2017 Lenten Devotions from Episcopal Relief and Development are available in the Narthex of the church.

    Lent in Our City

    Stations of the Cross

    An exhibition across Washington, D.C. in 14 iconic destinations
    A pilgrimage for art lovers
    March 1 - April 16

    This unique exhibition—held in 14 locations across Washington, D.C. — will use works of art to tell the story of the Passion in a new way, for people of different faiths. The Stations weave through religious as well as secular spaces. In this pilgrimage for art lovers, viewers will travel across the District, from the United Methodist Building adjacent to the Supreme Court, to the National Cathedral.  Instead of easy answers, the Stations aim to provoke the passions: artistically, spiritually, and politically. Learn more.

    In addition to the opportunity to visit these 14 locations throughout Lent, the exhibition also features a series of special events.

    Lenten Centering Prayer: Mini-Retreat

    March 4, 2017, 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
    St Columba's Church Room 212 4201 Albermarle St. NW (near the Tenley Metro)

    As Lent begins, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington invites you to a half day retreat of prayer and contemplation.  All are welcome, whether you have practiced Centering Prayer for awhile or are new to the practice. Good will offering of $20 suggested. Registration is not required.  For more information, contact Suzi Kindervatter.

    For a printable brochure of all Lenten offerings, click here.