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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

Beginning on Trinity Sunday, May 30, 2021, worship will be open to anyone without pre-registration or distancing requirements. We will continue requiring that worshippers be masked for now. 

Our schedule of services will remain the same throughout the summer:

 - 9:00 a.m. (English) in the church

 - 10:30 a.m. (English) in the church

 - Noon (Spanish) in Nourse Hall

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. 

Masked hymn singing both indoors and outdoors will be permitted, and music will be supported by a soloist and organ. 

On-line worship services in English and Spanish are available on Sundays beginning at 8:00 a.m. on our YouTube channel.

 

 

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: Children’s Chapel meets at the start of the 9:00 a.m. service. Starting in September 2021, Children’s Chapel with Communion will be held outdoors on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month at 9:00 a.m. To learn more, contact the Rev’d Emily Griffin.

Education: All church school classes resume the Sunday after Labor Day with our annual Open House. Instruction starts the following Sunday.

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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Faith Talk - Home

Home

Posted by Jo Turner on with 2 Comments

“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.  "All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes " --  Maya Angelou

Writing last Saturday:

When I need a brain rest, I confess to turning on the television to HGTV, a channel about people who are either improving or shopping for a house. They invariably insist that a real home must have stainless steel appliances and granite countertops… oh, and a man cave.

The weekend before this past, two St. Alban’s occasions stirred up a lot of home-y thoughts for me, and both events have been mentioned in previous Cups. That Sunday, we welcomed Syrian immigrant families to participate in our service, and they more than welcomed us to some pretty terrific lunch food and joyful dancing. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming to hear of their courageous journeys. I was reminded of a quote from Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose: “Home is a notion that only nations of the homeless fully appreciate and only the uprooted comprehend.” I heard nothing about granite countertops.

Continuing to write on Monday:

Saturday night, I was called to Inova Fairfax Hospital to be with my oldest and dearest friends. Jane, Mac and I met at the beginning of my freshman year at college, 53 years ago this month. Jane was my roommate. Since then, we have been inseparable through the worst and best times of our lives. We have no secrets and love each other unconditionally. Jane and I sat at Mac’s bedside as Saturday night became Sunday morning, and an unanticipated but healing death approached. As crazy as it sounds, there was something of home in being safely together through those hours, stripped emotionally bare of everything but shared stories and 53 years of overwhelming love.

I am now tired and sad, but so grateful that we can bear witness to even a small sense of home to those on a journey. We are all on a homeward search. The fragility of life, be it from being uprooted from one's homeland or the approach of life’s end, intensifies the need. And I am grateful that this man of faith is now truly at home, as we have been promised. 

Ten days ago, at the memorial service for another friend, we sang her favorite hymn that paraphrases the twenty-third psalm—hymn 664 for Episcopalians. The final verse of that hymn says it all.

The sure provisions of my God attend me all my days; 
O may Thy house be my abode, and all my work be praise!
There would I find a settled rest, while others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest, but like a child at home.

For Mac. Welcome home.

Tags: home

Comments

Anton Vanterpool II August 9, 2016 2:46pm

Jo,
My Condolences for your loss. The blessing Mac gave you was the joy of his presence in your life. Celebrate that it happened.

Cuzin Bev August 10, 2016 4:43pm

Jo, love these home thoughts. So sad for the physical loss of Mac and yet so glad for his release and home-going. Hugs and peace for you, Jane, and Rich.

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