This morning I drove Route 7 (King Street, Leesburg Pike, Broad Street) to Falls Church to attend worship at The Fall Church. It is another of the historic parishes in the area, and it has memorial pew markers for both George Washington and Robert E. Lee. More recently the parish became the center of controversy as a breakaway congregation attempted to take the property with it when it left the Episcopal Church. The courts ruled in favor of the Diocese of Virgina, and the property was recently returned. A new rector has been selected and will start soon.
I arrived just before the 10:15 service began. A table with name tags and bulletins was set up at the bottom of the steps leading up to the Historic Church. An Usher made sure you were greeted and that you filled out a name tag. Inside a Greeter shook my hand and addressed me by name. Yes, I had a name tag on, but it means that people are paying attention. About 50 people were in the pews when the service started, and by the first reading there were more than 60. Not bad for a summer Sunday. There were a number of young children including infants ranging in age from a couple of weeks to a few months. I saw no sign of older children or teenagers.
After the sermon there was a children's moment. They have a small basket where one or more of the children can put an object. That object then becomes the subject of the children's moment. Today it was a small pink Etch-a-Sketch. On the whole it wasn't as bad as some I've observed, but it still felt like what Mom calls Putting Our Children on Display. The Announcements included a reminder about a meeting to discuss the implementation of a Sunday School program.
The Peace took quite a while. Some folks did make their way around most of the church. Others stayed in the pews. I did overhear a number of conversations that went beyond "Peace", or "How are you?" I know many people that deplore the way the Peace drags on in some churches, but we are a community, and this is one of the ways we share in that community. I think the larger problem is when the Announcements drag on forever, which it did seem like here. On the other hand, there was a lot of important information to communicate, and they obviously wanted visitors and newcomers to get to coffee hour, etc.
On the way out of the church a couple of people commented on my shirt (the dark blue one, Mom). Coffee hour was held in a large room closer to what I assumed is the newer larger worship space. There was a nice variety of snacks, including some healthy choices. These kinds of things are often an introvert's nightmare. However, once filled my plate and got something to drink, I made my way to a table where a couple of people were sitting. After we exchanged perfunctory greetings, they went back to their conversation and pretty much ignored me. Another woman joined us, but once she sat down, she also fell silent and ignored me.
This is a church that is in recovery and rebuild mode. They've been through a protracted legal battle, during which they worshipped elsewhere. One would think that they would want to be a welcoming community. Alas, like so many Episcopal Churches, we stick to ourselves.
This whole search process may need to progress to another level. I might have to go and interview them!
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