Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2014 Issue | страница 21

Community Beyond the Building
Kendall Martin
For members of Christ Church,
Alexandria, community engagement
has not been focused solely on
their existing congregation, or even
their surrounding neighbors in the
Alexandria area. Instead, they’re
turning their attention to the greater
Episcopal community through an
innovative program called “Christ
Church On-the-Go.”

The concept was a simple one: to
show support for those congregations
that had recently emerged from years
of litigation. As Christ Church On-theGo took formation, these Dayspring
congregations, as they are known,
were in the process of returning to
their home worship spaces and starting
fresh, while facing a unique set of
obstacles. Members of Christ Church
wanted to find a way to show support.

Betsy Hahn, a parishioner at Christ
Church, was in the congregation the
day Buck Blanchard, director of mission
and outreach for the Diocese, spoke
on the topic of “local” mission work.
Blanchard presented the idea that
you don’t have to leave the country to
be on a mission; you can look around
and see what kind of support you can
provide closer to home.

Hahn used that meeting as an
opportunity to discuss with fellow
parishioners what that kind of mission
work could look like at Christ Church.
Hahn suggested they put together
small groups to visit the Dayspring
congregations. Theirs would be a
ministry of presence. Members of
Christ Church felt that they could offer
support by “just showing up” –
because “being there for people
matters,” Hahn explained.

And so the first Christ Church Onthe-Go trip, to The Falls Church, Falls
Church, was born. Since that initial visit,
they have made mini-pilgrimages to
worship at St. Margaret’s, Woodbridge;

Epiphany, Herndon; and St. Stephen’s,
Heathsville. Depending on the distance
of the destination church, the group
has ranged in size from three to 18
people. Members car-pool to the
churches, share in the service and
fellowship, and stop for lunch or tea
on the way home. In addition to the
support they have received within their
own parish for this type of community
outreach, the congregations they visit
have been overwhelmingly positive
about their presence, and for the
solidarity shown.

The members of Christ Church
receive blessings themselves from this
outreach. “It’s very good for us when
we visit because it’s inspiring to us,”
said Hahn. “It may have started out
to support [others], but it is making
us grateful for what we have. We are

building, but we are building from a
base we already have. How well they
are doing with it is inspiring.”

As the members plan return trips
to the Dayspring congregations, they
also build up their internal community.
“We have gone to Falls Church and
celebrated with them … and this Sunday
we are going back again. It’s our way of
continuing the relationship. Showing up
and then returning is valuable.”

The plan is to expand on the
program. The Christ Church On-the-Go
participants will make return trips to the
churches they have already visited – but
they’ll also add small mission churches to
the rotation. By expanding the reach and
scope of their visits, they hope not only
to build fellowship with other Episcopal
congregations, but also to gain exposure
to other types of worship and church
experiences – and to use what they learn
within their own parish. t

Members of Christ Church, Alexandria, visited The Falls Church, Falls Church, as part of
their Christ Church On-the-Go fellowship ministry.

Winter 2014 / Virginia Episcopalian

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