Immanuel Presbyterian Church Celebrates 50 Years of Service

In the early 1960s, McLean found itself in the midst of a church-boom.  The town which gradually grew around a small train station at Old Dominion Drive and Chain Bridge Road was officially named McLean in 1910, after John R. McLean, owner of the Washington Post newspaper and one of the founders of the Great Falls and Old Dominion railroad. 

The town grew quickly, and fifty years later, McLean's burgeoning population was in need of more churches.  Several new churches popped up in and around the town.  And in 1960, the Presbytery of D.C.  to relieve some of the crowded services at the historic Lewinsville Presbyterian Church west of McLean, commissioned a sister church on the east side of McLean  Thus, Immanuel Presbyterian Church was formed.  The church now sits at the corner of Route 123 and Savile Lane, just east of the CIA. 

The church held services for the first few months at Franklin Sherman School in 1960.  And in November of that year, the Presbytery purchased for the church a six acre property with a brick house which was built in 1942.  The congregation met in the basement of the brick house, which periodically flooded.  The Property Committee Chair would sometimes ask the congregation, "If it rains on Saturday, please come early on Sunday to help bail out the water." 

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the church, which was formally organized on October 8, 1961. "There is a strong sense of community that ties us very strongly together," said member of 25-years, Janet Tysse. "There are a lot of things that we do to care for each other."  Tysse is very involved in planning the 50th anniversary activities for this weekend.  Saturday night there  was a reception and show scheduled which was to feature skits and songs from the church's early years.

 A video showing interviews with current and former pastors was to be shown, and a special book, which is being kept under wraps until Saturday night, was to be presented to the congregation.  There will be special rededication services Sunday morning, October 9th at 9am, and 11:15 am. 

Visitors today can see the original white brick house from 50 years ago, along with the old sanctuary, which was added in 1961.  That sanctuary could seat up to 88 people on folding chairs, and featured a portable pipe organ.  Though this space was much more comfortable for the congregation than the damp basement, they would outgrow it before long.

In 1980 a new sanctuary was finally built.  Betty Busey, a member of the church since 1966, was on the building committee.  She noted that the architect liked the simplicity of the original sanctuary and even used the old pulpit in the new space.  The cross that hangs in the sanctuary was purchased by nearly the entire congregation.  An individual could only contribute $5 dollars, so that it was not from any one person.  In 1983, the new sanctuary was presented with a national design award by the American Institute of Architects. 

Linda Wenri is one of the church's charter members. "I was in seventh grade when we started here.  For three or four years, I was the only one in my grade.  Sunday school classes often had one student and a teacher.  But it was lots of hands-on.  People cleaned the church, and they took care of the church physically."  She is now one of several multi-generational families at the church. 

 "The original farmhouse didn't look like a church somehow," said Marilyn Diloreto, a member of the church for roughly 25 years. But slowly the congregation grew.  The church which originally had fewer than 50 members, now has more than 600.  She recalled how the first pastor went house to house in McLean neighborhoods to let people know about the new church.

Immanual Presbyterian Church has a long history of service and outreach.  Pastor Aaron Fulp-Eickstaedt has been at the church for six and a half years.  "We have been blessed and want to be a blessing to others," he said.  "That is a fundamental part of this congregation."  In fact, one of the church's unspoken rules is to "provide for others when we provide for ourselves."  That is why in 1990 with the building of a new education facility came a decision to take part in one of its greatest achievements, the "I Have a Dream" program. 

In 1990, the church raised $350,000 in pledges to support the mentoring of sixth-graders from an elementary school in  Anacostia, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.  The congregation "tutored and nurtured" sixty-six students from Anacostia, and committed to assisting them with college tuition if they graduated from high school.  Sixty-six children began the program, forty-four graduated from high school, thirty-four went to college, and eighteen graduated.  "That's a phenomenal number," said the pastor Aaron Fulp-Eickstaedt. 

Former Virginia Gov. Linwood Holton and his wife Jinx remember those days because they joined Immanuel in 1975 after they left Richmond and moved to McLean. They raised their four children there.  She sang in the choir. They visited Immanuel last Sunday to see old friends.

Holton called "The Dreamers" project "An amazing act of testimony for Jesus' church."

Some of the members are still in touch with the students they helped put through college. They congregation prayed for two of them last Sunday.

The church has adopted as its theme for the celebration, "Fifty years of embodying God's Love."  Fulp-Eickstaedt said that "the congregation has dedicated its service to doing that for one other, for the larger community, and the world." 

Daniel Thomas, Associate Pastor at the church for 12 years,  said that "Immanuel" means "God with us."  "I believe we can do great things," he said.  "There's just a wonderful spirit here.  It's a very compassionate church."

 Four years ago, Immanual Presbyterian Church joined forces with Lewinsville Presbyterian Church and Temple Rodef Shalom to build an affordable assisted retirement living residence in McLean.  The facility is behind the Tiawanese Presbyterian Church on Westmoreland Street.  The church is still active with the retirement home, and Thomas and Fulp-Eickstaedt preach there once a month. 

  Each year the congregation raises tens of thousands of dollars in a congregation-driven auction.  All of the money goes toward various outreach programs.  The church is also very involved with Langley Residential Support Services, which assists mentally challenged adults.  The church sponsors parties, there is an emphasis on reading, and the kids come and work with the men and women in the program. 

The church is also involved internationally with service to Guatamala, Peru, Honduras, and Africa.  And the congregation has adopted a refugee family from Iran.  

Reminder:   Immanual Presbyterian Church invites all to attend a presentation on November 5th and 6th by Rev. John Philip Newell.  This poet, scholar and teacher will speak about "A New Harmony: the Spirit, the Earth, and the Human Soul.