St. Thomas Episcopal Church Celebrates 50th Anniversary Serving McLean

In 1961, Route 7 was a picturesque two-lane country road running from McLean to Leesburg.  Virtually the only thing in between was farmland.  Sensing rapid growth in the area, the diocese of the Episcopal Church looked to expand.  McLean was booming thanks largely to the coming to the CIA, and there was a need for more churches to serve the Episcopal population in the area. 

"The diocese was looking at planting churches in a number of places because of what seemed to be a rapid population growth.  This was an ideal location," said Reverend Stephen Edmondson, the Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church.  The church, located on Brook Road, at the intersection of Route 7 and Lewinsville Road, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this fall. 

"Virginia has deep long Episcopal roots," explained Rev. Edmondson.  George Washington was an Episcopalian.  In fact, Christ Church in Alexandria still has his pew. It is an old diocese, and the largest in the Episcopal Church.  "It's a relatively Episcopalian area compared to other parts of the country," he added.

The diocese liked the location that was to become St. Thomas Episcopal Church.  It was next to a brand new development called Woodside, and it seemed to meet the approval of other Episcopal Church rectors in northern Virginia.  The diocese purchased five acres of farm land for $17,500 in 1960.  And it called upon Rev. William Opel to get the project going. 

Opel met with a group of people on the back porch of Mary and Tom Pringle's house.  The group was enthusiastic, and papers were signed.  Mary and Tom Pringle would attend St. Thomas for close to fifty years. Mary Pringle passed away a few years ago at the age of 104.  Both she and her husband are buried there.

St. Thomas held its first service at McLean's Andrew Chapel on September 11, 1961. Following speedy construction, the congregation would hold its first official service in its new building on Christmas Eve, 1961.  Though the new building was not quite completed, the congregation was not deterred by the space heaters, plywood on the windows, or candlelight as the only source of light.  And although the number of initial members is not known, by 1964 the directory listed just under 130 families, and about 100 children.

Laura Barlow has been a member of St. Thomas since 1963.  She and her family were moving from just outside of Arlington to Great Falls, and were looking for a family-oriented church.  When they found St. Thomas they decided to stay.  "It was a very unpretentious church," she said.  Her three children attended Sunday school, and she joined the choir.  "St. Thomas has always had good music.  From the beginning Father Opel was the choir director," she said.  "And then we managed to get choir directors from the College of Church Musicians."  Barlow is still in the choir today, where she is a lady tenor.

Some of the physical features of the church and many of its programs are member-driven.  This conveys a sense of the congregation's loyalty and resourcefulness; qualities that are sometimes harder to find in a large church.  Laura Barlow's husband, Robert, along with several other members and friends, was involved in making and assembling the stained glass windows that adorn the sanctuary. 

The project, which included the windows and a significant amount of woodworking, was conceived by longtime member and architect Brad de Wolf.  De Wolf recalled to the church's historical committee that "the building was turned over to our young congregation in a very primitive condition."  So de Wolf designed and built, with a group of parishioners, a handcrafted altar rail, pulpit and lectern, baptismal font, and a large cross that hangs in the front of the church.  He also taught a group of parishioners how to cut and assemble the stained glass altar windows.  Though de Wolf passed away just a few weeks ago, his contributions will continue to have a lasting effect on the modest church.

Laura Barlow recalled the capital campaign in the 1990's in which the parishioners raised nearly $1 million  to expand the church's facilities.  Though the church has always had healthy membership numbers, currently about 140 families, a decision was made to construct an education wing, offices, a parish hall for social events, and a narthex to welcome members and guests.  This would give not only the membership, but its programs, room to grow.  The new facilities were completed in 1998.  "There was a big party," said Barlow."It was very satisfying."

Berta Smith and her family have been members of St. Thomas for 36 years.  She, like Barlow, liked the warm feel of a modest-sized church.  She and her husband and two boys moved to the area from Gainesville, Florida, and were looking for a church.  "I kid you not," she said.  "The day I visited, I opened the end door, and the choir was all standing by the coffee pot, they all turned and looked at me.  And these four women came swooping down in their blue robes; they looked like a bunch of blue birds, and welcomed me.  And I just knew this is where I really need to be."

At one point, the Sunday school program was extremely small because there were not a lot of young families then.  "There were two other little boys, and my two boys, and the senior warden, who was a Marine Corps colonel," Smith said.  "And if we all showed up he would take these boys back to church school, and they would have the time of their life drawing jet planes, and warriors and things like that.  I'm sure he tried to teach them something other than that, but my kids loved it right from the beginning."

Like many churches, St. Thomas has a long tradition of community outreach.  The parishioners were involved in serving the underprivileged at St. Stephens Church for many years, a large urban church on 16th Street in Washington, D.C.  "The premise at St. Stephens was that people were our guests.  They sat and we served.  It taught us a lot about inviting people to our table," said Smith.  The program has since evolved.  The church is also proud of its history of being the first to host an integrated Girl Scout troop in McLean. 

Other programs that the church is involved in are McLean SHARE, the FACETS hypothermia shelter, and CrossLink, which packs supplies to send to medical missionaries overseas, just to name a few.  St. Thomas is one of the founding members of the Falls Church-McLean Children's Center, a high quality early education program for children, many of whom attend on close to a full scholarship.  St. Thomas has a new relationship with an Episcopal church in Haiti.  And the annual pumpkin sale at St. Thomas, which is currently ongoing, raises close to $5,000, which is used exclusively for outreach programs. 

On September 11 of this year, a somber anniversary for the country, St. Thomas Episcopal Church celebrated a happy occasion; the fiftieth anniversary of its first service.  The celebration continued with an Oktoberfest October 29, an All Soul's remembrance on November 20, and a special celebration service marking fifty years of its first service in the sanctuary on December 18.