A Reconciling Congregation in Montgomery Village
Christ the Servant Lutheran Church sits on Centerway Road in Montgomery Village, a community in Montgomery County, Maryland, just north of Gaithersburg. The congregation's initials, CTS, also spell out the three commitments that frame its life: Care, Teach, Serve. Members describe the church as a progressive, sacramental community shaped by the love ethic of Jesus, and it was the first Lutheran congregation in Montgomery County to affirm the Reconciling in Christ principle, pledging to be a fully open and accepting community to everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Wider Welcome
"All means all" functions as a working principle here. The congregation welcomes people regardless of race, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, mental or physical ability, or any other marker that humans too often use to draw lines. Membership includes people who have immigrated from around the world and people who have come to CTS from Roman Catholic, Baptist, Episcopal, and lifelong Lutheran backgrounds. That welcome is extended outward through sustained work with people experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and other forms of hardship.
Sunday Worship Around the Altar
Sunday worship is the center of life at Christ the Servant, and the people take the liturgy, "the work of the people," seriously. The single weekly service of Holy Communion begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Sanctuary, where masks are strongly recommended. Worship follows the Revised Common Lectionary, taking the congregation through most of the Bible over three years. Pastor Kari Parsons preaches from those weekly lessons.
The bulletin handed out at the door lists every piece of the service, with page and hymn numbers referencing the Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the red hymnal found at each seat. The worship experience at CTS ranges widely: a traditional liturgical setting with incense and processions, services with jazz or rock music, and services written by confirmation youth. At various points in the service, worshippers may make the sign of the cross, marked by a small cross in the bulletin.
The offering is unusual. Rather than passing a basket, the entire congregation walks forward to the altar to present themselves, with ushers guiding each row. A basket at the front accepts financial gifts for the ministry of the church, a smaller can collects funds for ELCA World Hunger and Gaithersburg HELP, and large baskets at the corners of the altar platform receive food donations that feed neighbors in need.
Communion is open to all who wish to receive it. The congregation gathers around the altar at the time of communion, with bread used except during Lent and gluten-free wafers available on request. Individual glasses offer either wine or white grape juice. Those who prefer not to receive are invited to come forward for a blessing with arms crossed over the chest. Worshippers joining from home through Zoom are encouraged to have bread and wine (or water or juice) ready for the same words.
Children are explicitly welcomed. The church considers noisy children and crying babies gifts from God, and activity bags are available for those who want one.
Worship is also offered online. A Zoom link is sent in a Saturday email with the corresponding bulletin, so anyone who cannot attend in person can still participate.
Lifelong Learning
Education at Christ the Servant is offered for every age. After the 9:30 service on Sunday, the Education Hour gathers children and youth by age group, while adults attend the Adult Forum for lessons and discussion that ranges from Bible study and serious theology to lighter conversation.
On Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m., a Bible study looks ahead to the readings for the following Sunday. The Tuesday Bible Study meets at the church during the school year and welcomes anyone who wants to dig into the texts.
Confirmation at CTS is a three-year program that generally begins in the middle school years. Rather than focusing on right beliefs and memorization, the program uses intensive retreats to challenge youth to think critically about their faith.
A Book Club, currently on hold, has historically gathered monthly to discuss novels, poetry, short stories, and plays from a Christian perspective. Forum and Book List archives are kept.
Prayers, Meals, and Parish Life
Pastoral care is taken seriously. Members can submit prayer requests through a form, and a printed prayer list is maintained. The Care Team coordinates rides for those who need transportation, cards and home visits for those who are homebound, and meals for sick members. A Membership Assistance fund, held under the pastor's discretion, offers private financial aid to members of the congregation.
Fellowship is woven into the year. Hospitality follows worship services, and Koinonia gatherings, Family Fun Nights, a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, workday meals, congregational meals, a chili cook-off, the 4th of July parade and picnic, CTS campfires, and an Advent Family Afternoon fill the calendar.
Gardens, Pavers, and Care for Creation
The grounds reflect an unusually intentional environmental ethic. In cooperation with county and conservation partners, CTS installed permeable pavers to reduce runoff into the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. A brochure about the project is available.
Around the property sit four distinct gardens. In May 2021, 125 native plants were added to the circle as part of the permeable pavers project, creating wildlife habitat that needs less water, fertilization, and pesticides. A raised vegetable garden, built in 2017 by the youth, grows melons and pumpkins. A labyrinth garden, installed in September 2013 as an Eagle Project by Paul Mayer, is used during Holy Week services and the Blessing of the Animals. The Memorial Garden, created in March 1999 next to the Sunday School rooms, was designed for year-round color, a sacred place for ashes, a quiet space for meditation, and accessibility for those with mobility differences. Palm Sunday and All Saints' Day services begin in the Memorial Garden.
The building itself is environmentally conscious, with LED lighting, reusable cups and dishes, paper and plastic recycling, and a single paper towel in the restrooms. A pair of vultures has taken summer residence on the church roof and occasionally dances along to the music.
Recovery Fellowships
The church building hosts a full schedule of recovery meetings. AA and NA groups meet throughout the week, with the congregation describing this work as life-saving and especially important in anxious times. The current schedule includes Freedom in the Village (NA, weekdays at noon), Starting Over (AA, Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.), Village Idiots (AA, Wednesdays at 6 p.m.), Never Alone (NA, Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.), and High Sobriety (AA, Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.). The doors stay open for these groups even when other programming shifts.
Neighbors Near and Far
Service to the wider community runs deep. Christ the Servant partners with a long list of local organizations:
- Gaithersburg HELP, an all-volunteer organization that has served the community for over 50 years. CTS donates food and money weekly, and members have served as phone coordinators, translators, pantry workers, and executive director.
- Interfaith Works, which provides shelter and case management for homeless adults in Montgomery County. CTS prepares and serves a week of meals for the shelter each year and donates clothes and yard sale leftovers to the Interfaith Works Clothing Center.
- Manna Food Center, which distributes millions of pounds of food each year. CTS supports Manna through a First Sunday Fresh Pantry offering of fresh produce each month.
- UMAN (Upper Montgomery Assistance Network), which provides emergency financial assistance, education, and referrals. The annual October yard sale supports UMAN directly, and unsold clothing is sent to the Interfaith Works Clothing Center.
- The Lamb Center in Fairfax, Virginia, a daytime drop-in for the poor, where a former CTS member serves as Director of Operations.
- Whetstone Elementary School, where the congregation donates school supplies each August and runs a Birthday Book Fund Drive.
- The City of Gaithersburg Thanksgiving basket program, which CTS members support each November by delivering holiday meal baskets.
- The Montgomery Village Farmers' Market, which the church hosts in its parking lot on Saturday mornings from June through October. The church sets out a book-sharing library, a prayer table, and cool water on hot summer days.
Outreach also extends globally. In cooperation with Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, CTS is supporting an Afghan Allies Resettlement Team welcoming an Afghan family to the area, covering rental, furniture, pantry stocking, cell and internet service, and a welcome meal. Members write letters each year through Bread for the World to advocate for policies that address hunger. The congregation supports ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran World Relief.
Music and the Choir
Music is central to worship. Florence Bastien, a lifelong member of Christ the Servant and daughter of former CTS pastor Peter Bastien, has served as organist and Coordinator of Music since 2018. She is a graduate of Saint Mary's College of Maryland with a degree in classical piano performance and has worked as a choral accompanist and musical director around Montgomery and Frederick counties.
The CTS choir meets most Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and is open to all singers regardless of experience. The choir rehearses anthems and pieces from classical and modern genres that tie to the themes of upcoming services, with small vocal and instrumental solos and ensembles woven into regular and special services. Rehearsals take a break from the second week of November through New Year and from Pentecost until early September. During Advent and Lent, the congregation gathers for services of Evening Prayer on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Pastor Kari Parsons and the Council
Pastor Kari Parsons has served Christ the Servant since December 16, 2012. She was born in San Antonio, grew up in Minneapolis, earned a B.A. in history from Lawrence University, and completed an M.Div. at Yale Divinity School. She was ordained in July 1998 and served as Associate Pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Woodstock, Georgia, and at Trinity Lutheran Church in North Bethesda, Maryland. She and her husband Max have two children, Owen and Rachel.
The Congregation Council oversees the work of the church through three teams that mirror the Care, Teach, Serve framework. The Care Team includes Parish Care, Parish Life, and Property. The Teach Team covers Learning, Worship, and Business Administration. The Serve Team includes Outreach, Service, and Stewardship. Mychel Vandover serves as Council President, with David Nilsen as Vice President, Sarah Bastien as Secretary, Chuck Eater as Treasurer, and Tom Eastlack as Financial Secretary.
Planning a Visit
The church sits at 9801 Centerway Road in Montgomery Village. Worship begins at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, with masks strongly recommended in the Sanctuary. There is no dress code: wear what you would wear to visit friends or a local restaurant, whether that means a suit and tie or something casual. Children are welcome in worship, and activity bags are available. The congregation goes forward to the altar for communion; ushers will guide visitors, and gluten-free wafers and grape juice are available. Those who prefer not to commune are invited forward for a blessing.
Office hours are Tuesday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Appointments for individual meetings or pastoral conversations can be made by calling (301) 977-0285. Visitors can get on the email list through a Get Connected form, with options to receive the Monday activities communique, the Saturday worship announcement with the Zoom link, or the monthly Footnotes newsletter. Online giving is available through a secure Vanco portal, and stock donations can be arranged through the Financial Secretary.