A Welcoming and Affirming Christian Community on Old Mill Road
Epiphany Lutheran Church sits on Old Mill Road in the Mount Vernon area of Alexandria, in Fairfax County, just down the road from George Washington's historic estate. The congregation's motto is simple and uncompromising: "We Welcome All. No Exceptions." That phrase is the defining note of everything the church does.
Epiphany is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America within the Metro D.C. Synod. Pastor David Yocis describes it as a community that "lives with a daring confidence in God's gracious love for all people." The building is accessible, the communion rail is open to anyone who wishes to come forward, and the church is formally recognized as a Reconciling in Christ congregation, an ELCA designation that affirms the full participation of LGBTQIA+ people in the life, ministry, and leadership of the congregation. Worship takes place every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. in the sanctuary and is also streamed on YouTube and carried live through the congregation's weekly Zoom connection.
A Patch of Mount Vernon's History
The story of Epiphany begins long before the church did. The land on which the building now sits was once part of the Mount Vernon estate of George Washington. In 1799, Washington gave this portion of the property as a wedding gift to his nephew Lawrence Lewis and Martha Washington's granddaughter Eleanor Parke Custis (known as Nelly). Nearly a century and a half later, in 1957, the mission board of the American Lutheran Church purchased the land to establish a new congregation in the growing Mount Vernon community.
The first services in the new church building were held on Palm Sunday, March 26, 1961, and the congregation was formally organized on April 9 of that year. Six years later, in 1967, the congregation launched the Epiphany Weekday School, a preschool that has been a steady presence on the grounds ever since.
Over six decades, five called pastors have shaped the life of the congregation: Cecil L. Propst (1960-1970), Deford G. Kahl (1970-1973), Myron L. "Ron" Barber, Jr. (1974-2008), and Charles H. Oberkehr (201?-2016). Richard Tupy served as interim pastor in 1973-1974, and Karis Graham served as interim in 2017-2018. Pastor David Yocis, who had been part of the congregation since 2016, was called as pastor on June 23, 2019. In September 2026 the congregation marked its 65th anniversary with a special service and a gathering in the church.
What Lutherans Believe, in Ten Short Reflections
In September 2025, the pastor's blog at Epiphany launched a series of short essays titled "What's a Lutheran?" The series walks through ten themes that shape Lutheran faith and life, drawing on the Lutheran confessions, the Augsburg Confession of 1530, and the Book of Concord. The series is offered as a kind of orientation for newcomers and a refresher for long-timers. The themes, in order, are: So What Is a Lutheran, Anyway?; Justification by Faith; the Distinction Between Law and Gospel; the Bible as Authoritative Source and Norm; a Sacramental View of the World; the Centrality of Jesus Christ; Comfort with Paradox and Mystery; the Church Is Defined by Word and Sacrament; the Two Kingdoms and the Priesthood of All Believers; and Christ's Salvation Is for All People and All Things.
Several notes run through the series. Justification by grace through faith, apart from works, is "the article on which the church stands or falls," in Martin Luther's phrase. Lutherans confess the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of proclamation, faith, and life, but they take careful account of how the text was written and read in a very different time and culture. Lutherans are comfortable with paradox: God's word is both Law and Gospel, the Christian is simultaneously sinner and saint, Christ has done everything that needs to be done and yet has no hands in this world but ours. The church exists wherever the Gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments are rightly administered, regardless of hierarchical form. And the promise of salvation is for all people: "No one is unlovable in God's eyes," the series concludes. "No one was created by God for eternal damnation."
From these convictions flows a Lutheran confidence that God is present in specific, embodied ways, in baptism, in communion, in absolution, and that Christian faith is inherently communal, carried through the human words and material things of this world.
Sunday Morning at 9:30
Sunday worship at Epiphany is built around the same pattern that has shaped Lutheran worship for centuries. The weekly service begins at 9:30 a.m. and runs about an hour. The congregation gathers; hears the readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, the three-year cycle of Scripture readings used across many Christian traditions; listens to a sermon interpreting those readings for today; prays for the church, the wider community, and the world; comes to the table for Holy Communion; and is sent back into the week to take God's love into daily life.
The basic order of worship follows Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the official worship book of the denomination. The music is mostly traditional, and it is chosen to be singable so that everyone in the room can join in. A handbell choir adds to worship from time to time.
For those who cannot be in the sanctuary, three doors are available. The service is livestreamed on the congregation's YouTube channel, with the stream usually beginning about five minutes before the service. It is also carried live on Zoom, where participants can greet one another in a virtual lobby before and after worship and watch the same video feed. The recording remains on YouTube so that anyone can join the service at whatever time works for them. A PDF of the Sunday bulletin, with the music, readings, and prayers, is posted on the home page each week.
Everyone Welcome at the Table
One of the clearest signals of Epiphany's identity is the welcome at the communion rail. The congregation's teaching is straightforward: this is God's table, and all are welcome. All baptized persons are always invited to receive communion. Those who have not been baptized are encouraged to speak with the pastor; baptism can be arranged whenever a person feels ready.
This welcome was forged in unusual circumstances. During the long months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the congregation was meeting only on Zoom, the Congregation Council wrestled with whether the church could go without the sacrament for so long and still be the church. They decided to celebrate virtual communion once a month, live on Zoom, with each household preparing its own bread and cup at home. That experience of gathering around the table across screens deepened the conviction that Christ's promise is not limited by physical walls, and that communion at Epiphany is meant to be as open as God's grace itself.
Reconciling in Christ
Epiphany is formally recognized as a Reconciling in Christ congregation within the ELCA, a designation given to congregations that publicly affirm the full participation of LGBTQIA+ people in the life of the church, including ministry and leadership. The congregation has put together an extensive FAQ on its website addressing the questions that people often bring.
The congregation's position is that God loves each one of us for the person that we are, not for the person someone thinks we should be. They use the names and pronouns each person asks them to use. They celebrate both opposite-sex and same-sex weddings, and they support LGBTQIA+ people who feel called to ministry. The pastor notes that, although members do not always agree on every theological or political question, they have all learned to love the LGBTQIA+ members of their families and congregation "as real flesh and blood people whom we know and care for, not as an 'issue' to argue about." Epiphany points visitors to a network of national resources, including ReconcilingWorks, Q Christian Fellowship, Queer Grace, Queer Theology, and Transmission Ministry Collective.
The welcome extends beyond LGBTQIA+ inclusion. The congregation has been intentional in recent years about being a safe place for some of the newest immigrants to the area, and the wider ELCA has designated itself as a sanctuary church body. Pastor David has written that Epiphany Lutheran Church of Mount Vernon is here for anyone in the community who is searching for refuge: "God loves you, and so do we."
Children, Confirmation, and the Sound of Small Voices
Children are an important part of life at Epiphany. Every Sunday worship service includes a segment specifically designed for children, and the sound of small voices is welcomed in the sanctuary. Children of all ages are encouraged to participate in worship, and parents are supported in deciding when their child is ready to begin receiving communion.
On alternate Sundays during the school year, two Sunday school options are offered. Children aged about two through kindergarten are taken to a separate area during the readings and sermon for their own story and prayer time, then return to worship during the exchange of peace, sometimes sharing a song or something they have learned with the rest of the congregation. Children in grades 1 through 6 meet for Sunday school from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. immediately after worship, with a Scripture story, discussion, an activity, and a takeaway for further learning with parents at home.
All adults who work with the young people have passed a background check and have been trained for this ministry. Confirmation is offered for young people aged 13 to 15 who were baptized as infants or young children. Candidates spend up to two years meeting with the pastor and others in the congregation to deepen their understanding of the faith, study the Lutheran confessions, and engage more deeply in the life of the church. At the conclusion of their preparation, they affirm the promises that their parents made for them at their baptism.
Adults: Bible Study, Book Club, and Two Conversation Groups
Adults at Epiphany have a wide range of ways to dig deeper. The weekly Bible Reading Group meets Wednesday mornings from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Zoom. New members are always welcome. It grew out of a group that used to meet in the narthex but moved online at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and has stayed there since.
The Book Club meets on Thursdays from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the church office or on Zoom. Recent reading has included Bonhoeffer's "Life Together," David Bentley Hart's "That All Shall Be Saved," Austin Channing Brown's "I'm Still Here," Brian Zahnd's "Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God," and Nadia Bolz-Weber's "Accidental Saints." The current read is selected from a fresh title every few months.
Two discussion groups gather off-site. The Fort Belvoir Faith Discussion Group meets every other Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. for coffee at the Starbucks on 12th Street on Fort Belvoir, and is always open to visitors and new participants. An Evening Faith Discussion Group is forming that gathers at 6:30 p.m. on many Wednesdays at the Panera Bread in Beacon Center on Richmond Highway.
The pastor is also developing a possible LGBTQIA+ faith discussion group over Zoom for interested people; anyone curious is encouraged to send an email.
Epiphany Weekday School
The Epiphany Weekday School, known as EWS, has shared the campus since 1967. It is led by Nan Markman, who has served EWS for two decades as a teacher and, in recent years, as the Preschool Director. Nan and her husband Stephen have lived in the Mount Vernon area for over three decades, and she has been a member of Epiphany for more than thirty years. Jill Millett, the Director of Music, has also served EWS as a literacy teacher for the preschool classes.
EWS is the church's weekday ministry to the wider community. Each fall brings new themes of getting to know one another, kindness, and becoming comfortable with a new school routine, and the year is punctuated by family events such as Family Nights. The school is a separately incorporated program with its own website at epiphanyweekdayschool.org.
Music and Handbells
Music at Epiphany is led by Director of Music Jill Millett, who with her husband Richard has been a member of the congregation for more than twenty-seven years. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in education and assists with the handbell choir as well as directing the music for Sunday worship.
The handbell choir plays occasionally during worship services and practices from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. after many Sunday services. No special musical talents, ability to read music, or prior experience are necessary. What each member contributes may sound small alone, but as the choir puts it, when they come together they can make beautiful music to praise God.
Baptisms and Weddings
Epiphany welcomes people of all ages for baptism. The pastor and staff help families and individuals prepare for the sacrament. Baptism is understood as God's action in which God delivers the baptized from evil, gives new birth, adopts them as children, and makes them members of the Body of Christ.
Weddings at Epiphany are Lutheran worship services officiated by a pastor. As an affirming congregation, Epiphany welcomes both opposite-sex and same-sex couples to celebrate their weddings in the church. Couples engage in premarital counseling with the pastor who will marry them and plan the service together. The sanctuary is not rented for outside weddings.
Sanctuary and Service
The outreach page at Epiphany opens with a line attributed to Martin Luther: "God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does." The congregation takes this to heart. Members regularly deliver meals for the local Meals on Wheels program. Throughout the year they take on a variety of service projects in the wider community, and the church makes its facilities available to members and the wider community when it can.
In the wake of the resettlement of large numbers of Afghan refugees in the D.C. region, the congregation has shared information and resources through Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, and the International Rescue Committee. The local ministry partners include FACETS, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, Rising Hope Mission Church, United Community, and Ventures in Community. The congregation also supports the wider work of the ELCA through ELCA World Hunger, Lutheran Disaster Response, and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services.
United Community's Choice Food Pantry, a partner, is located at 7511 Fordson Road and serves local residents during its open hours, with monthly distributions at Mount Vernon Woods Elementary School.
Pastoral Staff and Leadership
Pastor David Yocis leads the congregation. David has been part of Epiphany since 2016 and was called as pastor on June 23, 2019. He studied theology at the Katholische Universiteit te Leuven in Belgium and at Fordham University, and is also a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C., working in the field of international trade.
Jill Millett is the Director of Music. Nan Markman is the Director of the Epiphany Weekday School and serves as Treasurer of the Congregation Council. The Congregation Council includes Richard Millett (President), Jim Thiel (Vice President), Jacque Knight (Secretary), Ed Bauer, Ruth Gerloff, Jesse McManus, and Bob Vuori, along with Pastor Yocis.
Staying Connected: Office, Online, and the Wider Church
The church office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Drop-in office hours on Tuesday afternoons from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. offer an informal chance to chat with Pastor David or take some quiet time in the sanctuary. Pastor David is available at other times during the week by email at pastor@epiphanylutheran.org.
Anyone joining the church from anywhere in the world can connect through the congregation's Zoom meeting, with meeting ID 288 623 8502 and password 971936. For audio only, dial (646) 558-8656 or (301) 715-8592. The service and all the recordings are also available on YouTube. A sermon archive stretches back through 2023 and earlier, with regular posts through 2024 and 2025, and the pastor's blog hosts a wide range of reflections including the "What's a Lutheran?" series and posts on virtual communion and the ELCA sanctuary church designation.
Epiphany is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran body in the United States. The congregation sits within the Metro D.C. Synod, the regional expression of the ELCA in the Washington, D.C., area. The ELCA is in full communion with The Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, and the Moravian Church.
Financial gifts can be mailed to the church, or made online through a PayPal link on the website. The congregation tracks both with care, and online giving is welcome even when members cannot be present.
From a teaching fellowship that started with a small group on a piece of George Washington's land in 1961 to a community that now worships together in person, on YouTube, and over Zoom, Epiphany Lutheran Church has held to a single conviction through all the changes: God's love is for everyone, and the table is open. No exceptions.