At the Corner of Chain Bridge and Great Falls
Lewinsville Presbyterian Church has stood at the corner of Great Falls Street and Chain Bridge Road in McLean, Virginia, since 1846. More than five hundred disciples gather here each week, drawn by a congregation that calls itself a Matthew 25 church and a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The community worships at 11 a.m. on Sundays, runs one of the more ambitious music programs in northern Virginia, and channels ten percent of its pledged income into mission work that reaches from McLean to Africa and the Pacific. Lewinsville exists to love and serve God by responding to human need, and everything from its Sunday school hallways to its refugee resettlement team flows from that conviction.
Visitors driving in will see two parking lots - one large lot off Chain Bridge Road and a smaller one on Great Falls Street - flanking a church plant that has been redrawn several times. The sanctuary was built in 1956 and enlarged in 1989. A narthex holds the 1959 brass Celtic Cross modeled on the original marble cross at Iona, and the Lewinsville Tapestry of 1996, stitched by more than eight women working more than five thousand hours, hangs on the west wall of the narthex. Below the worship space, an extensive basement houses classrooms, a music suite, and rooms for nine choirs and a thousand programs.
Claimed, Called, and Sent
The short mission statement reads like a creed:
Claimed by God in Jesus Christ,
Called to live as a community of faith,
Sent to participate in the unfolding of God's kingdom on earth.
From that motto comes everything else: worship that engages spirit, mind, heart, and body; Christian education that forms disciples of every age; care for one another in the manner of Jesus; and a wide reach into the wider world. Lewinsville adopted the Matthew 25 vision in the fall of 2020, joining more than six hundred other PC(USA) congregations committed to eradicating structural racism, eliminating systemic poverty, and building congregational vitality. The session, the church's governing body, framed the church's longer commitments: extending care to vulnerable older adults and their families, reaching out to the youth of northern Virginia, providing a forum for civil public policy discourse, and becoming a recognized Christian presence in the emerging Tysons urban center.
Welcoming the LGBTQ+ community has been a particular point of attention. Encouraged by the youth of the congregation, the session has worked to be open and public about being a welcoming congregation, including placement of a banner bearing the Progress Pride symbol on the church's grounds. Three colors in the wedge - brown and black for persons of color, pink and blue for transgender persons - sit alongside the traditional rainbow. Pastor Scott, Pastor Layne, and Pastor Jen have kept the conversation going with the whole congregation through small groups and town-hall-style gatherings.
Since 1846 at the Heart of McLean
The story begins in 1822 with Elizabeth Jones, the sister of Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. She had attended informal services led by the Rev. William Maffitt but died before the church could be organized. Her brother Thomas and her aunt Martha Corbin Ball carried out her wishes, and on October 17, 1846, the Presbytery of Winchester officially established Lewinsville Presbyterian Church. On January 3, 1847, seventeen members gathered for the dedication. The first pastor, Rev. Levi H. Christian, preached for two hundred dollars a year, and a manse, stable, and small schoolhouse were added soon after.
The Civil War nearly undid the work. Union troops assigned to protect the Capital occupied the property and left behind severe damage to every structure on it. The congregation waited until 1903 for the United States Court of Claims to award reparations; the church used the $1,760 payment to install electricity and make other repairs. From 1908 the renovated building served the congregation until 1956, when a new sanctuary was built. Heritage Hall, the education building, followed in 1961 and remains in use today. The 1989 expansion was the most ambitious capital project in church history, adding the narthex, a music suite, and administrative offices.
Lewinsville has, in turn, given rise to other churches. The congregation seeded Vienna Presbyterian in 1871, Falls Church Presbyterian in 1873, and First Presbyterian of Arlington in 1874. Immanuel Presbyterian and Chesterbrook Presbyterian were established by Lewinsville members in the mid-twentieth century. The session also sponsors the Lewinsville Retirement Residence, the independent senior living facility next door that Lewinsville members formed in 1975 and opened in 1980, and co-sponsors Chesterbrook Residences in Falls Church. A newer nearby mission traces its origins to Lewinsville's own grounds: Second Story for Teens in Crisis began as the first emergency shelter for runaway teenagers in Northern Virginia, right on the church's property, and continues today serving young people moving beyond homelessness, abuse, trafficking, or neglect.
Two quilts and a tapestry stitch the past into the present. The Bittinger Friendship Quilt of 1852 carries the names of 108 members inscribed in indelible ink inside its crosses, presented to Rev. Bittinger on his arrival as pastor. The 1952 quilt from the Ladies Aid Society honors 411 names across its fifty-six square feet. The Lewinsville Tapestry of 1996, dedicated on the 150th anniversary, took nine months and more than 900,000 stitches to render the bells, singing choirs, the cemetery, the 1956 sanctuary, the Lewinsville Retirement Residence, and the world mission that has reached far beyond McLean.
Sunday Worship at Eleven
Sunday worship begins at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary, with a streamed feed on YouTube for those watching from home and a dial-in audio line at 571-261-7385. The service typically runs about sixty-five minutes, a few minutes longer when communion is celebrated. Holy Communion is observed on the first Sunday of every month and on special days through the year, shared by intinction. Everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ is welcome at the Lord's table; baptized children are welcome to receive the sacrament with their parents' encouragement. The sacrament of Baptism is administered during morning worship by arrangement with the pastors and the session.
One or more of the eight choirs provides music leadership each Sunday, drawn from across the chancel choir, the cantorum, the children's choirs, and the bell ringers. The bulletin is available for download before each service. A nursery for infants through age three is staffed by two certified child-care attendants and parent volunteers on the lower level of Heritage Hall. Children ages four through grade two are invited to Sermon Stories after a brief children's meditation with a pastor, returning at the offertory. Wiggles Worship Bags, children's bulletins, and puzzles in the narthex keep younger children engaged during the longer service. On the third Sunday of each month, families attend Messy Church together, an intergenerational worship event designed around a shared meal and creative activities.
Dinner Church offers an alternative for those who find Sundays challenging. The format pairs an age-inclusive time of worship with a shared meal, gathering children and adults around the same table. The format has been a regular feature of the church year and returns periodically.
Music Across Eight Choirs
Music has been a priority at Lewinsville since the start. The current program reaches from preschool through adult, with singing choirs and handbell choirs. Worship is led by a three-manual Gress-Miles pipe organ, a 1903 Steinway B Grand Piano, two five-octave sets of Malmark handbells, a set of Malmark handchimes, and an assortment of Orff instruments. The chancel choir is supported by five vocal professionals who serve as section leaders, who together form the Chancel Quintet.
The adult Chancel Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and sings a wide range of repertoire from Renaissance to modern-day. The Lewinsville Cantorum, an advanced chamber choir drawn from the chancel choir and the quintet, performs Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary classical works. Adult handbell choirs - including the Chancel Bells and a beginning handbell choir - meet weekly. The children's program begins with Joyful Noise on Sunday mornings for children ages three through second grade, with an emphasis on rhythm, movement, and simple songs, and continues with the Lewinsville Choristers and Bells for grades 3 through 12, with rehearsals on Sunday afternoons from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Concerts reach beyond the church doors. The Holy Happy Hour series brings arts to McLean and Tysons with themed receptions curated in partnership with Vienna Vintner and accompanied by cheese, grapes, and charcuterie from Wegmans. The annual Lewinsville Follies, the Salon Series, Bachtoberfest, and other special performances draw neighbors in for sacred and classical programs. The work is sustained by the Lewinsville Music Fund, a separately invested endowment established in 1987 and managed by the LPC Foundation.
Children in Worship and in Class
The children's ministry runs deeper than Sunday morning. The Messy Church program gathers families once a month on the third Sunday for an intergenerational hour of worship, Bible stories, shared meals, and creative activities. On alternate Sundays the program splits into age-appropriate break-out sessions. Pre-school through first-grade children begin the morning with the Joyful Noise music hour and move to Godly Play, an approach to children's spiritual formation developed by Jerome Berryman that presents the stories of the Christian faith using sacred space and wondering together, then follows with open-ended art activities.
Elementary-aged children attend Messy Church on the third Sunday and continue its themes the rest of the month in MiniMess. Junior and senior high teens help teach Messy Church to younger children as part of their own faith formation. Confirmation begins in ninth grade with Bible 101, Theology 101, and PC(USA) 101, exploring the questions of faith with the pastors and mentors. The church runs a Vacation Bible School during the summer and a year-round Christian Education program for all ages.
Youth Ministry in McLean
All youth in grades six through twelve are welcome in Lewinsville's youth ministry. Sunday mornings begin with Youth Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. on the first, second, and fourth Sundays; on the third Sunday youth join the broader congregation at Messy Church. Pancakes and waffles are served at the start of Sunday School. Sunday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. the youth fill the youth center for dinner, fellowship, and Bible study. The youth regularly serve in worship, take part in intergenerational activities, and step out into service projects throughout the calendar year.
A Youth Council, elected by their peers each year, meets monthly with Pastor Layne and reports twice a year to the session, ensuring youth voices are heard at the leadership table. Each summer the youth group travels for the Summer Mission Project, an annual mission trip during the last week of June that takes Lewinsville teens across the United States to volunteer in communities in need, with multi-generational leaders joining in. The annual trip to the Montreat Youth Conference in late July joins Presbyterian youth from across the country for worship, small groups, and outdoor adventures.
Adults in Study and the Salzman Lectures
Sunday morning adult education runs from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. between services. Recent offerings have explored the Book of Ephesians, books of the Bible the lectionary skips over (Lamentations, the Pastorals, and Philemon in one term), and a class on aliens, artificial intelligence, and alternative reality spaces - an examination of what it means to be made in the image of God at a moment of rapid technological change. Special speakers such as Dr. Mark Achtemeier, Dr. Shane Berg, Dr. Suzanne McDonald, Dr. Joseph Small, and Dr. Dorothy Linthicum have taught the adult classes and preached. A video archive of recent classes is kept on the church's site.
The Salzman Lecture Series and the Reformed Institute, an annual intensive on the Reformed tradition, draw presenters and students from across the region. A Wednesday Bible Study at 11:30 a.m. explores the upcoming Sunday's lectionary in conversation with one of the pastors. Past Reformed Institute offerings have included Dr. Bruce Douglass's three-week series on Reformed political thought and historical changes that shaped the tradition after the early Reformation.
ChristCare and the Web of Small Groups
Small groups are at the heart of how Lewinsville members move from doing church to being the church. ChristCare groups of four to twelve people meet for mutual care, Bible study, prayer, worship, and service, often twice a month in homes or in the church library. Active groups include a Sunday evening ChristCare meeting in the library, a Monday evening Barnabas group, a Saturday morning Men's Square, and a Wednesday afternoon Ladies' group. Trained leaders start new ChristCare groups when interest gathers.
A Wednesday Bible Study group at 11:30 a.m. is open to anyone who wants to look ahead at the next Sunday's scriptures. The Adult Handbell and Beginning Handbell choirs, Senior Singles, the Men's Breakfast Group (informally known as the "Geezers"), the Second Saturday Set, and several other social groups fill in the surrounding hours. The Stephen Ministry program matches trained lay ministers with members experiencing illness, grief, or personal crisis. Prayer Shawl knitters and crocheters, known as the Lost Sheep Stitchers, gather in the chapel on the first and third Mondays of the month at 10 a.m. to craft shawls and lap robes for those in need.
A Standing with Older Adults
Older adults are a particular focus. The Older Adult Council, established by the session in 2013, communicates, coordinates, and advocates for older adult programs in the church and the wider community. The council publishes a detailed booklet that catalogues education, caregiving, financial assistance, housing, transportation, and worship resources available to older members and their families.
The Deacons and Stephen Ministers call and visit homebound members regularly. The flower committee delivers altar flowers to homebound members after Sunday services, and the youth fellowship group fills Christmas gift bags for residents of the Lewinsville Retirement Residence and Chesterbrook Residences each year. Worship reaches beyond the sanctuary too. On the first Sunday of each month, when the congregation receives communion, communion is also delivered to homebound members. Twelve times a year, one of Lewinsville's parish associates leads a worship service with communion at the Lewinsville Retirement Residence on the third Monday at 2 p.m., and another at Chesterbrook Residences on the third Wednesday at 2 p.m. Members of the community are welcome at both.
Stepping Out: Mission in the Region and the World
Ten percent of Lewinsville's pledged income funds mission partners organized under the Mission and Service Ministry Group. Locally, the Hunger and Poverty Committee sends teams to Christ House and Miriam's Kitchen in Washington, D.C., and backs S.H.A.R.E., an all-volunteer food bank distributing nearly 13,500 packages a month from McLean Baptist Church. The Housing Committee works with the Falls Church Homeless Shelter, which provides warm beds, meals, and counseling to homeless adults from November through April, and with Homestretch, Northern Virginia's largest transitional housing program for families with children.
The Social Services Committee staffs partnerships with the Falls Church-McLean Children's Center, Second Story, Bethany House of Northern Virginia, L'Arche of Greater Washington DC (a community serving adults with intellectual disabilities), and the Shepherd's Center of McLean-Arlington-Falls Church, whose volunteers drive older adults to medical appointments, the grocery store, and the pharmacy. A Reading Buddy program with Westgate Elementary School, which has been a partner congregation since 2014, places church members in the school each week to help children learn to read.
The international and national mission arm supports three missionary couples directly - the Dimmocks serving in Africa with the Outreach Foundation, the Collins in Thailand with Interserve, and the Chapaitises in Papua New Guinea with Wycliffe Bible Translators - alongside the United Orphanage and Academy in Moi's Bridge, Kenya. The annual Good Samaritan Day organizes volunteers in twice-yearly workdays at mission partner facilities. The Alternative Gift Christmas Giving program invites the congregation to make donations in memory or honor of someone in lieu of a physical gift.
A Long Welcome to Refugees
The Lewinsville Refugee Resettlement Team, established under the church's Matthew 25 commitment, supports refugees resettling in Northern Virginia after difficult or traumatic events abroad. Working in partnership with Lutheran Social Services, the team collects household goods, arranges transportation, and walks alongside families through their first months in the community. The team points members to local shops, including Unique Thrift Store in Merrifield, Goodwill in Fairfax, Target, Walmart, and Amazon, that allow online shipping directly to refugee homes. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance channels international emergency aid, including ongoing Ukraine relief efforts.
A Certified Earth Care Congregation
Lewinsville became a certified PC(USA) Earth Care Congregation in 2019 and renews that certification each year. The Earth Care Steering Committee oversees concrete actions in four areas: worship, education, facilities, and outreach. Worship services regularly include earth-care prayers, confessions, and hymns, with an annual Earth Care Sunday and Eco-Palms on Palm Sunday. Adult education classes have covered the United Nations Sustainability Goals, Christian simplicity, and books such as Richard Powers's The Overstory. Facilities changes have included a campus-wide energy audit, LED lighting where possible, more efficient windows, reduced single-use plastics, and clearly labeled recycling bins. Fair Trade sales, fair-trade coffee at gatherings, and sustainable landscaping days at the partner school round out the program.
Welcome, Safety, and Accessibility
Lewinsville wants visitors to feel at home. Sunday morning greeters welcome people at the Rotunda entrance, where a Welcome Desk is staffed near the top of the stairs. Children are not only tolerated but welcomed with wiggle bags, puzzles in the narthex, children's bulletins, and a children's meditation with a pastor. Visitors are invited to wear whatever makes them comfortable; the church's own counsel is to come as you are ready to worship God.
Each Sunday two lay leaders - one elder and one deacon - are on duty, with usher teams ready to assist and able to summon help quickly from McLean's nearby police and fire stations. A Sexual Misconduct and Child Protection Policy is enforced for every employee and volunteer, with background checks every five years through the Protect My Ministry program.
Access to the building is designed for everyone. The Rotunda entrance has an elevator to all floors. A second elevator runs from the lower-level music entrance to the sanctuary level. Handicapped parking is available in both lots - two spaces in the larger Chain Bridge Road lot, five in the Great Falls Street lot. Restrooms on all levels are accessible, and hearing assistance devices are available from the ushers or the audio and video console at the rear of the sanctuary. The Deacons' Fund helps with short-term emergency needs, and a cab account paid by the church gets members who cannot drive to Sunday worship; a handicap-accessible van can be arranged with twenty-four hours notice.
Pastors, Music, and the Staff
The pastoral team is led by Rev. Dr. Scott Ramsey, who has served as Senior Pastor and Head of Staff since 2015, after first arriving as Interim Pastor. Rev. Layne B. Brubaker joined as Associate Pastor in 2021, working with youth, young adults, and missions. Rev. Jen Dunfee joined the staff in 2019 as a Care Minister and now serves as a pastor in the parish, focusing on congregational care, small groups, and the Stephen Ministry. Rev. Gary G. Pinder, who served the congregation for thirty-seven years through multiple roles before retiring in 2005, remains listed as a parish associate.
John Paul Nothaft directs the music ministries from Vienna, leading the chancel choir, the cantorum, the children's choir program, and the larger instrumental program. Evan Ayars, who grew up at Lewinsville and teaches chorus in Fairfax County Public Schools, directs the children's music program and serves as tenor section leader of the chancel choir. Amelia Townsend leads communications. The session, the elected governing body, includes twelve ruling elders across three classes plus the Board of Deacons, with ministry groups for administration, communications, Christian education, fellowship, invitation and connection, mission and service, and worship. The Lewinsville Presbyterian Church Foundation manages endowment funds including the Music Fund and the 1846 Covenant Society.
To plan a first visit, fill out the Get Connected form, or simply come on a Sunday morning. Greeters will meet you at the Welcome Desk just inside the Rotunda entrance, introduce you to a few people, guide you to a class if you arrive at 9:30, and walk you through the building before the service. Online giving is available for those who wish to support the work; the office at 703-356-7200 and Lewinsville-Church@Lewinsville.org are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.