St. George's Episcopal Church stands at 160 U Street NW, at the corner of Second and U Streets in Washington, DC, a few blocks from the LeDroit Park, Bloomingdale and Shaw neighborhoods that the parish has long called its own. The congregation calls the church "The Little Church on the Corner," and it has been a neighborhood church since 1930. What St. George's is known for is a particular combination of things: classical Episcopal worship in the liturgical tradition, a steady week of Eucharist, Bible study and Evening Prayer, and a deep bench of lay ministry and neighborhood service that grew out of the church's founding as an Episcopal church for African Americans.
A Vision at 1721 First Street Becomes a Parish
The story of St. George's begins in 1929, when three committed African American Episcopalians, Mrs. Sally Perry, Mrs. Rudolf Blake and Mr. Frank Mowery, carried a vision for a church in their neighborhood to the Bishop of Washington. The neighborhood was changing and becoming increasingly Black, and they wanted a church where their neighbors could worship in the Anglican tradition they loved. On October 29, 1929, Mrs. Perry gathered 26 Episcopalians, 20 women and six men, including her husband William Perry, at her home on 1721 First Street for a formal organizational meeting. Services and afternoon Sunday school were held in homes until the founders rented a first-floor apartment at 85 R Street, where the first service took place on January 12, 1930.
The new parish was strengthened by the closing of St. George's Colored Mission in Upper Northwest, known as Tenleytown, which shut in 1929 as the surrounding neighborhood changed and whose members were transferred to St. John's Colored Chapel in Georgetown. A few faithful Episcopalians, among them Mrs. Anna Curley, made the difficult trip by streetcar to join the growing congregation. The founders accepted the name St. George's on the recommendation of the Diocese of Washington, and the parish received a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Tenleytown property. The current building was completed in 1969, and significant renovations, including the installation of an elevator, were finished in 2008.
The African American heritage of the parish is treated as a living inheritance rather than a chapter closed. A comprehensive oral history project has been submitted to the DC Humanities Council and resides in the DC Library, and it includes a documentary along with compiled notes and stories from parishioners and families. The work is ongoing, and the aim is that what was built out of hardship will be taught to future members and celebrated in the life of the church.
Spoken at 7:30, Choral at 10:00
Sunday worship at St. George's follows the Episcopal tradition closely enough that worshippers who have been away for years feel at home quickly. Two Eucharists are celebrated each Sunday. The 7:30 a.m. service is the spoken Holy Eucharist, Rite I, an early morning celebration with a brief homily. The 10:00 a.m. service is a choral Holy Eucharist, Rite II, described as a joyful celebration, with music led by the St. George's Parish Voices and a mix of traditional and contemporary gospel selections. Children are always welcome in that service, and adults who want to know the readings ahead of time have a class waiting for them at nine.
Both services can be joined in person, and the 10:00 a.m. Eucharist is also joined on Zoom with meeting ID 231 601 6023 and passcode Dragon. Join the Sunday Eucharist on Zoom.
At nine o'clock, two gatherings run in parallel. Children's Bible Story Time invites all neighborhood children to hear the stories of Jesus in the Gospel lessons. Adult Bible Study meets in person or online to examine the Gospel lesson for the following Sunday, a session designed to help worshippers listen more intently to the readings and the sermon that follow.
How the Service Unfolds
St. George's describes its worship as liturgical: the congregation follows service forms and prays from texts that do not change greatly from week to week during a season, which gives worship a rhythm that can feel both comforting and familiar. A first-time visitor may find the liturgy exhilarating or confusing at first. The service can involve standing, sitting, kneeling, and sung or spoken responses. Once the pattern is learned, the worship has the feel of a dance, with the steps becoming familiar and satisfying as the music changes.
The shape of the Eucharist is consistent. The service opens with praise to God through song and prayer, followed by as many as four readings from the Bible, usually one from the Old Testament, a Psalm, something from the Epistles and always a reading from the Gospels. The psalm is usually sung or recited by the congregation. A sermon interprets the readings appointed for the day, the congregation recites the Nicene Creed, and the assembled church prays for the Church, the world and those in need, for the sick, with thanksgiving for the good things of life, and for the dead. In certain seasons the congregation formally confesses its sins, followed by absolution, and then the people exchange a sign of peace.
At the table, the priest stands before bread and wine, greets the congregation, and tells the story of faith from Creation through the calling of Israel, the turning away of God's people and God's call to return, to the night before Jesus' death when he instituted the Eucharistic meal. The priest blesses the bread and wine, the congregation recites the Lord's Prayer, and the bread is broken and offered as the gifts of God for the people of God. The congregation shares the consecrated bread and wine, sometimes coming forward together and sometimes passing the elements among themselves. At the end, a final prayer of thanksgiving and a dismissal send worshippers back into service.
Communion is open in the wide sense the Episcopal tradition intends. All baptized Christians are welcome to receive communion, whatever their age or denomination, because the church takes baptism seriously rather than taking the Eucharist lightly. Visitors who are not baptized Christians are welcome to come forward during communion to receive a blessing from the presider, and children of any age are welcome at the 10:00 a.m. service.
Weeknight Prayer and the Healing Rites
Beyond Sunday, St. George's keeps a midweek rhythm. The Daily Office of Evening Prayer is held Monday through Thursday at 5:30 p.m., in person and on Zoom with meeting ID 837 1422 7302 and passcode 139550. The Daily Office is an ancient practice that uses daily prayers to mark the times of day, and it comes to St. George's as both Daily Morning Prayer and Daily Evening Prayer in the Anglican tradition. Its purpose, as the parish describes it, is the sanctification of time, a reminder that all time is sacred because all time belongs to God, and the sanctification of the individual, a way to draw a person closer to God. Worshippers follow along with Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer. Join Evening Prayer on Zoom.
The week also includes two weekday celebrations of the Holy Eucharist where unction, the anointing of the sick with oil or the laying on of hands, is offered: Wednesdays at 7:40 a.m. and Fridays at 12:10 p.m. Because unction is not restricted to those who are seriously ill or dying, the healing rite is offered to anyone who needs God's grace and strength.
Private confession is available by appointment, and the parish notes that the ministry of reconciliation is exercised both through the care each Christian has for others in common prayer and through the priesthood of the Church. Its guidance is the traditional line: none must, some should, all may. The rite is especially appropriate during the penitential season of Lent, and the contents of a confession are a matter of absolute secrecy.
The Kwanzaa Kitchen: Breakfast, Screenings and Conversation
St. George's community service with the longest reach is the Kwanzaa Kitchen, a breakfast program that offers spiritual nourishment to the bodies and souls of those in need as the parish expands God's kingdom in its community. Volunteers provide clothing and social support as needed. In conjunction with Howard University College of Dentistry, dental screenings have been incorporated into the program, so a morning meal can include a checkup as well as a conversation.
Each breakfast session includes a discussion about the Bible or a social issue, led by Janis Evans or a designated member of the committee. The program pairs practical help with formation, and a special brunch and service are held on New Year's Day.
Guilds and Committees: The Work of Lay Ministry
A large part of the parish's ministry runs through five guilds and several standing committees, and the descriptions of their work show how much of the church's life is carried by laypeople.
- The Altar Guild prepares the altar and worship space for liturgical observances and cares for the vestments, linens and vessels used during services.
- The Lector Guild is assigned scriptural passages and intercessions to be read at the Sunday Eucharist, at special liturgies such as Christmas and Holy Week, and at certain weekday services.
- Lay Eucharistic Ministers are licensed by the bishop to administer the consecrated elements when there are not enough priests and deacons to assist the celebrant, a ministry understood as extraordinary and never as a replacement for priests and deacons.
- Eucharistic Visitors are lay people authorized to carry the consecrated elements to members of the congregation who, because of illness or infirmity, cannot be present at the celebration.
- The Ushers and Greeters welcome and seat people, assist with the collection of the offering and the bringing forward of the elements for communion, and keep the movement of the service orderly.
Three organizations carry the work beyond the church building. The Elizabeth Chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King lives by a rule of daily prayer, service and evangelism, and its outreach includes an annual mitten and glove collection drive and weekly delivery of flowers to homebound and sick parishioners. The Episcopal Church Women at St. George's is made up of the women of the parish, supports programs within the parish, meets diocesan obligations and contributes to various charities, with annual dues of $25. The Brotherhood of St. Andrew studies Holy Scripture regularly and works to bring others, especially men and boys, into God's Kingdom, serving through projects such as clean-up and maintenance, hospitality on occasion, assistance during youth events and support for the Daughters of the King.
Two committees guide the parish's stewardship of time and property. The Stewardship Committee, led by Grafton Daniels, Jr. and Juanita Williams, promotes active stewardship among the members in support of St. George's movement from membership to discipleship and from maintenance to mission. It teaches the three dimensions of stewardship, time, talent and treasure, meets monthly to plan its work, and hosts an annual Stewardship Brunch at which pledges for the coming year are formally solicited. The Building and Grounds Committee, with Joe Wynn and Grafton Daniels, Jr., oversees the care of the physical plant, including the church building, its annexes and the grounds.
Formation for Adults and College Students
Formation is treated as a priority rather than an extra. Adult Bible Study meets at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays and on Wednesday nights throughout the year, and the parish has also run a contemplative Advent study built around Rowan Williams' Ponder These Things, spending three weeks with sacred icons of Mary with the Christ Child and making room for prayerful meditation and journaling in the weeks leading to Christmas.
For students, St. George's sponsors the Mary B. Smith Book Award Program, a renewable award of $500 per school year that helps students attending accredited two- or four-year colleges, universities, or technical and vocational institutions pay for books, supplies and essential educational materials. The award was established in June 1998 to honor Mary B. Smith, a former Director of Christian Education at St. George's, and it is administered by a six-member committee. Eligible students include those involved in St. George's Christian Education and Sunday School programs or those who have served in a church ministry, along with college students who are children, grandchildren or legal wards of church members with sustained leadership or volunteer service. A predecessor program, the Minnie Louise Anderson Young Scholarship, made more than 100 awards before concluding its work.
What St. George's Believes
St. George's sets out its theology plainly. The church believes in a loving, liberating and life-giving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death and resurrection saved the world. The parish understands itself as Christ focused, with both worship and mission in Christ's name, and it teaches that through baptism believers share in his victory over sin and death.
The church affirms the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist without attempting to explain how it happens, and it understands the Bible as the foundation of faith, inspired by God and written by humans, to be read in the context of the time in which it was written, and often as allegory and metaphor rather than literalism. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are affirmed as attempts to explain the mystery of the Trinity and of the Christian faith, and human reason is affirmed as a gift of God alongside Scripture and Tradition. The Book of Common Prayer is described as a treasure chest of devotional and teaching resources and the primary symbol of the Church's unity, with roughly 70 percent of it drawn directly from Scripture.
Belief and practice meet in the parish's welcome. St. George's holds that God loves every human being without exception, that women and men serve as bishops, priests and deacons, and that laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at every level. Leadership is understood as a gift from God that can be expressed by anyone regardless of sexual identity or orientation.
Values, Vision and the Work Ahead
The parish's vision is to be a community of faith and service actively following Jesus' Way of Love, and its mission is stated in two closely related ways: to be an inclusive faith community rooted in love that leads people to Christ through worship and service while striving for justice and peace, and to be a welcoming community that leads others to Christ through prayer, the sacraments and service. Five values ground that work: leadership, compassion, inclusivity, Christian faith and worship, and history and heritage.
- Leadership means servant leadership modeled on Christ, serving and loving neighbors as oneself.
- Compassion means being a beacon of hope where people wearied by the changes and chances of life may find compassion, healing, renewal and rest.
- Inclusivity means a welcome without boundaries of age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, economic condition, or physical or mental ability, respecting the dignity of every human being and the diversity of God's creation.
- Christian faith and worship mean Eucharistic worship at the center of the common life, liturgy that embodies the Episcopal tradition and brings people into a direct relationship with God and one another through the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread and their prayers.
- History and heritage mean honoring Episcopal traditions of spiritual freedom and shared authority, cherishing a 90-year history and continuing to be a neighborhood church at the corner of Second and U Streets.
Four goals give that vision a working shape: a clear discipleship path built through prayer, study and education; developing leaders, continuing a legacy of nurturing priests, bishops and laypeople and making room for every member to use their spiritual gifts for the common good; expanding outreach by partnering with neighborhood organizations so the church becomes a community resource; and building up the oral history project, so that the dedication and hard work of those who built the church out of hardship will never be forgotten.
Caring for Creation
St. George's gives its members practical ways to act on care for creation. The parish prays the prayer for the conservation of natural resources from the Book of Common Prayer, asking for wisdom and reverence in the use of the earth so that no one suffers from abuse of it and future generations can continue to praise God for its bounty. Then it points the way: planting native trees through Casey Trees and Plant NOVA Natives, reducing and reusing, shopping secondhand, composting food scraps, recycling electronics through eCYCLE DC, donating furniture and household goods to A Wider Circle, and giving reusable arts and crafts materials to UpCycle. Resources on environmental justice, climate change, sustainable choices and Rock Creek Conservancy round out the list.
Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage and Membership
St. George's teaches that the Anglican tradition recognizes sacraments as outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, with Holy Baptism and the Eucharist as the two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church. Baptism, in which a person is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is understood as union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God's family, forgiveness of sins and new life in the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist, bread and wine given and received according to Christ's command, is the Body and Blood of Christ received by faith. Around those two are other spiritual markers of the journey: confirmation as adult affirmation of baptismal vows, reconciliation of a penitent, holy matrimony, orders to the diaconate, priesthood or episcopacy, and unction for those who are sick or dying.
Baptisms take place within the Holy Eucharist on Sunday, ideally on the Baptism of the Lord, Easter Eve at the Great Vigil, Pentecost or All Saints' Day, with adult baptisms especially appropriate at the Great Vigil. Each candidate is sponsored by one or more baptized persons, and all baptisms require preparation. Confirmation typically takes place at the twice-yearly diocesan liturgy at Washington National Cathedral, and those baptized or confirmed in another tradition are formally welcomed by a bishop through Reception. Holy Matrimony, where two people enter into a lifelong union and receive God's blessing on their vows, is celebrated at St. George's, and funerals and liturgies for the burial of the dead are available for parishioners and others, with arrangements handled by parish clergy.
Membership in the parish is open at several points. Anyone baptized in the parish is a baptized member, parishioners of another Episcopal church may request a letter of transfer, and members of churches in communion with the Episcopal Church may transfer in the same way. Anyone else may establish membership by having proof of baptism recorded with the parish office. Members in good standing are those who have participated faithfully in the worship life of the parish and have made regular pledges or traceable offerings, and they are eligible to vote in parish elections and hold office.
Giving, Stewardship and the Building's Future
Giving at St. George's is treated as an integral part of Christian life, and the parish offers several practical routes. Online giving through Realm works by bank account or credit card and is the recommended way to give regularly, with immediate access to a giving history. Text giving is done by texting GIVESTG and an amount to 73256, and the Realm Connect app lets donors set up a recurring donation. At services, personalized pledge envelopes can be used, along with checks or cash. Donations can also be mailed to St. George's DC, 160 U St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. Give online.
Behind those options is a building campaign. The vestry has identified immediate needs for the little church on the corner, including replacing the roof and HVAC system and renewing the interior so the building can continue to bless hearts for generations to come. Capital support, together with gifts of time and prayer, is treated as part of the mission rather than apart from it.
St. George's Episcopal Church remains a small corner church with a long memory and an active week: a spoken Eucharist at 7:30 on Sunday morning, a choral one at 10 with children welcome, Bible study and story time at nine, Evening Prayer on four weeknights, a breakfast program that feeds neighbors and equips them to talk about faith and public life, and guilds of laypeople who prepare the altar, read the word, greet the stranger and care for the building at Second and U.