St. Luke's Episcopal Church sits on Grosvenor Lane in Bethesda, Maryland, a low-slung stone and brick campus shaded by trees where an outdoor labyrinth, a pollinator garden, and a children's playground sit alongside the church building itself. The congregation of about 150 on a Sunday morning has been shaped by its welcome statement, repeated on banners and on the rector's column: "Whoever you are, wherever you come from, whatever you believe. You are welcome." That welcome is paired with a stated commitment to extravagantly share the love of God through action, and the parish has built decades of partnerships around Bethesda and the wider District of Columbia doing exactly that.
Sunday Worship at 8:30 and 10
St. Luke's gathers twice each Sunday morning for Holy Eucharist. The 8:30 a.m. service is described as the early-bird congregation, lively and friendly, with a sermon, Communion, and the option of healing prayers, and no music; it usually runs less than an hour and draws thirty to forty people. The 10 a.m. service is the larger and more intergenerational service, with hymns, a sermon, and Communion, drawing about 110 people and lasting a little over an hour. The 10 a.m. service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, and the bulletin is sent by email each week to subscribers of the parish newsletter.
Visitors are met at the door, handed a bulletin, and free to choose any seat. The rector, the Reverend Jessica K. Hitchcock, has prepared an entire guide for the curious on its way into church: there are no assigned pews, the bulletin contains everything except the music, and there is no "right" or "wrong" thing to do. About halfway through the service the priest says, "The Peace of Christ be always with you," and the congregation answers, "And also with you," and then everyone walks around greeting one another. St. Luke's peace takes a while. "Just dive on in."
Communion Open to All
At St. Luke's, anyone may receive Communion. The altar is described as God's table and the meal as God's gift to everyone. Ushers signal when each pew goes forward, and the congregation gathers around the raised altar. A minister places a gluten-free wafer in each person's hand; the minister holds the common cup, and worshippers either sip, dip their bread, or eat the wafer first. The parish explains that the alcohol in the wine takes care of germs. Those who prefer not to receive may come forward and cross their arms over their chest for a blessing, or simply stay in the pew. Healing prayers are offered quietly at the 8:30 service, with a minister making the sign of the cross on the forehead with holy oil, laying on hands, and praying briefly.
St. Luke's practices what it calls radical inclusion. "You are welcome to serve with others who share your passion for feeding the hungry at the soup kitchen and never step foot in the church if that is what your heart is calling you to do. You are welcome to bring your kids for the pancake supper but not for Sunday School. You are welcome to play on the playground or pray while walking the labyrinth without ever walking inside the building."
Children and the Nursery
Children are welcome to stay with their families throughout worship, and noise is treated as part of parish life. There is a quiet space in the back of the church for supervised play, and the parish has found that children often do better seated near the front where they can see what is happening. Some families take younger children to the nursery for the first part of the service and bring them up at the peace so they can receive Communion with their parents.
The Sunday nursery is open from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on the lower level of the church and serves children from birth through age four. During the first half of the 10 a.m. service most Sundays during the school year, Children's Church gathers some of the youngest members to read and discuss one of the scripture readings from upstairs, share prayer requests, and offer prayers of thanksgiving. A recent confirmation class met Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Confirmation Class is offered the church to prepare youth for confirmation in the Episcopal Church.
The Labyrinth, the Garden, and the Playground
Behind the church sits an outdoor labyrinth completed in 2001 with a grant from the TKF Foundation, after members began planning it in 1999 as a way to offer the neighborhood a sacred space. The labyrinth is open twenty-four hours a day to anyone who wishes to walk it. Adjacent to it, a children's playground dedicated on May 27, 2012, opens during daylight hours, and all children are welcome. The parish calls these three features the Labyrinth, the pollinator Garden, and the Playground: an offer of outdoor space to a neighborhood beyond the walls of the sanctuary.
The pollinator garden is tended by the Garden Guild and is listed with the plantings that make it work: butterfly weed, Joe Pye weed, beebalm, spotted mint, golden ragwort, two penstemon species, salvia, two varieties of goldenrod, lantana, penta, and zinnia. Volunteers weed, water, and care for the bed on regular workdays, and the parish invites anyone to join in the garden "even if you don't come to church." Earth Day 2024 was marked with an outdoor worship service in the labyrinth itself, part of a creation-care thread that runs through the parish's Community Engagement work.
Music as Part of Worship
Music at St. Luke's centers on the 10 a.m. service. The music program is led by Sarah Horick, Minister of Music, Liturgy, and Communications, who joined the staff in Lent of 2016 as Minister of Music and now oversees the adult choir, the instrumentalists, the bulletin, and the parish's communications. The choir is described as small but mighty, drawing singers and instrumentalists of a wide range of backgrounds, ages, and experiences.
Since 2023, St. Luke's has sponsored an annual Call for New Sacred Choral Works, inviting composers from around the world to submit new pieces for the choir and instrumentalists. The call focuses on three-part works (SAB) with sacred text from any tradition. Past winners include Joseph Fong ("God of All Creation"), Taleya Jordan ("Bring Justice"), Anselm McDonnell ("Psalm 16"), Mary Lou Prince ("On the Holy Mountain"), and Fahad Siadat ("Prière"), each with a substantial body of work in concert and choral music. The parish describes its worship as following the customs and traditions of its heritage while adding contemporary elements; "worship at St. Luke's is a relaxed and joy filled experience," the parish notes, "where you will find new friends and meaning for your journey."
Three Clusters of Community Engagement
St. Luke's organizes its community engagement work into three seasonal clusters: Basic Needs, Human Rights and Dignity, and Looking to Our Future. The parish writes that this work is its response to the lawyer's question to Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" and is funded by the annual budget from the Vestry and by parishioners' donations of time, talent, and treasure.
In the Basic Needs cluster, the parish partners with Bethesda Cares, which was founded in 1988 with the help of St. Luke's and several other congregations and works on homelessness prevention in the community. St. Luke's also partners with Loaves and Fishes at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church in Columbia Heights, D.C.; a small group of St. Luke's volunteers packs and distributes to-go meals on the third Sunday of each month. Bethesda Help, a multi-faith safety-net organization serving Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, and parts of Potomac, Silver Spring, and Wheaton, receives regular food donations, bread, and volunteer hours from the parish, including weekly contributions gathered at the Lunch Bunch gathering.
In Human Rights and Dignity, St. Luke's longstanding partnership with Cornerstone Montgomery dates to the founding of St. Luke's House in 1971; the organization is now the largest comprehensive provider of behavioral health services in Montgomery County, and St. Luke's maintains a board position. The parish also supports Interfaith Works, providing meals to the Women's Center each year beginning Memorial Day and preparing monthly meals for the New Leaf Shelter (formerly Bethesda Men's Shelter) since 1991. The parish advocates for LGBTQAI+ inclusion, racial reconciliation, refugee welcome, and gun-violence reduction, and is a member of the Scotland Juneteenth Festival's Interfaith and Social Action Pavilion.
In Looking to Our Future, the parish supports the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys, a tuition-free Episcopal K-5 school in southeast D.C. that opened in 2008; Episcopal Relief and Development, with which the parish has shared ministry for more than fifteen years and to which it has donated cumulatively more than $269,000; Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, with which the parish works on environmental advocacy; and Small Things Matter, a local non-profit that distributes food to nearly 7,000 food-insecure individuals across Montgomery County. On months with a fifth Sunday, the parish gathers for Eucharist and then disperses into the community for a "Be the Church Day" of service.
Christian Formation and the Wider Diocese
St. Luke's is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, which includes congregations in the District of Columbia and in Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles, and St. Mary's counties. The parish traces its own roots to the 1960s, when St. Luke's was formed out of St. John's in Bethesda, and the parish maintains an ongoing conversation with its sibling congregation in Scotland, a historic Black community in the county.
The parish's Christian Formation statement is: "St Luke's is place to train to be a part of God's work in the world. St Luke's is a place to learn about the tradition and history of God's work in the world. St Luke's is a place to get comfortable with your questions so they don't hold you hostage. St Luke's is a place to be nourished so that you have the strength to share God's love. St Luke's is place to heal and rest so that you can help others have hope." The Season of Creation, observed from September 1 through October 4, is one recurring thread through this formation; the parish has hosted Creation Care Forums, partnered with Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake on creation-care advocacy, and marked Earth Day with an outdoor service in the labyrinth.
St. Luke's is also actively engaged in the Diocese of Washington's work on reparations. The parish references the Diocese's working definition of reparations as "the spiritual and material process to remember, restore, reconcile and make amends for historical and continuing wrongs against humanity." Members of St. Luke's attended the Diocese's Reparations Symposium at Calvary Episcopal Church in D.C., and the parish's bulletin has published pieces by the Reverend Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas and others exploring the theological work for reparations.
Getting Involved: Time, Talent, and Treasure
The parish frames involvement in three ways. Time means showing up, being changed, and changing the community: potlucks, educational opportunities, community service, and committee meetings. Talent means finding the place where a person's gifts meet the world's injuries and getting to work there; the parish writes that God can use any and all talents to work good in the world. Treasure means financial giving to support the community's life and work.
Electronic Funds Transfer is the easiest giving option, and one-time or recurring gifts can be made online. The parish also publishes its annual budget, financial reports, and bylaws, which are available to read. For those wishing to serve in the community beyond the parish, the church's facilities, including a 1,500-square-foot social hall, an 800-square-foot room, several classrooms, parking, and the labyrinth and playground, are available to rent by organizations whose mission aligns with St. Luke's, at hourly rates designed only to cover costs.
A First Visit to St. Luke's
The parish has prepared a thorough page for those who have never been before. Parking is on Grosvenor Lane, Southport Drive, or in the lot behind the church off Southport; the building can be entered through the red double doors off Grosvenor or through the office doors off the parking lot, with an elevator at the end of the hall. Dress ranges from suits and dresses to jeans and khakis; "wear what you are comfortable in." Ushers offer large-print bulletins and hearing-assistance devices. After the 10 a.m. service, the parish gathers in Ludlum Parish Hall across the foyer for coffee, snacks (often homemade), and conversation.
St. Luke's livestreams its 10 a.m. service on YouTube, sends a weekly enews by subscription, and publishes a longer newsletter called ACTS each month. The church office is reachable at 301-530-1800, and the parish administrator, James Rostron, is glad to hear from visitors by phone or email. The Rev. Jessica K. Hitchcock is happy to talk about pastoral matters on Sunday mornings or by appointment through the week. "Whoever you are, wherever you come from, whatever you believe," the parish repeats. "You are welcome."