Epiphany Lutheran Church is an ELCA congregation in historic Mount Vernon in Fairfax County, Virginia.
We are a welcoming and affirming Christian community that lives with a daring confidence in God’s gracious love for all people.
Come Worship with Us
In Person or Online
Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
UPDATED JANUARY 30, 2026
This Sunday’s Service
This Sunday, February 1, 2026, is the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany. Our Sunday service will be at the usual time of 9:30 a.m.
On-site: We are planning to be in the sanctuary for the service at 9:30 a.m. … if you can safely make it out this Sunday. However, given how difficult it has been to get rid of last Sunday’s snow and ice, and the dismal forecast for this Sunday, if you have the slightest hesitancy about going out, feel free to use the online option!
On-line: Join us live at 9:30 through our usual Epiphany Zoom connection. In addition, the service will be available on our YouTube channel both live at 9:30 a.m. and as a recording afterwards.
The readings will be Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; and Matthew 5:1-12.
For those joining the service online, you can download a PDF of the Sunday bulletin containing the music, readings, and prayers for the service by clicking here.
We will have a time of fellowship following the service, both in person and on Zoom.
Memorial Service for Jack Bondurant
The family of Jack Bondurant will be holding a memorial service and reception for Jack on Saturday, February 14, from 2-3 p.m., at the Paul Springs Retirement Community, 7116 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria VA 22307. Everyone from Epiphany is welcome to attend and participate.
Calendar of Events
Sun Feb. 1 - Sunday school, 10:45 a.m.
Tue Feb. 3 - Office/sanctuary drop-in hours, 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Tue Feb. 3 - Epiphany night to serve at Hypothermia Shelter
Wed Feb. 4 - Bible Reading Group, 10:00 a.m. on Zoom
Wed Feb. 4 - VIC General Meeting, 11:30 a.m., at Washington Farm UMC, 3921 Old Mill Road
Wed Feb. 4 - Evening Faith Discussion Group, 6:30 p.m. at Panera Bread
Sat Feb. 7 - Synod Council Training, 9-3, Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Fairfax
Sun Feb. 8 - Annual Congregational Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Mon Feb. 9 - Fort Belvoir Discussion Group, 10:00 a.m. at 12th St. Starbucks
Sat Feb. 14 - Memorial Service for Jack Bondurant, 2:00 p.m. at Paul Springs
Sun Feb. 15 - Sunday of the Transfiguration service, 9:30 a.m.
Sun Feb. 15 - Sunday School, 10:45 a.m.
Tue Feb. 17 - Epiphany night to serve at Hypothermia Shelter.
Wed Feb. 18 - Ash Wednesday, service of the Word with ashes 9:15 a.m.
Vacation Bible School - Save the Date!
We’ll be holding Vacation Bible School again next summer the week of July 13-17, in partnership with Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Burke. Registration information will be available soon.
EWS Update
After a snow week, we’ll be back in session this week.
Congregation Meeting and Council
As noted above, our rescheduled annual congregational meeting will take place immediately following the service on Sunday, February 8, 2026. As part of this meeting, we will be electing new members of our Congregation Council and members to serve as voting members of the Metro DC Synod Assembly, which will meet on Saturday, June 6, 2026 in Gaithersburg. All members are invited to prayerfully consider serving in one or both of these roles.
We expect to be posting a draft agenda for the meeting and the proposed budgets for the coming year shortly, so everyone can review them before the congregational meeting.
The Metro DC Synod will be hosting a Congregation Council Training session on Saturday, February 7 for newly elected and returning congregational council members. Topics include church leadership best practices, constitution & bylaw processes, and questions/answers. The event will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is hosted by Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 5114 Twinbrook Rd, Fairfax, VA 22032. There is no charge. For more information or to register, please click here.
VIC General Meeting This Week
Join us for our next VIC general meeting on Wednesday, February 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We'll be meeting at Washington Farm United Methodist Church at 3921 Old Mill Road, Alexandria VA 22309.
Our speaker will be Mary Paden, Fairfax NAACP Housing Chair, on the subject of "Strategy for Advocates."
When social justice volunteers ask, "What can I do" - they are hoping leaders will give them a task that will actually help make change. Decades ago, the Midwest Academy, a prominent 50-year-old training institute for community organizers, developed a process to identify decisionmakers and select tactics and messages to influence them. It works. We will take an interactive walk through their process.
All are welcome to participate in this session. A light lunch will be provided.
Bible Reading Group
Our weekly Bible Reading Group meets at 10 a.m. on Zoom for an hour each week; everyone is welcome to participate. Use our regular Epiphany Zoom connection.
Discussion Groups
Our Wednesday evening faith discussion group will continue on Wednesday, February 4. We meet alternate Wednesdays at the Panera Bread at Beacon Center (6670 Richmond Highway) at 6:30 p.m. We are discussing the book by Ched Myers et al., Say to This Mountain - a contemporary interpretation of Mark’s gospel from a social movement perspective. All are welcome to join us (we can provide copies of the book for those interested, but come even if you haven’t read any of it).
Our Fort Belvoir discussion group will continue on Monday, February 8. We meet alternate Mondays at the Starbucks on post (5976 12th Street) at 10:00 a.m. We’ll look at a short piece by the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, an ELCA pastor in Denver, about the celebration of All Saints Day at her congregation and the meaning of the Beatitudes (the gospel reading for that day). You can find the article here.
These discussion groups are being held in “public” places to make it easier for people who aren’t connected with Epiphany to drop in and participate. If you know people who would like to learn more about our congregation, ask questions, or simply share in an open discussion about faith from a nonjudgmental perspective, please share the invitation to these groups widely!
Drop-In Office Hours
The church office is open every Tuesday from 2-6 p.m. You can just drop by to check in, chat with Pastor David, or take some quiet time in the sanctuary.
Pastor David is also available at other times during the week … feel free to contact him by e-mail pastor@epiphanylutheran.org to set up a time.
Synod and ELCA Churchwide News
On Jan. 29, 2026, pastors, deacons, candidates for rostered ministry, and others from the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered in the basement of Lutheran Church of the Reformation, a community of faith located in the heart of Capitol Hill. They were preparing to engage in public witness for God’s love and justice; they were ready to make good trouble.
Organized by Faith in Action, several faith communities and faith-based organizations joined to protest funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 funding process. The morning included prayer, walking (“praying with our feet”), and meeting with members of Congress in person. Their primary request was that ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers involved in killings be charged and prosecuted, and that all FBI evidence be released to Minnesota law enforcement. The request was not rooted in politics but in morality: separating, persecuting, and murdering our neighbors is immoral.
“We are calling for federal funding for ICE to be blocked and clear standards of accountability and due process be fully implemented—standards that are thorough, transparent, and unbiased,” said Philip Hirsch, bishop of the Metro D.C. Synod. “Because of all that has happened, we ask that ICE leave Minnesota. This is not a call for disorder or defiance of the law. On the contrary, it is a plea for trust in the rule of law itself: trust that laws will be followed, that justice will be pursued, and that no one is placed beyond accountability.”
“We act because we love God, we love our neighbors, and we love our country. Our presence here is an appeal for reasonable measures that safeguard both the dignity of human beings and the peace and safety of our communities. Seeking accountability is not an act of hostility; it is an act of hope.”
More people joined the protest on the Hill, including college students involved in Lutheran Campus Ministry. Those who were unable to join offered prayers and accompaniment in spirit. The pastors knew that arrest was a potential outcome; they had seen faith leaders kneeling in prayer while being handcuffed in Minnesota. Yet the risk was outweighed by the call of moral responsibility. As Hirsch said, “Faithful witness, even when costly, can help bend our common life toward justice, mercy, and peace.”
Many Americans called and emailed their representatives with the same ask. By the end of the day, the Senate did not advance the funding package, with members of both the Republican and Democrat parties voting against it. There is still a long way to go in terms of bipartisan cooperation, but it sparked hope for future reform and accountability.
For photos of this event (including a picture of Bishop Hirsh and other pastors in our synod being arrested by the Capitol police), see our Facebook page or click here.
In addition, the presiding bishop of the ELCA, Rev. Yehiel Curry, and the ELCA bishops in the state of Minnesota, have released a joint video message addressing the current situation in Minnesota. You can watch it by clicking here.
Calendar of Commemorations
The ELCA remembers saints and reformers of many Christian traditions on specific days throughout the year. Upcoming commemorations include:
Presentation of Our Lord (Mon Feb. 2)
Forty days after the birth of Jesus we mark the day Mary and Joseph presented him in the temple in accordance with Jewish law. There they were greeted by Simeon, an aged priest who offered the song "Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace," as well as by the prophet Anna, who spoke of the redemption of Israel.
Ansgar, Bishop of Hamburg, missionary to Denmark and Sweden, died 865 (Tue Feb. 3)
A monk who helped bring Christianity to Scandinavia, Ansgar returned to Germany where he was named bishop of Hamburg. He is remembered for his love for poor people.
The Martyrs of Japan, died 1597 (Thu Feb. 5)
Christianity was brought to Japan in the sixteenth century by Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries. The religion was suppressed, however, and in 1597 twenty-six missionaries and converts were crucified. Nevertheless, Christianity survived and later prospered.
Connection Details
You can join our services or other events on Zoom from anywhere in the world you may be. If you’ve never used Zoom before, you may need to download some software first (it’s free and only takes a minute).
To join, click on this link: https://zoom.us/j/2886238502?pwd=RU9ZZjk1TTdKREd5YmpBN1A2dWlsZz09
or open the Zoom app and use meeting number 288 623 8502 and password 971936;
or (for audio only) call (646) 558-8656 or (301) 715-8592 – When asked for the meeting ID, press 288 623 8502 and then the # key. When asked for the password, press 971 936 and then the # key.
In addition, the service is available on our YouTube channel. If you cannot participate live at 9:30 a.m., the videos will remain available so you can participate at whatever time you can.
United Community
United Community’s “Choice Food Pantry” is located at 7511 Fordson Road. UC serves local residents in need during its open hours of Monday 1-4 and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 10-12. Food is also distributed from 4-5 on the first Monday of each month at Mount Vernon Woods Elementary School, 4015 Fielding Street. For more information about the food pantry, connecting with other available services (including rental and utilities assistance), or for how to volunteer with United Community, visit their web site here.
Connecting With Us
If anyone is sick or in the hospital or otherwise in need, we are ready to help out and to support one another. Please let us know! The easiest way to reach Pastor David quickly is by sending an e-mail to pastor@epiphanylutheran.org.
Financial Support for Epiphany
If you are not able to join us in-person for worship and are able to continue to support Epiphany, we regularly monitor mail deliveries and so you can continue to send checks by mail. In addition, there is a “Donate” button on the web site www.epiphanylutheran.org (just scroll all the way down to the bottom) and you can make a contribution electronically using Paypal or a debit or credit card. We do pay a small service charge for online contributions, but this may be the most convenient option for many.