Description
One Hundred Years of St. George’s Episcopal Church: Arlington, Virginia 1908-2008, Growth of a Church Community in the Turbulent 20th Century by Cynthia Clark
St. George’s had its beginnings in 1908, when Arlington was a collection of villages with a total population of only 8,000. The first service of this new mission was held in 1909 on the porch of a private home; the first building was erected in 1911, and the first service was held on Christmas Eve, 1911. The congregation built a parish hall in 1916, but by 1933 increasing Sunday school attendance necessitated its replacement with the present building. St. George’s changed and evolved along with the world outside its doors. Washington, D.C., grew dramatically during the World War II years, and Arlington changed with it from a rural small town to a modern city. The story of this church reflects the history of Arlington County.
At the end of its first century, the church and its complex of buildings appeared almost lost among towering high-rises, not as easy to find as it once was, but a welcoming horizontal space in an almost vertical world. St. George’s parishioners and clergy, who once were homogeneous and similar in outlook and background, are now diverse and cosmopolitan, with members of different races, political persuasions, and cultural upbringing. St. George’s has planted a community in Arlington out of the efforts and loving dedication of its people, and it continues growing toward the full bloom of a church community that is all that a church should be.
Author Cynthia Clark was a member of St. George’s Episcopal Church from 1953 until her death in 2010. She taught Sunday school, sang in the choit, and was a vestrymember, adult education lecturer, and newsletter editor. She felt that St. George’s gave her far more than she gave, in lobe, companionship, and in countless opportunities for spiritual growth. She shared her writing expertise with her son, the late Charles S. Clark (1953-2023) an author in his own right.
- Softcover: 54 pages
- Publisher: Mount Royal Printing, 2008
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