WELCOME TO SAINT JOHN’S CHURCH

Welcome to St. John's Church, Lafayette Square—a vibrant historic Episcopal church located across from the White House. We invite you to join with us for worship, Christian fellowship and outreach.

History

From our organization as a parish in 1815 to today, St. John's Church has provided a powerful symbol of faith in the heart of our nation's capital.

Mission

At St. John's, we believe Christ is calling us to be a renewed church in a changing world. In worship, education, parish life, and social action, we seek to expand our horizons by serving God by loving one another.

Clergy, Staff, & Vestry

Meet St. John’s diverse and engaging clergy, vestry and staff.

Directions & Parking

Located at the corner of 16th and H Streets in Northwest Washington, St. John's is near the McPherson Square and Farragut North Metro stations. Limited street parking is available; free valet parking is offered for certain hours.
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Do you know how to receive?

First Monday of Lent
Deuteronomy 8:11-18 Psalms 41, 44, 52 Hebrews 2:11-18 John 2:1-12
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In the late winter of my senior year in college, I had a very vivid dream. In it I was asked the question “do you know how to receive?”
I awoke with a start, bewildered, my eyes wide open, heart racing. Did I know how to receive? What did that mean? The dream haunted and distracted me throughout the day as I tried to rationalize it. I had a vivid imagination, an insatiable curiosity about the world, and was an avid reader; surely something I’d read had prompted it. But despite my efforts to find a source, I came up empty. The dream and the question had come from somewhere else.
Ten years have passed since then, and I often think back to that memorable morning. Older and a tiny bit wiser, I know that learning how to receive is a process. It requires discernment, silence, and stillness; it requires striving and intention. It is about saying yes to what will be. It requires living, learning how to have faith.
I still don’t know where the dream came from, but the word receive took on a deeper meaning for me that year. Each time I kneel at the altar to receive Communion, I am humbled by the fact that I am welcome again and again, that I am forgiven, that I am loved.
And walking toward the door to leave, some days unsure and uncertain, I need only turn around to find a God who nods His head and says to each one of us, “I believe in you. Now keep going.”
Audrey M. Wood

Photo © Mike Angell 2010

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