The Falls Church Episcopal

The Falls Church was on the top of the list of churches my wife and I wanted to visit after moving from New York City. We’ve lived in London a few times and attended Holy Trinity Brompton when we were out there. That got us interested in Anglicanism — but specifically, we were drawn to The Falls Church as opposed to other Anglican churches in the area, because it seemed like they were open to the Charismatic movement. Most Anglican churches are pretty dry and very formal/​structured in their service, so we were hoping to find an Anglican church that had a bit more of the Holy Ghost energy in the service. Can I get an amen?!?
As we stepped out of our car in the parking lot and noticed how the other people dressed, we were a bit worried. Everyone seemed like they were kinda dressed up. This was sort of a shock to us since no one in New York dresses up to church anymore, even in «business casual». As we walked into the sanctuary, we were relieved that we weren’t the only ones dressed in shorts and sandals. :) But the majority of the people there were dressed up in button down shirts and khakis. You guys need to loosen up a bit! Jesus wants us to come to Him just as we are. I think we start putting up barriers between us and Him when we feel like we need to look a certain way when going to church.
The worship was pretty good. Lots of hymns but there were a few modern songs in there (e.g. Hillsongs). I wish there were less hymns and more modern songs but the important thing to me was that I felt like they were worshiping in the Spirit and that it wasn’t dry and rote.
The sermon was excellent. Very clearly communicated and did a good job of not just presenting an academic analysis of a piece of Scripture but also bringing that into context of our lives.
We haven’t decided on which church to commit to yet but The Falls Church is a leading candidate. I just wish it wasn’t so far from where we live and that they encouraged more of their church plants to also be open to the Charismatic element.