Fairlington Presbyterian Church

Here follows an excerpt from the church's website:

A Condensed History of Fairlington Presbyterian Church

Fairlington Presbyterian Church was founded on February 16, 1947, with 45 charter members, and purchased the property on which to build the church in August of that year. In an action that now causes us deep regret, the trustees signed a deed of sale which included a racially restrictive clause.

The first pastor was called in 1948. He was Dr. Charles Cowsert and under his strong leadership the congregation grew as did the church building. The building was constructed in stages with the Education Wing and Fellowship Hall being completed in 1951. The sanctuary was dedicated in 1955.

A number of programs and initiatives were hallmarks of FPC during its early days. These include: a Day School for pre-school, kindergarten and first grade children, Sunday School and Bible Study for all ages, denominational mission conferences, adult and children’s choirs, Christmas pageants with live nativity performances, summer camps, conferences and retreats, a coffee house for middle and high school youth, Presbyterian Women, men’s groups, drama productions, sports teams, and many other activities for what was at its high water mark nearly one thousand members.

Many founding members of FPC were of the southern Presbyterian tradition with a conservative approach to teaching, preaching, and understanding the Bible. As the congregation grew, as described above, many new members came from the surrounding community who did not share this conservative view. In the late 1970’s and 80’s, the Presbytery and General Assembly were adopting measures which brought to the forefront the philosophical differences at FPC. The merger of the Northern and Southern Presbyterian bodies was a very contentious issue as was the ordination of women elders. The third pastor of FPC was very conservative and didn’t agree with many of the changes taking place within the denomination at this time. This conflict caused many members to leave FPC and culminated in a vote on whether or not to leave the denomination and join the Evangelical Presbyterian church. The decision to leave failed by one vote but the tension and bad feelings generated did great damage. Two-thirds of the members and the pastor left and became part of the EPC.

With support from the Presbytery, the remaining membership of FPC was sustained, and they called co-pastors Fred Lyon and Jan Edmiston in 1989. The FPC congregation regrew under their leadership and in 2001 Jan Edmiston became FPC’s solo pastor. During the Edmiston-Lyon pastorate, several programs were begun or restarted which were successful in serving the congregation and the community; many of which continue today. These include: Food and Friends, ALIVE, Computer CORE, use of the building by various AA and other self-help groups, Casa Chirilagua, Holy Grounds, VBS, the Day School, Presbyterian Women, choir, and Sunday School. A capital campaign raised money for a new pipe organ in 2005, and in subsequent years, funded renovations to the building to make it more welcoming and accessible. Fairlington became known as a progressive church that welcomed a diversity of folk, including gays and lesbians, several of whom were elected to be elders and deacons.

In 2013, the congregation called a new pastor, Juli Wilson-Black. In 2014, the ruling elders of the church, the Session, approved a new partnership with Potomac Crescent Waldorf School, which began leasing the education wing and other classroom space beginning in 2015. The Session also established a vision for renewal for FPC, adopting the goal to “be the deeper, more committed faithful in the neighborhood” and beginning in a discernment process to identify new initiatives for ministry in the community.

In May 2017, the congregation voted to approve the sale of a portion of the church's property to Wesley Housing for the development of 81 units of affordable housing. This reversed the intention of the racially restrictive deed clause signed by the church in 1947. Pastor Juli referenced this in her Waypoint groundbreaking remarks.

Installed Pastors of FPC
1948-1958 Dr. Charles C. Cowsert
1958-1968 Dr. Charles Edward Gammon
1970-1987 Dr. William Graham Smith
1989-2001 Dr. Fred Crane Lyon, II and Dr. Janice L. Edmiston
2001-2011 Dr. Janice L. Edmiston
2011-2013 Rev. Leslieanne Braunstein (Interim Pastor)
2013-now Rev. Juli Wilson-Black

We continue to learn more about the history of the land on which the church was built. This research done by the City of Alexandria into the land where the Safeway now sits at the Bradlee Shopping Center also provides valuable information about our property.