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THE SYNOD
LANDSCAPE
The Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America is a geographic region comprised of the nation's
capitol and of the counties and municipalities
surrounding Washington, D.C. Included in the Synod are
the District of Columbia, the Virginia counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William,
including the cities of Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax,
and Falls Church, and the Maryland counties of
Montgomery, Prince George, Charles, Calvert, and St. Marys. There are seventy-five congregations and almost 40,000
baptized members in the synod.
Lutherans have been in the area for a long time. Our
oldest congregation is approaching 250 years of faithful
service. Because Metro D.C. continues to be one of the
fastest growing areas in the country, we would note that
25 of our congregations are less than 25 years old. There
are five congregations on mission status and four looking
forward to building their first units.
As one would expect, the 75 congregations are virtually
all urban or suburban. As the nation's Capitol, there are
many cultures and nationalities. Multi-cultural ministry
is our challenge and our opportunity. Our congregations
range in size from those with Sunday morning attendances
approaching the "mega-church" definition to
those early suburban congregations that now struggle in
dynamically changing neighborhoods.
The Metro D.C. Synod is strongly ecumenical in spirit and
is building meaningful ties, covenants and relationships
with the Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and
Churches of the Reformed tradition. There continue to be
good ties in some ministries with the Lutheran Church/Missouri
Synod.
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Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synod