Do you love Easter? Are you curious about the ashes at Ash Wednesday? Do you wonder about how we pick the readings or music? Do you have ideas for something you'd love to see or hear or do in worship? Now is your chance! On Wednesday, 1/28, we'll be gathering at Western Pres at 6:30pm to plan worship for Lent and Easter. You don't need to me on any committee, you don't need to be a member, you don't need any experience. Just show up and help dream about worship together! Hope to see you there!
Annual Meeting
The Session of Church of the Pilgrims has called an Annual Congregational Meeting for Sunday, January 18, 2026 immediately following worship, both online and in person.
Winter Issues Among Us
Issues Among Us
We will continue our Issues Among Us series of group outings to exhibits, speakers, shows, and other opportunities to engage the issues of our time with our faith journey. Generally, we go do something interesting together, and then we share a meal and talk about how what we learned/experienced engages with our faith.
January - Monday 1/12 at 6:30pm
An Evening with Senator Chris Coons at New York Ave Presbyterian Church
Let's go together to the McClendon Scholar Program at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) will be the next speaker on Monday evening, January 12th at 6:30 PM. Senator Coons is a Deacon in his Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware and he will discuss the challenges of living out his faith in this very difficult political climate. He will also share his concerns about what is happening in the country and offer suggestions about what Christians engaged in politics should focus on in the year to come.
Click here for more info and to register to attend either in person or online.
February - Saturday 2/7 at 10:45am
Visit to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture
To celebrate Black History Month, let's go to the museum and visit some of the exhibits you haven't seen before, or take another look at some of the exhibits you already know well. Bring a lunch or some money to buy lunch at the cafeteria and we'll meet up to talk about what we learned together after visiting a bit. Erin has reserved group tickets for us, so please RSVP by emailing Erin if you plan to go.
March - Saturday 3/14 at 10:15am
Women's Historic House Walking Adventure
Let's go visit two of DC's Women's Historic Home Hot Spots.
Meeting at 10:15am at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House for a docent-led tour of the historic headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), then we'll walk about two miles over to Captiol Hill, discussing what we learned at our first stop, to then visit the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. Please note: we plan to do a lot of walking and the Bethune Council House is not accessible and involves stairs. We encourage you take public transit for this adventure, as we will start in one spot and end up somewhere completely different.
April - (Date and Time still TBD)
"In Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness" a new exhibit set to open at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary, explore a collection of 250 items which help tell the story of our country. More details to be shared when the Smithsonian sets an exhibit opening date.
Brunch Worship - 12/28
Join us this Sunday for BRUNCH WORSHIP!
We'll be gathering at Pilgrims on 12/28 at 11am in person and online for a casual service of scripture, song, and so much good food to celebrate the first Sunday of Christmas!
Bring your leftover breakfast casserole and Christmas cookies, those oranges Santa put in your stocking, or whatever tasty treats you have at the house and let's share in a potluck feast!
We'll have the tables in the sanctuary, the hymnals open to the Christmas section, and plenty of time for scripture and prayer and discussion.
As we're being pretty casual this week, we're taking a rest from many of our usual Sunday happenings - so, there will be NO CHOIR PRACTICE, NO FREE INQUIRY CLASS, NO BIBLE STUDY ON-THE-FLY this week.
We do have some volunteers scheduled to serve a meal with Open Table.
We'll get back to our usual full schedule in the New Year!
Hope to see you Sunday!
Congregational Meeting 12/21
The Session of Church of the Pilgrims has called a Congregational Meeting for Sunday 12/21 at 12pm, immediately following worship for the purpose of approving the Pastor’s Terms of Call and receiving the 2026 Budget.
Wednesday Winter Wonder Walks
This Advent, let's wonder together. Meet at Western Pres on Wednesdays at 5:30pm and let's go for a walk, check out the Christmas lights, wonder where everyone is going, dream about what we could do together in our city, and explore a bit in the winter air. Meet Erin at the corner of 24th and G NW on Wednesday nights that are not Christmas-Eve or New Year's Eve. Let's wonder....
Issues Among Us: Dec 6
November is Native American Heritage Month, but we're going to extend it a little into December, too.
For our next Issues Among Us gathering, on Saturday 12/6 we'll meet at Western Presbyterian Church at 12pm to head off on a DC Indigenous History walking tour. Created by American University Professor and Chickasaw Nation citizen, Dr. Elizabeth Rule, the walking tour features sites of importance to Native peoples across the nation's capital, emphasizing policy and culture. We'll finish our journey at the Museum of the American Indian in time to visit their Native Arts Market, where you can meet Native artists, learn about traditional crafts, and purchase traditional and contemporary handcrafted artwork. This is a 2.5 mile journey, so please dress for the weather and a lot of steps, and plan to take public transit or a ride share back to church or home when we're through.
If walking all over the city in the winter weather isn't for you, the National Museum of the American Indian is making available several short films in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, and you can watch them from the comfort of your own home. Click here between Nov. 21 -28 to watch several short films featuring indigenous people and their stories.
***Issues Among Us is a series of gatherings where we go out into the city to learn about issues facing our community right now. Together, we go to museums, speakers, film screenings, library events, music performances, etc. and then often share a meal together and discuss what we learned and how it relates to our faith. We work to always make sure these gatherings are free and accessible to all.
Advent and Christmas with Pilgrims and Western
Advent is a season of watching and waiting for Emmanuel. This Advent, we’ll be exploring the themes of fear and hope through a special series Insisting on Hope this Advent. Join us for worship, pop in and take a part in our spontaneous pageant, come caroling outside the metro stations, and share in a season as together we insist on hope!
Here’s the Schedule:
11/30 Sunday worship at Pilgrims
12/7 Sunday worship at Western with tree trimming
12/14 Sunday worship at Western with Pageant
12/21 Sunday worship at Pilgrims
12/24 8pm Christmas Eve Worship at Western
12/28 Brunch Worship at Pilgrims