A Progressive Congregation on a Reston Hilltop

St. Anne's Episcopal Church rises above the intersection of Reston Parkway and Baron Cameron Avenue, set on a hilltop at 1700 Wainwright Drive in Reston, Virginia. The congregation describes itself as welcoming, diverse, and progressive, and its members have built a parish known for community organizing, racial justice work, a monthly food pantry, and an unusual honeybee program that has become part of its identity. Within The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia, St. Anne's stands out as a parish that, since 1969, has put outreach and experimentation at the center of what it means to be a neighborhood church.

From a Lake Anne Coffee Shop to a 23,000-Square-Foot Campus

St. Anne's was planted on February 23, 1969, when the Rev. Embry Rucker celebrated Holy Communion with 42 people in a storefront at Lake Anne Village Center. Reston itself was only five years old, and the new congregation threw itself into building the community alongside it. Through the Common Ground Foundation and Coffee House in Lake Anne, parishioners started the Common Ground Child Care Center, Reston Interfaith, the Reston Internal Bus System (the "RIBS" bus), and the Greater Reston Arts Center. The Common Ground Coffee House became an important gathering place for years and a point of contact for people who needed help.

Five rectors followed Rucker: the Rev. Jim Miles, the Rev. Paula Woods (the first woman rector in the Diocese of Virginia), the Rev. John Hatcher, the Rev. Jim Papile, and the Rev. Dr. John C. N. Hall. After a short time with interim rector the Rev. Dr. John Dewitt Stonesifer, the parish called its seventh rector, the Very Rev. Jessica Holthus, who joined St. Anne's in February 2022. The Diocese of Virginia had the foresight decades earlier to purchase a plot of land overlooking Baron Cameron Avenue and Reston Parkway; the current church building was dedicated in 1989 and the campus expanded in 1995 to its present 23,000 square feet.

The building is in constant use. In addition to housing parish worship and programming, St. Anne's provides facilities for Common Ground preschool, the Shoreshim Jewish congregation, and eight twelve-step recovery groups.

Two Sunday Services, Both Welcoming to First-Timers

Worship at St. Anne's centers on the Holy Eucharist. There are two Sunday services. At 8:00 a.m. the congregation gathers for a traditional, said service without music. At 10:00 a.m. the Friends & Family Service brings music into the sanctuary and is livestreamed on Vimeo and archived on YouTube for those who cannot attend in person. The 10:00 service follows Rite II, the standard Episcopal prayer book liturgy.

The parish makes a point of lowering the barriers for newcomers. Visitors are encouraged to relax, observe, or participate as they feel comfortable. The worship page reminds first-time guests that some of what they encounter may be new, and that it is fine to simply be at ease. Children are welcome in the pews, and families who would prefer a quieter space can use the Family Chapel, a separate room with large windows opening into the church and clear audio of music and voice. The Family Chapel gives parents a relaxed setting where children can read books, share toys, and just be kids while still taking part in the service.

An Organist, an Allen Quantum Organ, and a Choir for Everyone

Music is central to St. Anne's worship. The program is led by Music Director Robert Hamilton, who joined the parish in August 2024 and holds a bachelor's in organ performance from McGill University and a master's in music theory from the Eastman School of Music. Sunday worship is accompanied by the church's Allen Quantum Digital Organ, a four-manual, 82-stop instrument voiced to English cathedral specification, with more than 65 speakers placed in a chamber behind the choir, a solo division at the opposite side of the church, and an ancillary division above the main altar. The instrument replaces an aging Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ and was built by Allen Organ Company to St. Anne's specifications, including custom oak cabinetry, rosewood and maple drawknobs, and rosewood keys and pedals. A Steinway grand piano complements the organ.

The parish choir is open to music lovers of all ages, skill levels, and walks of life. Rehearsals and singing draw on the full Episcopal hymnal collection as well as traditional hymns, choral works, chant, gospel, modern hymnody, and contemporary pieces. The program regularly welcomes soloists and instrumentalists, many of them drawn from within the parish. Anyone who loves music, can carry a tune, and is willing to commit to the parish is welcome to join.

Feeding the Neighborhood Since 2012

The St. Anne's Food Pantry is one of the congregation's largest ministries. On the third Thursday of each month, up to 150 people come to the church for a distribution that mixes pre-packed grocery bags of non-perishable essentials, fresh produce, and frozen meat with a CHOICE model that lets families select what they need from tables of shelf-stable milk, canned goods, cooking oil, soy sauce, baking essentials, and personal hygiene items. The pantry also runs a diaper ministry.

In 2024 the pantry served an average of 87 households a month, totaling 228 individuals including 81 children, 74 adults, and 74 seniors. Two hundred of those households were new to St. Anne's that year, and the congregation and its partners distributed more than 82,000 pounds of food and essentials. Grocery bags of pantry staples are also available between distributions, weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., by calling the church office. Volunteers are needed to sort and shelve food, pick up donations, bag groceries, and greet guests on distribution day, and roles are available on schedules ranging from once a week to once a year.

Children, Teens, and Families in the Life of the Parish

St. Anne's treats its young people as members of the present congregation, not only the future of it. Sunday School runs from September through April during the 10:00 a.m. service, from 10:00 to 10:40 a.m. Children rejoin their families in church just before the Peace and Holy Communion. Classes are organized by age. The Preschool class introduces Pre-K children to Christian formation through art, story, and fellowship. The K through 2nd-grade class uses the Godly Play method, a Montessori-inspired curriculum that explores the mystery of God's presence through story, wonder, and play. The 3rd through 6th-grade class adds deeper work on the sacraments, with particular attention to Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist as outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace.

The Youth Group is made up of 7th through 12th graders and is registered each year through the parish's online forms. Programming, fellowship, and service are planned throughout the program year, and the parish encourages all teens to participate. The Family Chapel, mentioned above, is the third leg of the parish's welcome to families with younger children.

A Statement of Racial Justice and a Life of Service

St. Anne's was founded in 1969 as a congregation explicitly committed to racial equality and welcome. In August 2020, the Vestry adopted a formal statement of racial justice affirming that Black Lives Matter and pledging the parish to work to understand the dynamics of racism in all its manifestations, to center the voices of people of color, and to serve as an agent of transformation in the community and beyond. The parish's anti-racism committees continue to develop specific action plans.

That commitment sits alongside the food pantry, the building's eight twelve-step recovery groups, and the parish's broader practice of making the campus available to other community and faith groups. The congregation quotes the former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple on its contact page: "The Church is the only institution that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members."

Honeybees on the St. Anne's Campus

Among St. Anne's more unusual ministries is the St. Anne's Bee Team, which keeps honeybees on the campus and harvests honey each year in July and August. The honey is jarred in reused, sanitized four-ounce glass spice jars, sold for about $5 each, and donated back to the church. The team welcomes donations of new and used four-ounce glass spice jars (a collection bin sits in the parish library) and offers twenty- to thirty-minute educational presentations to elementary school classes in the Reston-Herndon area. Several team members are also members of the Fairfax Beekeepers Association, and the parish shares information about swarm reporting and pollinator observances such as UN World Bee Day and U.S. National Honeybee Day.

Adult Formation, Stewardship, and the St. Anne's Society

The church's adult formation offerings change each season and are published on the parish calendar. Stewardship is a major annual focus. For 2026 the parish adopted the theme "Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord" with a pledge goal of $795,000. Approximately 70 percent of St. Anne's operating budget is funded through pledges, supporting a full staff, building maintenance, music, youth, and outreach.

For longer-term planning, the St. Anne's Endowment Fund was launched in 2015. Donors to the fund become members of St. Anne's Society, and gifts may take many forms, including bequests in a will or living trust, immediate gifts of cash or stock, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, real estate with a reserved life estate, and life insurance policies. Online giving is available through the parish's giving page, and text-to-give is available at 703-997-4436.

Clergy, Staff, and How to Visit

The parish is led by Rector the Very Rev. Jessica Holthus, a Virginia Theological Seminary graduate who previously served as associate rector at All Saints Episcopal Church in Frederick, Maryland. She is supported by the Rev. Kara Laughlin, who joined St. Anne's in August 2025 as Associate Rector for Discipleship after serving as deacon at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Sterling, Virginia. Assisting priests include the Rev. Anne Cooper, a long-time presence in the greater Liberian community, and the Rev. David Lucey. Music Director Robert Hamilton oversees the choir and organ program. Sheri Schaffer serves as Parish Administrator and Angie Gray as Office Administrator.

The church office is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and until noon on Fridays, and is closed Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays. St. Anne's generally follows the schedule of Fairfax County Public Schools for inclement weather: if schools are closed, all activities at the church are canceled; if schools open late, morning activities are canceled and the office opens at noon; if schools close early, evening activities are canceled. Sunday worship status in bad weather is posted on the parish's Facebook page.

Finding the building takes a little extra care. From Reston Parkway, turn east on Temporary Road, then left on North Shore Drive, then left on Wainwright Drive, and left again into the parking lot at the top of the hill. From Baron Cameron Avenue, turn south on Village Road, right on North Shore Drive, right on Wainwright Drive, and right into the lot. For first-time visitors, the simplest first step is simply to show up at 1700 Wainwright Drive on a Sunday morning.