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They call themselves the “Second Saturday Set” and they’ve been together going on 60 years at Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in McLean, Virginia.
They started in 1971 when two young mothers volunteering in the church nursery began talking about their shared challenges—moving to a new city, leaving behind old friends and family. Rather than ending there, the two women invited other families to a party – children and all.
“There was one party, then another and another,” Second Saturday Set member Cathy Gaugler recalled. “We have been with each other through happy times like new babies, graduations, children’s weddings and grandchildren, and hard times like medical conditions and losses—just like a family.”
That may be one of the reasons that Lewinsville Presbyterian Church’s
Rev. Dr. Scott Ramsey mentioned the Second Saturday Set when he began the Summer Sermon Series—Deepening Relationships.
He described the series as providing“a variety of ways to explore the foundational claim that we cannot know God without knowing each other.”
Ramsey, along with Associate Pastor Layne Brubaker and Stated Supply Pastor for Christian Education Jen Dunfee, encouraged the congregation to make extra efforts to meet people they did not know.
During the sermon series, the three pastors didn’t hold back on the difficulties involved in sustaining relationships. Using examples of families from Genesis, they discussed the themes of betrayal, deception, forgiveness, and reconciliation. From the stories around King David, the sermons included stories of vulnerability, grief, and renewal), and a variety of stories around Jesus (including stories of compassion, belonging, and hope.
Through each of their sermons, Pastors Scott, Layne and Jen encouraged members of the congregation to “Take the time. Make the first step. “See things differently.”
And those ideas have always been the nucleus ofLewinsville’s DNA, where the congregation looks outward to help each other and the local McLean community and missions around the globe. They founded affordable senior housing —The Lewinsville and Chesterbrook Residences; Second Story—a safe place for teens who had nowhere to go. Lewinsville members support organizations such as SHARE of McLean, Miriam’s Kitchen, Christ House, Jill’s House and the Falls Church McLean Children’s Center.
Groups such as the Second Saturday Set have been heavily involved in all aspects of the life of Lewinsville. They’ve held leadership positions, led missions and supported initiatives of the church.
What began as little frame church on the corner of Great Falls Street and Chain Bridge Road in1846 survived when there were fewer than a dozen members and even when there were nearly 1,000. The members have faced division and war.
For example, when the Civil War ripped the nation apart, Lewinsville members voted to remain in the Union, then saw its building occupied by Union troops protecting the Capital and heavily damaged by both sides during the war. But the congregation endured and eventually thrived.
Should you decide to come to Lewinsville Presbyterian—now the brick church still on the corner of Great Falls Street and Chain Bridge Road—you will find a warm greeting and a place where you can build life-long relationships. It has always been and continues to be a place where everyone is welcome.
After all, two young mothers in a brand-new city paved the way 60 years ago and counting.
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