Pohick Church Reopens with Renewed Focus on Community

This Sunday, Feb. 6, historic Pohick Church will open its doors to parishioners for the first time since Christmas, when the local coronavirus surge forced it to bring a halt to in-person services.

While the nearly 300-year-old parish — known as the home church of George Washington and George Mason — has been using modern-day livestreams to broadcast its late-morning services to congregants since the beginning of the pandemic, its Anglican worship services are rooted in the 16th century “Book of Common Prayer.” Pohick Church’s 8 a.m. Sunday services are contemplative and without music, while the 10:30 a.m. services feature traditional organ music and choirs, as well as bells and a band.

The Episcopal church’s rector, the Rev. Dr. Lynn Ronaldi, says the parish has been focused on meeting the broader community’s needs during times of uncertainty and isolation, and on enhancing connections with George Washington’s Mount Vernon. On Feb. 21, the church is holding its traditional George Washington Birthday Breakfast featuring a Mount Vernon historian as a speaker. In April, Pohick Church will hold its first-ever community-wide Easter egg hunt and sunrise Easter vigil in its courtyard. The church also offers free docent-guided tours on the first Saturdays of each month, after Sunday services and by appointment.

“We’re excited about being able to invite people into the campus,” said Ronaldi.

Parishioners with mobility issues now have easier access to the church from the lower parking lot where golf carts can chauffeur them to the worship hall. According to Ronaldi, the church also is having a new accessibility ramp designed for the south side of the historic building as a more picturesque alternative to the existing one on the west side. She hopes it will be finished this year.

More information on upcoming services and events, including health and safety precautions for in-person worship, can be found on Pohick Church’s website. The church is located at 9301 Richmond Highway in Lorton.