In Search of Growth
St. David’s in Washington, D.C., grows by taking its gatherings into the neighborhood.
The members of St. David’s Church have stepped outside the parish’s four walls and into the streets of a neighborhood of the nation’s capital.
With no lot and limited street parking, St. David’s is “a neighborhood church” nestled in “one of the most expensive, pricey areas in D.C. to live in,” said its rector, the Rev. Kristen L. Hawley. “We sit in the middle of a neighborhood that makes you feel like you are not in D.C.” The Palisades neighborhood is about two and a half miles west of Washington National Cathedral.
She arrived in 2017 to a “small, faithful group championing the parish” after St. David’s had been “downsizing for a decade.”
Since then, parochial reports indicate, St. David’s has grown 35 percent from 2017 to 2021. “A huge part of it is going out and smiling and talking to everyone,” Hawley said. “My gift is a lot of energy. I arrived with four kids, pregnant with number five.”
Hawley also credited storytelling, which “is fundamental for me. We told a new story of potential and new birth were possible. … I am an abundance thinker. If you lead with abundance, you channel — you tell stories of — abundance. I helped people reclaim their stories.”
Vestry member Rich Bland agreed with Hawley. “I believe her uncanny abilities in emphasizing family in all St. David’s offerings, and her ability to share wonderful anecdotes in her sermons and pastoral ministry, have been the most significant factors, the secret sauce, if you will, for growth at St. David’s.”
The first step was “letting the neighborhood know we were here,” starting with outdoor movies, Hawley said. “Everyone in the community was welcome to come to the movies.” A $10,000 grant from the Diocese of Washington helped cover projection equipment. The parish also moved all its coffee hours and St. Francis Day and Earth Day celebrations outside.
“When we hit COVID, we had already started to do things outside. Within six to eight weeks of the world shutting down, we were outside giving people a place to be that wasn’t their house,” Hawley said. “We leaned in and offered more during COVID that gave us a huge edge in growth. People wanted to worship.”
People wanted an opportunity to help during COVID, and St. David’s gave them that opportunity. The neighborhood responded to drives for coats, gifts, and foodstuffs.
St. David’s offered a chance for its neighbors to stand together on social concerns. “One particularly poignant memory of St. David’s occurred in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder,” vestry member Mary Kathryn Covert said. “The congregation gathered outside, as it was the height of COVID, and the church bells rang for nine minutes in reflecting the nine minutes Derek Chauvin was on George Floyd’s neck. We all stood silently against this incredible injustice. We all stood for change. It was a powerful moment of community amongst so much divisiveness. That moment represented what we are — united against injustice, united together in faith and love.”
Now, St. David’s is a community fixture “because we do everything outside; we’re in the community all the time,” Hawley said.
Initial growth came from families with young children, even among parents who not been churchgoers as they grew up.
Bland said the emphasis on family helped the congregation’s expansion. “Kristen Hawley has led unprecedented growth at St. David’s by emphasizing family. Almost any event, service, or opportunity has an element that appeals to both children and parents, either together or separately. For those of us parents grappling with what it means to raise a child in the 21st century, this emphasis on the moral teachings of Christianity is like manna from heaven.”
He added, “Kristen also has a large family of her own. She is not afraid to share her own challenges and successes with raising her children. This also provides a much-needed humility and grace for us parishioners when we are anxiously looking for sources of wisdom.”
Covert was drawn to St. David’s through her children. “We have a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old, and they are always welcome, no matter the church event. We are in community with so many families, and it is this vibrancy as we walk in Christ’s love that keeps us coming back.”
Now, Hawley reported, St. David’s is welcoming “empty nesters, 50 to 70 years old, who are looking for a healthy, energized parish.”
