Little River United Church of Christ (Annandale, Virginia) is a community of followers of Jesus of Nazareth. We seek to embody the Spirit of God as set forth in the life, teachings, death, and living presence of Jesus the Christ. We seek our own and others’ wholeness by experiencing and expressing divine love, and we seek to act prophetically to establish a just way of life. We gather in person and online for prayer and reflection in worship, enriching music, building relationships, learning, and social justice activities for all ages. We are doubters and seekers, sinners and saints doing our best to create a beloved community with those in the D.C. area and beyond.
Little River was founded as a desegregated congregation in 1955, when segregation was still the law of the land. We also have the honor of having walked alongside and supported the first lesbian ordained clergy person in the UCC in 1982, as she and her partner were members for many years at Little River. We became an open and affirming congregation in 2001. We are building on this history of racial justice and LGBTQ rights as an antiracist and open and affirming congregation. When we say that all are welcome here, we mean it.
What to Expect at Little River
Whether you're a lifelong church-goer or a first-timer, you will find a warm welcome at Little River United Church of Christ.
Our church is at the end of a long driveway, surrounded by a beautifully wooded area. When you pull into the parking lot, you are welcome to use our visitors’ spaces on your left at the end of the drive. Greeters will welcome you after you step inside. They will direct you to our welcome table, where you will be provided with a nametag, if you choose to wear one. However, if you would rather go unnoticed, that’s okay, too. Just walk by the greeters straight down the hallway into the sanctuary on the right.
Ushers will greet you at the sanctuary door, give you a worship bulletin, and can assist in finding a seat. No one will ask you to stand up or introduce yourself during the service. People dress as they are most comfortable during worship, from casual to business attire. During each service, we pass a Friendship notebook down each row in which those in attendance may write their names. This helps us get to know each other and greet each other by name. While we invite everyone to sign the Friendship notebook, there is no obligation to do so.
Our one-hour service includes prayer, music, greeting one another, time with children, scripture reading, a sermon, prayerfully sharing the community’s joys and concerns, offering (visitors are under no obligation to give!), and benediction. To get a taste of a Sunday morning, visit the Sermons page to sample our pastors’ messages.
We normally celebrate communion together on the first Sunday of the month. All are welcome to participate in the sharing of the juice and bread, regardless of church affiliation.
We encourage guests to join us after worship for coffee hour in our social hall. Here you'll meet others who will offer you light refreshments while getting to know you, answering your questions, and guiding you to resources about the church.
Children of all ages are always welcome in worship. We also have childcare and Church School options for infants, children, and youth. Please refer to Learning with Infants and Children and to Learning with Youth for further details. If you’d like your children to remain with you during the service but they need some space to move, the entryway to the sanctuary has a play space for children and audio and visual of the service for caregivers.
About Little River UCC
Founding History
Our congregation has an inspirational founding story. Approximately 70 years ago, our church was founded by Congregationalists who were committed to establishing a church in Northern Virginia where Black and white people could worship together during the Jim Crow era. In 1954, old Virginia was still in existence, totally segregated by race in schools, restaurants, drinking fountains, public facilities, and society in general. Although Brown vs. Board of Education had ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, Virginia was the leader of the “Massive Resistance” of the southern states. In this context, twenty young people decided to establish a new congregational church that would teach a faith that is congruent with reason and take action for racial justice. The congregation began meeting on September 19, 1954 in Annandale Elementary School on Columbia Pike without a minister. In 1955, 87 charter members founded the Congregational Christian Church of Fairfax County and were recognized by the Congregational Christian Churches of the Washington Association. The church installed its first pastor, the Rev. Hubert S. Beckwith, in the same year. A census of the church in its second year showed that 80% of its membership was under 40 years of age, and all were
white.
The elementary school, however, took notice of the church’s openness to African Americans and its active resistance to segregation. They required the leadership to sign a new application for use of the school, on the condition that they would agree to abide by the Virginia law to segregate the races. The congregation agreed to abide by the law, which they did by designating as seats of honor as many front seats as necessary for people of color, and by sitting in each chair around and behind its Black members and visitors, to welcome and surround them with love. The church first acquired 6 acres of land just off the current Beltway on Little River Turnpike, which was owned by Ms. Ida Mae Adcock. On that site, “there were experiences of dogs chasing ducks, with the deacons chasing the dogs… the newspapers reported that when the minister said ‘Let us pray,’ the donkey on the hill misunderstood, thinking he had said, ‘Let us bray!’” The congregation was nonetheless so close to the existing highway that cars entered our property all the time and “not always on friendly visits.” The congregation had hired architects and made plans to build on the property before receiving news that the new Beltway would be built on that location.
The congregation then attempted to purchase land from another individual. When Rev. Beckwith attempted to close on the property, the current landowner had discovered that the church was fighting against segregation. He refused to sell the property, threatening Rev. Beckwith with a pike (a sharp fishing implement). In those early days, as Rev. Beckwith recalls, “there were threatening phone calls
at night at the parsonage from time to time, saying, ‘Go back home, you don’t belong here,’ and stuff.” Finally, when a non-member heard that the church was looking for land and had had trouble making a deal, he took it upon himself to negotiate on the church’s behalf to purchase our current property on Little River Turnpike. The congregation broke ground at 8410 Little River Turnpike in June 1958.
As for our activism at that time, Rev. Hubert Beckwith gathered a voluntary citizens’ group to explore steps toward public action against discrimination, and church members were also involved in voluntary groups and/or were involved professionally. One such effort was a Summer Day Camp held on our grounds, called Higher Horizons, which was sponsored by our church, the Unitarian church, and the Fairfax Council. It was first held during the summer just before the first Black students would enter previously white
schools, so that they would get to know each other and have some friends of the other race. Our church was also involved with an interracial day care center in Annandale, and the “March on Washington” in 1963. In 1964, our first pastor also performed the wedding ceremony of a white woman and Japanese American man, when it was illegal for a white person to marry anyone with “blood other than Caucasian.” At that time, nine years after its founding, the church received its first Black members, among whom were Jube and Mildred Shiver. The Rev. Hubert Stanley Beckwith served from 1955-1987.
Historical Development
In 1985, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ passed a resolution encouraging congregations to become Open and Affirming. There was, at that time, little awareness of the issues at Little River and LGBTQ members and friends had limited visibility in the congregation. From 1999 to 2002, Tom Colohan served as choir director and was known to be gay. (Other choir directors to follow were also LGBTQ.) In December 1999, our second pastor, the Rev. Dr. Verne Arens, delivered a sermon called “Breaking the Silence,” in which he addressed the issue of LGBTQ justice and preached that silence does not bring civil rights to the oppressed.
In 2000, Julie and Mark Holm wrote a letter to the church leadership asking them to consider leading the congregation in becoming an Open and Affirming community. In February or March of that year, Verne and Brian Payne (moderator) met with Westmoreland UCC to receive advice on the process. Shortly thereafter in 2000, on recommendation by the Board of Deacons, the Church Council authorized the Moderator “to establish a committee to guide a period of study, reflection, and prayer on what it would mean to adopt a statement on being an open and affirming church.” The committee consisted of 13 people who studied scripture, collected Open and Affirming statements from six Potomac Association congregations, invited outside speakers, organized listening and discussion sessions, and began drafting many iterations of a statement for LRUCC adoption. Several films, presentations, and sermons were delivered to the congregation. In October of 2001, those present at a special congregational meeting adopted an Open and Affirming policy statement. You can read the full text of the statement here.
From 2001 to 2009, there was little action or visibility of the Open and Affirming committee at Little River aside from the church’s provision of free space for meetings of a local PFLAG chapter, several LGBTQ folks joining the church, and annual participation in the DC Pride March. In 2009, the ONA group was re-energized for a time due partially to Bob and Ann Lingo’s efforts. In 2012, the UCC’s “Equal Marriage Rights for All” resolution was approved overwhelmingly at the annual meeting. The Rev. Dr. Verne Arens served as Senior Pastor from 1988 to 2011. Upon his retirement, he was honored as our Pastor Emeritus.
Transitional Times
Little River UCC entered a transitional period with regard to leadership from 2011 to 2023. The Rev. Susan Henderson served as Interim Senior Pastor from 2011 on 2014, and the Rev. Ron Rising also served as Interim Senior Pastor during 2014. Our third Senior Pastor was the Rev. David Lindsey, who served from 2014 to 2020. During this time, the covid-19 pandemic of 2019–23 occurred. The Rev. Alexis Kassim served as Acting Senior Pastor from 2020 to 2021, followed by the Rev. Dr. Arthur L. Cribb, Jr., as Interim Senior Pastor from 2021 to 2023.
The Next chapter
We called the Rev. Dr. Shelli Poe as our fourth Senior Pastor in June of 2023. With her leadership, we have begun reviving the ministries that have been at the heart of Little River since the beginning: Our Antiracism Ministry and Open and Affirming Ministry.
