Luther Place Memorial Church

As members of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, my housemates and I were assigned to a ‘host church’ in the DC area. As the Second closest Lutheran Church to our house, Luther Place Memorial Church was chosen to be that community of faith that could offer us support throughout our year as volunteers. The church, which is located near Logan Circle on Vermont Avenue, looks quite large from the outside as its red-bricked gothic presence towers over its neighboring houses. Upon stepping into the sanctuary, one feels not overwhelmed or intimidated as they might have with the basilica, but instead comforted by the smaller and pleasing space where worship takes place. The church also places a great emphasis on past theologians who greatly influenced Christianity and the role it plays in the world. While pedestrians are greeted by a large bronze statue of Luther standing on the front grounds of the church, churchgoers are joined in worship with numerous theologians from John Wesley to Martin Luther King Jr as their stained-glass images watch over the sanctuary. 

            With roughly 85 worshippers present on this particular Sunday, the congregation appeared to be a close knit community of Lutherans intent on promoting social justice through their faith. The church is actively engaged in the city through social activism as the church members play important roles in serving those less fortunate in the community. This sense of serving others is especially seen in the church service itself as Pastor Karen makes social justice a key component to her theology and her message for her congregation.  The service, which was not nearly as traditional or high-church oriented as Augustana, draws most its energy Pastor’s Karen’s passionate sermons, which are both personally insightful and globally relevant.

            With  Logan Circle being the beautiful neighborhood that it is, this unfortunately means that many of the brunch spots near the church are on the expensive side. While a spot such as Logan’s Tavern may have a 15 dollar crab cake that I’m sure is splendid, you can always walk a little further down P Street
to the whole foods and grab two salmon cakes with a side of mashed potatoes for about $6.50. While I could complain about my limited budget, a break from crab meat doesn’t sound all that painful when I’m still eating seafood from Whole Foods. 

                                 A view of Luther Place Memorial Church from Thomas Circle - 1922

The Basilica

As a confirmed Methodist, baptized Congregationalist, and member of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, I haven’t had much experience outside of the mainline protestant realm. Because of this protestant past, I have always felt a little out of my comfort zone when I attend Catholic services. So when my roommates and I decided to take a stroll down Michigan Avenue to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, I did my best not to feel intimidated by my lack of Catholic service experience. The massive Cathedral is the third largest in North America and it definitely shows as its tower and dome can be spotted from miles away. With paintings of saints and various small chapels along the outer aisles, the Basilica certainly is an impressive architectural feat. With about a thousand people attending a regular Sunday service, the Cathedral is definitely a hot spot for DC Catholics. Not wanting to look too out of place, we sat towards the back with the hope that no one would notice how out of step we were with Catholic traditions. This of course did not work. Since we basically never knew when to kneel or what liturgy to say, I’m sure that the Cathedral locals spotted us tourists fairly easily. The homily was brief and not incredibly insightful, but the Priest did speak about a topic that is always good to be addressed: humility. Especially for a recent college graduate who thinks his opinion matters so greatly that he needs to write about his church hopping experiences, humility is always a great virtue to keep in mind. Without a Catholic baptism, my housemates and I were not allowed to receive communion. Staying seated during this pivotal point of the service was apparently not the respectful thing to do as others seated in our pew gave us the “stink eye” and proceeded on without us. While an experience like this may make me feel unwelcomed in the Catholic community, I do enjoy many aspects of the Catholic tradition. The fifteen hundred years of Catholic theology that was formed under figures such as Augustine, Aquinas, and St. Ignatius is exactly what makes the study of Christianity so interesting. Even the high church traditions in Catholic services create that sacred and peaceful space that I experienced at Augustana. And the beautiful artistic imagery seen in Catholic churches always impress me and make me feel as though Protestants can be rather bland (thanks Luther). So while my relationship with Catholic services may be a bit on the edgy side, I do enjoy many of the attributes of Catholic traditions. Being confirmed a Methodist, I often remind others that John Wesley was actually accused in 18^th century Britain of being a Catholic sympathizer, a supposed insult that obviously didn’t catch on.

            The crab cake that I hunted down in the Basilica area was just down Michigan and

Monroe Avenue at a little pub-like restaurant called Colonel Brooks’ Tavern. The crab cake was delicious and was of a good size with larger crab chunks than even Bus Boys and Poets. The fries were also excellent as they were cut well and contained a good amount of actual potato and were not just sticks of deep-fried-materials. So even if you’re denied the body of Christ at a church service, you can’t be denied a cook crab cake from down the street.

Augustana

The first church in this ambitious endeavor was chosen carefully by my roommates, especially since our decision was based solely on our extreme lack of sleep. Following our delayed flight and unfortunate forced layover in a Milwaukee motel, we decided to trek over to the closest Lutheran community to our house which just happened to be Augustana Lutheran Church. Located near 15^th and V street, Augustana is a beautiful, semi-gothic looking church with a small sanctuary that contains a sacred and soothing atmosphere. With stone pillars running along both sides of you during worship, the center aisle extends the length of the sanctuary culminating in a stained glass containing a very Nordic, and therefore Lutheran, depiction of Jesus. Although the sanctuary is on the smaller side and the service had only about sixty worshippers present, the diversity in both age and ethnicity within the congregation suggested to me that this church was certainly not just another example of the demise of the mainline denominations. There was a true urban presence in the church as many congregants appeared in their thirties and fewer families were visible from my view point. The service followed a high church liturgy, most of which was sung or chanted- something I am always drawn to perhaps due to my exhaustion from childhood low church experiences. Although the choir did not assemble on this summer day, the music was high point of the service as the organist demonstrated how music can truly bring a tone of beauty and joy to such a peaceful and sacred space. Pastor John’s divinity degree from Harvard was shown in his sermon as he demonstrated his ability to stay on a consistent message while crossing ecumenical and denominational lines. If anything competed with the music for the most impressive aspect of the service, it was definitely the communion bread. A home baked honey-wheat loaf of pure carbs certainly could have pushed me over to the side of consubstantiation during the time of Luther. Following the benediction, us newly arrived and slightly jetlagged LVCers were met with absolute hospitality and friendliness and members of the congregation made us feel at home. And to top it off, the post-service coffee time contained a feast of sloppy joes, pasta salads, and possibly the best brownies I’ve ever had.

The post-service crab cake was found close by on V street at a popular place called Busboys and Poets. Although the Sunday brunch menu does not serve the crab cake sandwich until three o’clock, the crab eggs benedict is delicious. If you do have a chance to try their tasty twelve dollar crab cake you won’t be disappointed. The chunks of crab are of a good size and you’ll definitely be full with a side of your choice of fries, salad, or fresh fruit. After our tiring first night in DC, I think we did Sunday right with Augustana and brunch.

Church Visits and Crab Cakes

When I ask myself why I decided to write a blog on two topics that only a limited number of people seem even remotely interested in, I am tempted to give a thought provoking answer explaining how the satisfying of one's hunger and the yearning for metaphysical answers and truths are the two most essential components of human nature. But the truth is that I majored in Religious Studies, I enjoy crab cakes, and I apparently like to listen to myself think when it comes to these two topics. The first idea I had for a series of posts was checking out different churches, deciding what I liked and didn't like about them, and finding some good seafood nearby. Now that I have moved to the nation's capital for the year, I am determined to set out and explore the different faith-based communities in DC and locate the closest crab cakes, or other seafood brunch items, to them. So whether you're a lutheran or methodist, buddhist or Daoist, or just really bored, I hope you learn some valuable information from my explorations.