Our History
St. Francis Episcopal Church: A Brief History
The sanctuary was completed in 1984, and the parish hall and associated rooms were finally finished in a second building phase that wrapped up in 1993. During this time, the church welcomed the Rev. Bob Friend as the new rector, and it was under the Rev. Friend’s leadership that the St. Francis Creche opened its doors in January 2001. The new building with its classrooms and the beautiful surrounding grounds was particularly appropriate for a preschool. Also during the Rev. Friend’s tenure, the church began a longstanding relationship with the Diocese of Ezo, Sudan.
The Rev. Friend left in 2001 and, after a brief interim, the Rev. Penny Bridges joined St. Francis as rector. The Rev. Bridges brought her love of music to St. Francis, and a growing choir and various musical performances were hallmarks of her time at St. Francis—a legacy that continues.
The Rev. Bridges was followed by the Rev. David Lucey, who came to St. Francis from Rhode Island in 2015, the same year that the St. Francis Labyrinth was dedicated. In 2018, St. Francis hosted the Bishop of the Ezo Diocese for a two-week visit. The Rev. Lucey led St. Francis through the pandemic as the church transitioned to online services and events. He retired in 2024.
The current Priest-in-Charge, the Rev. E. Weston Mathews, was called to St. Francis in September 2024. His love of music and the arts and his propensity for welcoming the greater community to St. Francis have brought a new energy to the church. Parishioners look forward to his leadership for many years to come!
St. Francis Episcopal Church opened as a mission church of St. John’s, McLean, in June 1964. Initially, worship services were held in the Great Falls Elementary School cafeteria. Later, services were moved to Harris Hall, the small building that still stands behind our current building. Harris Hall is a former dog kennel that has been used for worship services, meetings, Sunday school, and more over the years.
While the original name for the church was “St. Francis In-the-Field,” that name was dropped during a difficult period when the bishop closed the church. The church reopened after St. John’s stepped in to pay some bills and mediate some disagreements. But the “Great Falls Episcopal Church,” as it was known in the late 1970s and early 1980s, still had a long way to go before becoming an independent church. In 1980, the Rev. John Millen became the new vicar of St. Francis, and under his leadership the congregation grew, and parishioners made plans to build the current church and parish hall buildings. In January 1983, the Diocese of Virginia granted full parish status to the church with the name “St. Francis Episcopal Church.”