Sabbatical visits: Kairos, Falls Church, VA

What was your first impression as you entered?

Kairos is an extension of the Falls Church, a large, historic “George Washington served here” Episcopal church in an affluent DC suburb. The architecture and grounds were beautiful, creative and impressive. It struck me that the church is energetic and visionary, with a wide variety of things happening, and Kairos was one among many attempts to reach out to the surrounding community.

How long was the service?

About an hour and a half

How was the service structured?

Sermon sandwich: about 20 minutes of music at the beginning and again the end, with a long sermon in the middle and a layer of announcements and prayers on top of the sermon layer.

What did you like best?

The worship band: composed of grand piano, guitar, violin and 3 vocalists, were wonderfully talented, perhaps even classically trained. Their music was beautiful rather than loud or energetic. The sound system was wonderful – clear rather than overpowering. They worked hard to keep the sound and projection systems invisible rather than visually distracting.

What did you dislike?

The sermon was dull and vague. After the service the four of us who went to dinner together tried to sort out what was actually said, and none of us could. Yet the congregation seemed intent and respectful rather than restless or tuned out. We had the impression that there was a long and deep relationship at work here, and that the congregation listened on that basis rather than on the quality of the sermon. Perhaps he was having an “off day.” We were also disappointed in the lack of liturgy.

What were its greatest strengths that you’d like to import?

The strong sense of community and mission.

If you were looking for a church, would this be it?

Because it actually seemed more like a church program than a congregation, we might have been more inclined to add it to the things we do, but it wouldn’t fulfill our requirements for a congregation..

What did you learn from this visit?

The state of the art sound / projection systems and their professional, polished production values may have worked against them. It may have subtly increased our expectations for more from the preaching and liturgy.

Is there anything else you want to say?

Because the gathering really focused on the sermon, and the preacher seemed off (we thought it was an exception to the probable rule), we felt we should give them another shot just to be fair.)

This is my opinion; I could be wrong.

the Lord be with you.