There are a lot of cool things about being a vicar at Grace Lutheran Church in Falls Church, Virginia, a church located about nine miles away from the United States Capitol. Being that close, many of the people I have met there are either government or military personnel. I know one of the president’s chefs, who told me that President Biden’s favorite meal is a burger and shake.
Besides government and military, I have also met people from a wide range of countries. There are over 170 different nationalities and ethnic groups living in the DC area. Because of the unique background and diversity of the people here, I am blessed to know people with incredibly interesting perspectives and experiences.
Andy and Susan are two of those people whose stories I have had the privilege of hearing. Andy and Susan met in Warsaw, Poland, while they were both working as diplomats for the US government. Yet it was not while working at their jobs that Andy and Susan got to know each other. Rather, it was in a tiny international church where they started a conversation and realized that they both shared a common faith. Soon after, they got married and continued in their Christian and governmental roles around the world, living in a variety of places (Lithuania, Israel, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Japan, Iraq, and Washington, DC). Their two children, Evan and Kate, were confirmed here at Grace during their time in the DC area.
I had the chance to sit down with Andy, and he shared a few observations from his time abroad.
First of all, as a US government employee, Andy and Susan were not allowed to attempt to convert others. They could not openly and freely talk about their faith or give out biblical literature. Not only that, but they could even be arrested in some countries if they did.
While this made it harder to talk about their faith, being a government worker offered them plenty of opportunities to live their faith. Instead of becoming arrogant while holding a high government position, Andy and Susan found that by listening to input from others, by treating others how they themselves would want to be treated, and by genuinely trying to serve others, they could live out their Christian faith and values. By doing that, people would notice, and sometimes religion would come up naturally in the conversation. Although it would not be wise for them to have a long conversation at work, they could meet up for a cup of coffee and talk as private people instead of as government employees.
Andy also shared much about the different worship practices in each place they lived. Though the places and forms of worship varied greatly, the doctrine remained solidly grounded in God’s Word. During his thirty years or so living as a Christian in the secular world, Andy found there were always ways he could live out his faith while serving his country without one contradicting the other.
On Easter Sunday, in 2017, Andy led an Easter worship service in Baghdad, Iraq. Meanwhile, a man named Rick also led an Easter worship service in Saudi Arabia. On the same day, Easter worship services were being held here at Grace, the same congregation both these men belonged to. So, from a small church here in Falls Church, people were celebrating the resurrection of their Savior across the world, in the most unlikely of places. And I was blessed to be a vicar at that same church
Vicar year is the third year of seminary training and takes place in a congregational setting. Chris Walther was a vicar at Grace Lutheran, Falls Church, Virginia, during the 2023-2024 school year.
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