Sundays and Special Days
Music and worship are a central part of the life and fellowship of Walker Chapel. With its classic architecture and sparkling arched windows the sanctuary is a peaceful and beautiful space for worship. The small balcony is sometimes used for overflow crowds and also provides space for the ethereal sound of the handbell choir ringing out over the sanctuary. Worship is tied to the cycle of the church year with scripture readings from the revised common lectionary. Members of the congregation serve as lay leaders in worship reading scripture, leading Calls to Worship, providing testimony, and leading in prayer. And while every Sunday is a celebration, we pull out the stops for Christmas and Easter. Our traditional celebration of Christmas usually includes a Lessons and Carols worship service that features music by the Walker Chapel Choir and the Falls Church Concert Band. The week of Palm Sunday leading up to and including Easter provide a special time of celebration and holy worship.
Music at Walker Chapel
Congregational singing is supported by piano and organ and includes traditional Wesleyan hymns and contemporary gospel tunes and choruses. The Walker Chapel Choir provides a solid foundation for congregational singing and offers a variety of spiritual songs and anthems for worship, communion and prayer. The Walker Chapel Handbell choir provides special music for preludes and offertories, and also accompanies congregational singing and choral anthems. We are blessed with the talents of professional musicians who contribute to Walker Chapel music and worship regularly with original compositions, vocal and instrumental offerings, and opportunities for collaborative music making. Our partnership with the Falls Church Concert Band is a traditional part of our celebration of Christmas with a festive service of Lessons and Carols. Easter of 2021 provided an opportunity for collaborations with the musicians of Mt. Olivet Methodist and featured a piece for combined choirs and organ, and a contemporary Easter Song performed by members of Mt Olivet’s contemporary worship band and featured singers and soloists from Walker Chapel. All of the music was prepared and recorded and mixed electronically for streamed worship during this time of Covid-restricted activities. Easter and the risen Christ were proclaimed with the sounds of choir and drums and instruments and heart-felt alleluias.
Walker Chapel Choir
The Walker Chapel Choir has a long tradition of leading the congregation of Walker Chapel in worship and song. From traditional English choral music to contemporary American gospel, from Taize to South Africa, our repertoire is varied and vibrant. The Choir has remained active during this past year, meeting regularly for zoom rehearsals and adapting to virtual rehearsing and music making by recording and engineering music for worship throughout this time. We typically expand our numbers for special festive Sundays and Seasons including Christmas and Easter. As part of our Christmas celebration of 2019 prior to Covid 19, the Walker Chapel Choir presented a program of music at The Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. We have collaborated with the choir of Mt.Olivet Methodist Church in presenting combined choral anthems. In addition to our tradition of joining with the Falls Church Concert Band for the traditional Lessons and Carols service, the choir sponsored the Band in an appropriately distanced, meticulously planned outdoor concert in November 2020 - an idyllic and rare gathering during that time of distancing.
Walker Chapel Handbell Choir
This eclectic and wonderful group gathers from all ministries and disciplines of Walker Chapel and is the first ensemble to be rehearsing regularly in person again (small group, masked, distanced, and gloved). A lot of our music is grounded in hymns and carols. But we have also prepared and presented show tunes, spirituals, and anthems. Working with traditional English handbells and hand chimes, the Handbell choir enjoys preparing music for bells and chimes alone, but also accompanied by organ or piano, enhanced with percussion or solo instruments. We featured handbells in the contemporary Easter Song presented in 2021.
Dawn Kyser - Director of Music and Worship
Dawn Kyser has served in Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Episcopal churches for more than 20 years. Trained at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ and Drew University in Madison, NJ, Ms Kyser holds graduate degrees in Sacred Music and Liturgical Studies. As a teacher in Arlington Public Schools, she ran an innovative Fine Arts program for secondary students. In addition to her work at Walker Chapel, she is Facilitation Coordinator for a non-profit advocacy group, Challenging Racism.
About Our Church
Walker Chapel is a United Methodist Church located in Arlington, VA. We are a group of people passionate about Jesus, closely studying his word, and gathering with his people. We’re an open, intentional place where you can get to know God in a real way.
We meet together every Sunday at 10:30 for worship, and we have something for everyone! We’re hungry for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we are committed to studying his word and learning to love our world better each day. we invite you to join us as we do so. No matter who you are, what you’ve done, or what you’ve been through, Jesus sees you and cares for you, and we want to do the same. Whether you’ve been a Christian for decades or are just interested in what our faith is all about, we’ll paint a clear picture of who Jesus is and why we worship him here at Walker Chapel.
When you give us a call, you’ll be connected with one of our friendly staff who can pray for you or answer any questions you may have.
Please stop by our Church on Sunday! We look forward to meeting you!
Our Sunday church worship takes place at 10:30 AM every Sunday.
Everybody is welcome.
Please feel free to stop by our welcoming church this Sunday. We look forward to meeting you!
Walker Chapel is located at 4102 N. Glebe Rd in Arlington, VA.
Please stop by and see us on Sunday. We look forward to meeting you!
Walker Chapel United Methodist Church is a United Methodist Church.
As described on umc.org United Methodists share a common heritage with all Christians. According to our foundational statement of beliefs in The Book of Discipline, we share the following basic affirmations in common with all Christian communities:
Our Christian Beliefs: God
God, who is one, is revealed in three distinct persons. Read More
Our Christian Beliefs: Jesus
Our church believes in the mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ. God became human in Jesus of Nazareth; and his life, death and resurrection demonstrate God's redeeming love.
Our Christian Beliefs: The Holy Spirit
Our church believes The Holy Spirit is God's present activity in our midst. When we sense God's leading, God's challenge, or God's support or comfort, it's the Holy Spirit at work.
Our Christian Beliefs: Human Beings
Genesis 1:27 asserts that we've been made in the image of the Creator. Like God we have the capacity to love and care, to communicate, and to create.
Our Christian Beliefs: The Church
The church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ’s life and ministry in the world today.
Our Christian Beliefs: The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the primary authority for our faith and practice.
Our Christian Beliefs: God’s Reign
The kingdom or reign of God is both a present reality and future hope.
We encourage you to come as you are and to bring your family, friends, and neighbors. We have always been gathering place that first started in peoples homes. Most will come informally, in business casual but some will also come in suits and fancy hats. Its sort of fun to see the mix.
We enjoy our Chancel Choir, which is open to all. All join in for traditional and contemporary hymns, songs, and carols with highlight performances from individuals and the choirs. With the example of Charles Wesley, Methodist churches are always filled with wonderful voices singing in harmony.
We still call ourselves a Chapel because it represents the close friendships that grow in a small church. Here everyone knows and cares about everyone. We don’t always agree and that gives spice to life, but we are always bound by love for each other.
The message is thought provoking and inspirational. It will cause you to pause during the week and say, “game changer!”
There is always something to do from working your brain to straining your muscles. We are small and do a lot for ourselves and others.
Handicap parking is at the start of the lot nearest the door. The chapel is accessible from the parking lot just to the right of the steps by a break in the sidewalk that leads to a gentle ramp leading into the lower level Fellowship Hall. At the base of the ramp to the left there is a self-operated elevator to the Sanctuary level that will hold up to three people at a time.
Come down Glebe Road towards the chapel and you will see a driveway just after the white signs at the front. Turn in and park going down the driveway or in the larger main parking lot a short distance down. On Sunday the first dozen spots are for handicap access.
We give of ourselves, we give our time, and we give money because without the grease of money, none of the wheels turn. There is no rule, no guidance, no examples, no right or wrong for how much to give other than all gifts should be freely given. Gifts come from the heart and something we do because we want to not because we have to or should.