About St. Mark's Lutheran Church

Located in a Northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., St. Mark's is immersed in an international community.   In 2011, more than one quarter of Fairfax County residents were foreign-born—about half are Asian, one-third are from Latin America, 10% from Africa, and 7% from Europe. Half of our rostered staff is foreign-born, as Pastor Varinia Espinosa is from Peru. We have a vibrant Spanish-language congregation—San Marcos.

God offers His Love to the entire world, and we strive to do our part through service to our entire community. We welcome the opportunity to work with local groups and individuals to better serve our community. For instance, St. Mark's operates a strong English as a Second Language (ESL) program, run entirely by volunteers. You do not need to speak another language to help in this program and new volunteers are always needed. Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-A-Non, and Al-A-Teen groups meet weekly at St. Mark's. We also provide an after-school program for a local elementary school that recesses before most parents can pick up their children. Finally, a group of young Japanese families meet at St. Mark's to teach their children the old traditions and culture of Japan.  

Just as we try to serve our region's international community, we also serve those of our congregation families who live abroad, particularly those serving in the military.

"God's work. Our hands."

St. Mark's reaches out to both the global community and to our local community through various services and assistance programs, donating our time, our talents, and our financial support.

The ELCA motto—Gods work. Our hands.—is alive and active at St. Mark's !