Rev. Joe Acanfora says that church is the people who worship, “It’s a who, not a place.” Photo by Abigail Constantino/The Connection
Not all those who wander are lost. The Church of the Apostles has offices in Fairfax but it has held services in different locations since losing “The Meeting Place” in Pickett Road in 2012, where it had been since 1974.
Its primary worship location is in Oakton at the Whole Word Fellowship but its members have attended services at several other churches and even in Van Dyck Park in Fairfax. Church of the Apostles leader Rev. Joe Acanfora said that the Whole Word Fellowship has been a “friendly church” to his congregation. Services are planned well in advance, so the 350 members of the church know where to meet. “Church is the people of God. It’s a who, not a place,” said Acanfora.
But despite the absence of a physical location, the church manages to reach out to the community throughout the year, through its collaboration with Bethany House and its hypothermia initiatives.
Last Saturday, Church of the Apostles presented “Christmas in Bethlehem,” a re-enactment of what it was like in the town where and when Jesus Christ was born.
In 2006, the Church of the Apostles, along with 10 other churches, severed ties with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia over schisms within the denomination, among them gay and same-sex issues.
In 2012, the Virginia Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision restoring properties, which the seceding churches held, to the Episcopal Church.