When McLean Baptist Church updated the playground outside the Sunday school classrooms on Chain Bridge Road, it offered the chance to renew some lessons from childhood.
Adults and children alike balanced on see-saws, sailed through the air on swings, and squealed with the fun of playing with their friends after a dedication ceremony on Sept. 22.
Pastor Michael Catlett said a playground teaches “what it means to share, to take turns and to make and keep friends.”
Taking his own advice, he tried out a swing as his daughter, Ruth, pushed him: “Higher. Higher,” he said.
The playground will be available to the public during Sunday school classes and Wednesday night church dinners said ministry assistant Darla Lee.
Children of the adults who attend an Internationals class on Mondays, and the clients of SHARE, will also play on the playground during their parents’ visits to the church, Lee said.
McLean Baptist sponsors a community day camp for 150 children during the summer.
The playground adjoins a small “pocket park,” which the church maintains, on Chain Bridge Road in McLean’s central business center.