History
St. Nicholas Episcopal Church is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington which includes Episcopal Churches in the District of Columbia, as well as Prince George’s, Charles, St. Mary’s and Montgomery Counties. St. Nicholas was initially organized as a mission to serve the Darnestown – North Potomac, MD area in 1991. Initially, St. Nick’s was populated by people from two or three other area parishes. This first mission did not continue due to differences in the congregation over theology, practice and worship styles. In 1994, the congregation asked the Bishop to place the mission on a sabbatical.
The remnants of the congregation met at various times over the next year. During this year, the congregation determined that St. Nick’s needed to continue, but that the character of the mission needed to change. They determined that this time the congregation was not going to fall apart over differences, but needed to learn, accept, and thrive on its differences.
On the Sunday after Easter in 1995, St. Nick’s was resurrected and Sunday night services once a month were begun. St. Nicholas was formally reestablished as a mission in September, 1995 with a new Vicar, The Reverend Ken Howard. This began the building of a vision of what we wanted St. Nick’s to become.
In 2003 St. Nicholas achieved parish status, and in 2009 the congregation moved to their own building located on the corner of Germantown and Darnestown Roads. The building was consecrated by The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane on May 10, 2009.
