OUR HISTORY

Shepherd’s Heart Anglican Church was founded by an American Episcopalian Priest, Father Harold Hammond, and his wife Anne in 1990. Shepherd’s Heart is a church committed to five priorities: worship, prayer, learning (discipleship), evangelism, and service. 

Father Harold led Shepherd’s Heart for 25 years as pastor and rector until he passed away in January 2015. For many years the church was shepherded by several priests in charge, Fr. Jeremiah Brown and Fr. Viet Le, and then by a few short-term pastors. Currently, Shepherd’s Heart Anglican Church is being led by The Rev. Robbie Pruitt, Rector, and Fr. Jerry Brown, Associate Pastor.

Shepherd’s Heart Anglican Church was founded on the principle that, as Anglicans, we would hold on to the best of the ancient catholic church with the incorporation of the best of the reformation. We believe that the Holy Spirit still operates within the church body, and we welcome the power of the Holy Spirit to use us as instruments of healing and edification. 

       The mission statement of Shepherd’s Heart is to “Walk with the Wounded and Equip the Saints”.  Shepherd’s Heart operates from the Great Commandment of Jesus: Love and worship Jesus and love others. This church loves everyone who comes through our doors while we stand firm in the truth of the Holy Scriptures. Everyone in the church knows they have been wounded by the reality of sin in our life and in the world, and we are healed by the love and forgiveness of our Savior. 

Love is the foundation of all that we do. We love in worship of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we love each other in our congregation as family. We are a relational church who cares about each other. 

As a smaller church, everyone has an opportunity to be involved in our activities. We freely give the love that God has given to us to others, regardless of their background, because God loved us before we loved Him.    

WHO WE ARE:

Shepherd’s Heart Anglican Church is a full member of The Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (DOMA) and The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).  We are co-located with Fairfax Christian Church in their beautiful brick building located on attractively landscaped grounds near downtown Fairfax City. 

More precisely, Shepherd’s Heart is a church family of brothers and sisters in Christ who desire to go deeper into their faith.  We are a blended church family - multiracial, married, single, single again, babies, youth, college students, special needs, veterans, professional, and non-professional members. We welcome the wounded because all of us have experienced the transforming healing of our Lord and Savior. In other words, everyone is welcomed. We keep our eye on our calling from our Lord and Savior to go into our community and all of the world to share the Gospel. We are committed to seeking, worshipping and glorifying the Lord.  

OUR CURRENT MINISTRIES:

We worship weekly on Sunday mornings at 9:00AM in our sanctuary space. Because prayer is an essential value and priority, we pray together and pray Compline together on Thursday nights at 7:00PM on Zoom.

Because Jesus told us to make disciples, we study the Bible and learn together at regularly scheduled Bible Studies and Small Groups, usually held in our chapel space at Shepherd’s Heart on Tuesday nights from 7:00PM to 8:00PM.

Participation in ministry and evangelism is encouraged and ministry and evangelism training is made available to all those who seek to grow in their faith and to serve. Opportunities to serve are offered according to each person's desire and ability.

We are very concerned for our brothers and sisters who are experiencing persecution and we support pastors and ministries in hostile environments.  

In an effort to serve God and His people, we seek God’s justice (Isaiah 1:17) and are involved in pro-life activities, serving the homeless, racial reconciliation, fight against human slave trafficking, international missions, public outreach, and prayer ministry.

We have ministries for children, and youth. The church has a prayer team that meets to pray and intercede for world events as God leads, as well as to pray for our church and the needs of the congregation. Home Groups meet on different nights for study, teaching, prayer, and reflection. Occasionally, in union with a sister Anglican church, we conduct a Pizza, Praise, and Prayer service as an outreach ministry featuring praise, fellowship, contemporary music, and prayer for those in attendance.  

Every year, we participate in the March for Life and reading of the Bible on the steps of the National Capitol. In appreciation of our Jewish heritage, we conduct a Seder Dinner during Easter. From time to time, we perform a concert in the middle of Fairfax City.  

OUR WORSHIP:

Shepherd’s Heart meets as a body to worship Jesus every Sunday at 9:00AM in the sanctuary. We begin our service with worship songs led by our praise and worship team. Worship is a combination of traditional and contemporary music. The liturgy used is from The Anglican Church in North America’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer. We often sing much of the liturgy, we recite the Nicene Creed and the Agnus Dei, we pray a general confession, and we observe the Holy Eucharist every Sunday.

WHAT WE BELIEVE:

Shepherd’s Heart is open to the moving of the Holy Spirit in worship and ministry; we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist; and we hold the Holy Bible as the rule and guide of our faith and life.

We are Evangelical: We believe the mission of the church is to take the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ into a dark and dying world. We believe in the deity of Jesus, our need for redemption, and our ongoing need for sanctification.

We are Sacramental: We worship the Lord every week in song and praise, in His Holy Word, and in the Holy Eucharist. Holy Communion is the central act of our church service.  

We are Charismatic: We hold to the word of God that the Holy Spirit is active in the church to heal and to edify. 

Shepherd's Heart embraces the following statements of faith:

1.     The three ancient creeds of Christendom: Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian. 

2.     The Jerusalem Declaration - Faith statement from Anglican meeting in Jerusalem, Summer 2008.