Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC)

A group of neighbors in the part of Arlington then known as Vanderwerken met on a snowy night in 1912 to discuss forming a church. A vote was taken and those present decided to form a Congregational Church, then known as Vanderwerken Congregational Church Building. Later that year, the first church building was erected on the site of the church’s current Neighborhood House and a part-time pastor hired. In 1915, the Ladies Guild created the Rohrer Memorial Library to serve the surrounding neighborhood, a library that still exists today.

The church called its first full-time pastor in 1932, the Rev. Paul Hunter, father of the late Arlington County Commissioner James Hunter. During the Rev. Hunter’s 24-year tenure, which spanned the new Deal and World War II years, Arlington County grew rapidly and so did the church. In 1940 the first part of the present sanctuary building was dedicated, and the church renamed Rock Spring Church. In 1943, church members organized the Rock Spring Cooperative Nursery School (www.rockspringpreschool.org), which has used the church’s facilities ever since.

The Rev. Charles L. Wildman served as senior pastor from 1989 until April 2008, when he retired after 40 years in the ministry.

In 1996, the church dedicated its new Christian Education wing, named the Hunter Education Building, and a renovated fellowship hall, named in memory of long-time church member Agnes Carpenter.

Reverend Douglas L. Griffin is serving as the interim pastor helping to guide the Congregation in the search for a new senior pastor.