Our History
Christ Church and St. Michael’s Episcopal is an urban parish with a warm friendly congregation. The Germantown area is a mixture of tree-lined streets with middle-class homes, apartment houses, and senior facilities. The church has a history of strong clerical leadership and active participation on both the parish and diocesan level. We also have a history of reaching out to the community and helping those in need.
Christ Church was founded by layman Beekman Potter in 1852 as a parish which enjoyed a low Episcopal worship service. In 1933, Christ Church merged with St. Michael’s, which had high worship traditions, and the first service took place.
The church enjoyed seven rectors since the merger. Each has left a mark on the personality of the parish. The late Reverend William Hamilton Aulenbach encouraged racial integration of the church before most other churches in the area integrated. He was responsible for the church being referred to as “the liveliest church in Germantown.” The Reverend Ronald L. Reed was responsible for many outreach activities, including health care and a co-op. The Reverend Doctor Jean Mather was a church historian with a doctorate from Yale who had marched in protests against the Vietnam War. She had a strong commitment to interfaith outreach and racial justice and used public transportation to visit everyone who was sick, bringing them the Eucharist. She was followed by the Reverend Michael Morgan. Our priest is now the Very Reverend Gregory Smith, who is known for his warm smile, his marvelous tenor voice, and his sermons which bring together stories, Scriptural meditations, and a love of God that fills everyone’s heart.