Meet Pastor Elijah Mwitanti And His Family
Pastor Elijah Mwitanti was born and raised in the Southern-African country of Zambia. A cradle Christian, he sensed the call to ministry in the 11th grade of high school and pursued it with studies at the Evangelical University in Zambia and Reformed Theological Seminary in the USA. He is currently pursuing his doctoral degree at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. While in Zambia, he served as a pastor within the Baptist Association of Zambia and as a professor of New Testament at Fiwale Hill Bible College.
Pastor Elijah enjoys many areas of ministry including missions (local and global), preaching, and Bible Studies. He has led teams on medical and relief missions to Zambia and Nicaragua. Part of his extra mission endeavors have seen him serving on a couple of mission boards.
Pastor Elijah joined the Lutheran church while serving a mission organization in New Jersey and subsequently sought a pastoral call in the ELCA where he has served a mix of interim and permanent calls in New Jersey, Utah and Virginia. His interim calls have included Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairfax, Virginia, Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Tabernacle, New Jersey and most recently, Good Samaritan Lutheran Church in Lexington Park, Maryland.
Pastor Elijah has been married to Kerris whom he met while at Bible school for 29 years as of April 27, 2020. Kerris is a personal banker with Citibank in Washington D.C. They are grateful parents of 4 children. Until the COVID-19 shutdown, their son Semba who is 28 worked for a Canadian restaurant chain in Orlando, Florida and currently pursuing law studies. Vickie (26) the eldest of three daughters is an attorney in New York City, while Heather (24) of Washington D.C. is testing for medical school entrance, and Ashley (20) is a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University.
When he is not working or spending time with the family, Pastor Elijah enjoyed exercising in different forms, chief of which is biking. He also loves to share inspirational thoughts on Social Media based on his observation of everyday happenings-large or small. Moreover, he loves to travel and has been on every continent except Arctic and Antarctica. The highlight of his travels was the trip he took with Kerris to Israel where they traced the steps of Jesus Christ and learned about life in biblical times.
Pastor Elijah has big dreams for Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, and he looks forward to developing strong partnerships with the Saints at Christ.
Pastor’s email address is: pastor@fairfaxchristlutheran.org
Our Congregation
I love this community! Christ Lutheran is a place of deep, caring and enduring relationships, oriented toward serving others and praising God. Following are the 5 best attributes of this community of faith. Come join us!
1) Worship
Reflecting our Lutheran heritage as “the singing church”, music at CELC adds to our worship experience through the rich tradition of liturgies, choral works, hymns, songs and instrumental music. As a congregation we participate joyfully during the service and are grateful and appreciative of our world-class organ. We value and foster the development and growth of our music ministry.
CELC provides opportunities for members of all ages and musical backgrounds to take part in celebrating through music. The adult choir and bell choir offer leadership and support during the Sunday services. The children’s choir, as well as vocal and instrumental soloists and ensembles join in regularly.
Our Christmas Eve and Easter Services especially give us the privilege of sharing all these musical gifts and talents in glorious worship. Music is a thread that binds us together, opening our hearts to a more meaningful spiritual experience.
2) Serving One Another
We believe strongly in Jesus’ exhortation to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and welcome the stranger. As faithful followers of the Gospel, we believe that by serving others we are serving Christ.
Generous giving permeates life at Christ Lutheran, and as good stewards of our resources, our congregation serves each other as well as the wider community. With a relatively small congregation, as one member puts it, “it’s amazing how much we [the congregation] can do with so little.” In addition to visiting and bringing meals to shut-ins, preparing monthly meals for the homeless, giving gifts and food to needy families at holidays, providing housing for a family in crisis in our Christ House, and many other service projects, we provide food and shelter for homeless clients for one week each winter through the county-wide hypothermia shelter program. “Serving God by Serving Others” could very well be our banner.
3) Learning
Our congregation places a high priority on Christian education. Church is not only a place of prayer but also a vehicle of learning about the Word. Strong, life-long friendships formed within our membership foster faith. Visitors feel welcoming warmth from our congregation due to the genuine caring our members feel for one another. Educational opportunities include children’s and adult Sunday school, confirmation class, and other fellowship groups such as Bible study for all adult members during the week. We continue to expand our education with learning opportunities such as lifestyle courses, additional book discussion and fellowship groups, and Vacation Bible School. Our preschool extends our education to the community!
4) Living in Friendship
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC) is known in the Northern Virginia community as a friendly and welcoming church.We greet newcomers and welcome new members with gratitude and genuine interest, and want to get to know you.
We are eager to include a wide variety of individuals from all age groups and cultures within the activities of our congregation. We cultivate and nurture lifelong friendships, kindred spirits, and human heart connections through a variety of large and small group activities.
We grow together spiritually in fellowship and community within our congregation, and, being nurtured in this way, we enter our broader communities as witnesses of our living faith.
5) Celebrating Together
Members and friends of our congregation enjoy celebrating major events together, such as baptisms, weddings, funerals, and confirmations, and also weekly at worship services and other gatherings we cherish throughout the church year. Our church family offers our talents and form joyful memories as we work together to improve and share our property. Other church celebrations include picnics and different fun night gatherings for adults and children.
As our loving God constantly showers us with Grace, our congregation responds with a celebration of joy and thanksgiving as we share our gifts of fellowship, faith, music, and service with each other and with the community in which we live. Join us!
The Staff of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church
Steven Beck – Director of Music Ministry
Our Director of Music Ministry is Steven Beck. Steve directs the adult choir for us on Wednesday nights at 7:15 p.m and children’s choir on Sunday mornings at 8:45 a.m. If you are interested in joining this choir please contact him at 703-273-4094 and leave a message with our church administrator.
Vacant – Director of the Christ Lutheran Preschool
Preschool email address is: preschool@fairfaxchristlutheran.org
Fernando Guzman & Esther Blond – Parish Custodians
Fernando Guzman & Esther Blond began work in November of 2019.
Connie E. Hepler – Church Administrator
Connie grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia in beautiful Rockingham County. She moved to the area in 1983 to begin work with the U. S. Navy, after attending James Madison University.
Connie’s email address is admin@fairfaxchristlutheran.org