About
Who We Are
Bradley Hills is a 650-member congregation in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C. We are a diverse, spiritually-focused, Christ-centered, caring community of friends that embrace each person’s life and spiritual journey. Bradley Hills is an open and safe place to engage one’s faith, ask the difficult questions, and get to know God more fully. We have a strong tradition of worship, music, programs for children and families, outreach and mission projects, and of engaging in faith through conversation, wherever you may be in your faith journey.
Our history is rooted in the care and nurture of children, youth, and families. Our environmental stewardship is reflected in our Energy Star certified building and beautiful grounds. Our Interfaith witness is a hallmark of our campus, as we share our space with a synagogue (Bethesda Jewish Congregation) and a mosque (Maqaame Ibrahim Islamic Center). Our building is a community center for several missional groups including, Bethesda Friends Club and our own BHPC Nursery School.
We hope you will join us on Sundays, get to know us, and see the exciting things God is doing through us at Bradley Hills.
Bradley Hills is a Welcoming Congregation
Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church (BHPC) is a welcoming witness to the love of Jesus Christ. We believe that diversity in our membership and leadership—different ages, genders, ethnicities, abilities, races, sexual orientations, ideological and theological beliefs, and experiences—is an important strength. We come from across the nation, from different denominational backgrounds, and from around the world. We are all God’s children, united by God’s love.
The Presbyterian Church (USA) numbers 2.3 million members in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The church includes over 11,000 congregations and conducts ministry in over 170 districts called Presbyteries. As a Protestant church of the Reformed tradition, we believe that all members of the church are called into ministry and service.
Our Pastors
David Gray
Senior Pastor/Head of Staff
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With a deep faith in God’s grace, in the unconditional love of Christ, and in the Holy Spirit’s call for us to trust God and live out our faith in the world, David has joyfully pastored our church since 2009.
David grew up active in the Presbyterian Church in Dayton, OH and feels the spirit alive in Bradley Hills.
He comes to ministry out of a love for teaching and preaching. David enjoys walking life’s journey with people, particularly during times of challenge. He continues to be involved in areas of counseling and support at colleges and hospitals and finds it a privilege to care for individuals and their families spiritually, sharing joys and sorrows, and to help people grow in faith and in their relationship with God.
Denise Diaab
Associate Pastor
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Pastor Denise Diaab moved to Bethesda, Maryland from Southern California to join BHPC as Associate Pastor in November 2021. She spent her formative years in Los Angeles but called Long Beach home for most of her adult life.
After receiving a BA in Economics from California State University Fullerton, Denise began her public utility career at Southern California Edison Company (SCE) as an Economic Analyst.
During her time at SCE Denise held positions in Investor Relations, Regulatory Cost, Regulatory Case Management, and Customer Service Benchmarking. Following retirement from SCE as a Project Manager, Denise answered the call to ministry, saying it was the answer to a question she didn’t even know was on the table.
Our Leadership
Bradley Hills is blessed with an active and talented Staff that supports the many programs and activities of our church. Members of the Staff function with a strong emphasis on teamwork, each seeing their role as empowering the lay members of the congregation. They support ministry while also calling forth and encouraging the gifts of individual members in planning and implementing programs.
Our Elders are the Lay Leadership of our Church Government: The twelve ruling Elders (and one Youth Elder, serving one year) are nominated, elected, and ordained by the members of the congregation to serve three-year terms. They work together with the pastors to lead the church, both spiritually and in administrative management. The Elders and pastors have regular meetings called Session. Each Elder acts as a liaison for a church lay ministry to offer guidance and support. Anyone who feels called to be an Elder should talk with Pastor David or the chair of the Nominating Committee.
The Board of Deacons consists of thirteen ordained church members, twelve adults serving three-year terms and a youth serving one year. We are a ministry of sympathy, witness, and service to God through the caring and nurturing of our church family, after the example of Jesus Christ. Our mission as Deacons of Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church is to gird ourselves spiritually so that we may be a bridge between the Holy and the people; to listen, identify, and respond to those in the congregation, to model God’s compassion and hospitality, to partner with staff and fellow Deacons in caring for one another, serving with imagination and gladness. Anyone who feels called to be a Deacon should talk with Pastor Denise or the chair of the Nominating Committee.
Our Mission & Vision
Mission
Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church’s mission is to reflect God’s gracious love by following Christ’s example to welcome, nurture, heal, and serve.
Vision
We envision a vibrant caring community that draws and energizes people to grow in faith, serving together to make every breath count.
Our Values
As followers of Jesus Christ, led by the Holy Spirit, we share these core values:
Grace: We rejoice and live in gratitude for God’s grace, which is given to us freely. By grace, we are united to God and to each other as followers of Jesus Christ.
Community: We seek to be an inclusive, accepting, and loving Christian family, welcoming others and embracing diversity. Our unique interfaith partnerships and ecumenical programs enrich and enlarge our spiritual community of friends.
Compassion: We identify and respond to the pain and needs of others in concrete and visible ways, walking alongside them, engaging in radical hospitality, and serving with love.
Joy: Together we celebrate and praise the Lord with joyful worship.
Justice: We engage and advocate to uphold God’s justice. We seek to partner with the oppressed, marginalized, and voiceless in accordance with our Christian beliefs.
Spiritual Growth: We provide a foundation in faith and discipleship, nurturing spiritual growth and development of all ages and stages of the faith journey. Our emphasis on the spiritual formation and Christian education of children and youth builds the next generation of disciples.
Stewardship: With gratitude for God’s abundant blessings, we generously share our time, diverse talents, and financial resources to be good stewards by caring for God’s people and creation.
Bradley Hills’ Strategic Visioning Plan
The Strategic Visioning Task Force (2022) was established to:
“Discern God’s vision for our life and ministry as a congregation in Christ and to develop, in conversation with the congregation and the Holy Spirit and by early 2023, a specific set of goals and recommended next steps for Bradley Hills PC to take over the next 5 years, to live out its mission and its vision in being the church Christ is calling us to be.”
The 5 Goals of the Strategic Visioning Plan:
Connect | Celebrate | Nurture | Serve | Steward
We encourage you to read the Strategic Visioning Plan and let the Holy Spirit guide you in how you can support Bradley Hills so we can reach our goals in the next 5 years.
Our History
On Easter Sunday in 1900 in a carriage house on Kalorama Road in northwest Washington D.C., Clara Finley Bliss, M.D., one of the first women physicians to practice in Washington, gathered a group of children to form a Sunday School. From this beginning grew the Washington Heights Presbyterian Church.
The Washington Heights PC served its neighborhood until after World War II, when it sought to relocate. At the same time, a group in Bethesda was organizing to build a church to serve the growing community. With the assistance of the Presbytery, the two groups joined to form Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in 1955. In 1957, our Nursery School was founded. The Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church Nursery School is a much respected, very effective, play-based school which helps nurture children and prepare them for elementary school and the future.
Our Buildings & Organ: The present church building (the education wing and Memorial Hall) was constructed in 1956, and the present sanctuary and its wing were completed in 1965. The Holtcamp pipe organ was added in 1972. In 2002, Covenant Hall and the Gathering Space were completed. Covenant Hall transformed the overall building so that our structure reflects the covenant between Bradley Hills and the Bethesda Jewish Congregation: the addition was designed as a hexagonal space—a Star of David standing next to the original cross-shaped sanctuary. In architecture, as well as in spirit, BJC and Bradley Hills are “spiritual siblings sharing sacred space.”
A detailed history of our church, Called by God for 50 Years, was written for the occasion of our 50th anniversary in 2005.
Interfaith
Bradley Hills affirms each journey of life and faith. In 1967, Bethesda Jewish Congregation (BJC) joined our campus. In 2019, we welcomed Maqaame Ibrahim Islamic Center (MIIC). Each November we hold a well-attended interfaith service where members of our three faiths worship together. We frequently engage in activities of mission, service, education, and fellowship between and among members of our different communities. Interfaith couples and families are most welcome here. We have appreciated the national attention we have received for this witness. In 2015 the Huffington Post named our annual interfaith service “one of the global events of the year which give us hope for the future.” We believe interfaith witness can be a source of healing and hope in a divided world.
In 2002, the Inter-Congregational Partnership Committee (ICPC) was formed in order to nurture connections among Bradley Hills, Bethesda Jewish Congregation, and the Maqaame Ibrahim Islamic Center. Click the button below to learn more about our Inter-Congregational Partnership Committee (ICPC).
