Chip Webb (Senior Warden)
I grew up attending a fairly evangelical United Methodist church in Lynchburg, VA, and initially experienced a personal relationship with God for several years surrounding my baptism and confirmation at age nine. The Psalms attracted me when I first started having a simple devotional life around age eight. My faith then deepened through regular times of turning to God as a result of troubles after my family moved to northeast Ohio. Nevertheless, particularly as times got better, I struggled with giving my life to Christ, and even went through a teenage am-I-atheist-or-am-I-agnostic phase for nearly two years. By the start of my college freshman year, I knew that I believed the truths of the Christian faith but still did not want Christ to control my life. I finally committed my life to Him near the end of that school year after attending an investigative Bible study run by a Navigators campus ministry.
I then grew as a disciple through the Navigators and nondenominational church attendance. I started self-studying Christian theology initially to better understand a Roman Catholic housemate in graduate school, then later to determine what I believed once I was exposed to many different Christian schools of thought. I soon grew convinced of the importance of liturgy and the Church; I describe myself as having been an evangelical on the liturgical trail. A Walk to Emmaus spiritual renewal retreat later further aided in this journey and, even more significantly, provided me with a transforming experience of God’s love. I eventually came to Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax, VA. A year later I was confirmed as an Anglican, sponsored by my future wife Sharon.
I have since been blessed with a love for Anglicanism and the contributions it makes to the larger body of Christ. I have served in a variety of capacities at Anglican gatherings, initially through Truro and later as Anglican staff at the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) and as a freelance journalist covering Anglican events. I received a diploma in Christian ministry from Trinity School for Ministry. Sharon and I have also hosted Anglican seminary representatives visiting the DC area.
As much as I value Anglicanism, however, I have a greater love of which Anglicanism is only one manifestation: the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. A primary motivation for me throughout the years of serving the Church in a variety of capacities has been to work for and promote the visible unity of the Church. I also appreciate very much the witness of those who have gone before us and the communion of saints.
I have attended Corpus Christi Anglican Church since 2020 and been a member since 2022. I have been active in a variety of Corpus Christi activities and ministries, including lay ecclesiastical leadership, lector, prayers of the people, formation group facilitator, student ministry leadership, and men's ministry. I have preached during Sunday services and given a retreat meditation. I also served as Corpus Christi's lay delegate for the election of Bishop Chris Warner. At Truro, I served one term on vestry, co-led a home group with Sharon and another couple, and served as lay Eucharistic minister, prayer minister, lector, adult education teacher, committee member, and preacher during one Good Friday service and nursing home services.
Professionally, the most common thread throughout my employment has been writing/editing. I started in the business world after college as a proofreader and then moved into technical writing. My time at the IRD largely involved writing, and my freelance articles were for The Living Church magazine. I am currently employed as a quality assurance analyst at HII in Fairfax, VA; writing still serves as a significant part of my work.
Sharon and I became friends as Truro parishioners in 1996 and were married in 2005. We live in Fairfax Station with our dog Ellie. In my free time, I enjoy walking, reading, writing devotional reflections and poems, spending time alone with God, turning times of travel into mini-pilgrimages by visiting churches and other religious sites, and getting outside in nature (most especially the mountains).