We want to be a welcoming community where followers of Jesus are known for their kindness, generosity and service to others.
We take this call very seriously. You won't hear us talking much about rules or who's in and who's out. We believe that we are all on a journey in coming alive to God; and that in fact, LOVE is the highest law and the grid through which all of the gospel story is to be interpreted. This gives us grace to be exactly where we are. And we think you will find an authenticity here that is genuine and refreshing, giving us all freedom to be on the journey and very much in process. So we hope you can take a deep breath, exhale, and stay awhile.
Our gathering allows us to build community, worship together and encourage each other in the way of Jesus so that we will be empowered to be the church in our everyday lives.
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The Gathering
We are currently meeting in the neighborhood in a home — all are welcome! Are you longing for the reformation of the church, for a community to embody the gospel in the neighborhood, and for a community in which to practice the teachings of Jesus? Join us! S U N D A Y S @ 10 A M |
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G e t t i n g h e r e
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What you can expect. [Sundays]
We are meeting in our neighborhood and our doors are wide open! You will be greeted warmly and welcomed into community.
coffee, light brunch & conversation | You will be welcomed in and invited in for coffee and brunch.
call to worship & song | We welcome the Spirit to be present with us as we lift our voices in song.
prayers for the people | We join our hearts in prayers for our neighborhoods, our communities and in solidarity with those who suffer.
offering | We bring our tithes and offerings, acknowledging that God is the source of all goodness and provision in our lives.
the sacrament of the ordinary | We tell stories of how we participate in God's work in the mundane stuff of our everyday lives.
talk or practice| We are reminded of our Story and encouraged to practice in the way of Jesus. We wrestle with the challenging teachings of Jesus and hear stories from the community about practices of love.
discussion| We discuss and reflect on what we just heard, adding our communal voices to the conversation.
communion | We break the bread and remember Jesus and give thanks for His goodness.
We are meeting in our neighborhood and our doors are wide open! You will be greeted warmly and welcomed into community.
coffee, light brunch & conversation | You will be welcomed in and invited in for coffee and brunch.
call to worship & song | We welcome the Spirit to be present with us as we lift our voices in song.
prayers for the people | We join our hearts in prayers for our neighborhoods, our communities and in solidarity with those who suffer.
offering | We bring our tithes and offerings, acknowledging that God is the source of all goodness and provision in our lives.
the sacrament of the ordinary | We tell stories of how we participate in God's work in the mundane stuff of our everyday lives.
talk or practice| We are reminded of our Story and encouraged to practice in the way of Jesus. We wrestle with the challenging teachings of Jesus and hear stories from the community about practices of love.
discussion| We discuss and reflect on what we just heard, adding our communal voices to the conversation.
communion | We break the bread and remember Jesus and give thanks for His goodness.
A Wide Welcome
LGBTQ+ at The Practicing Church
The Practicing Church is a fully affirming church. Everyone belongs here regardless of what you look like, where you’re from, what you have, how you identify, or whom you love. Because at The Practicing Church, we boldly celebrate God’s creativity, embodied in the rich diversity of human life, and we are called as a church family to the ministry of justice, reconciliation for all people—in our church, throughout our neighborhoods, and in our city.
Anyone who calls The Practicing Church home is welcome to share in the worship, sacraments, membership, and leadership (all level, including the pastorate) of this church. We acknowledge the long, painful road our LGBTQ+ siblings have walked. We lament that many of them have been and felt so unwelcome and unseen. As a church family, we promise to do better, we promise to love better. As we all move forward with the life and work of this church, we invite you to make justice and belonging a reality for all.
LOVE'S WIDE TABLE
We believe God's table is wide. Jesus' life centered around the table which he shared with the religious and irreligious, the rich and poor, the societal up and comers and the down and outers. In this model of Jesus, we center around God's wide table.
We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, queer, confused, well kept or unkept. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers. We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You're welcome here if you're just browsing, just woken up or just got out of prison. We don't care if you're more Christian than Pope Francis or haven't been to church since Christmas 10 years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.
We welcome soccer moms, football dads, CrossFit fanatics, starving artists, tree huggers, latte sippers, vegetarians, and junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you whether you have lived here for a week, a year or a lifetime, whether you speak Spanish, Amharic, Korean, Vietnamese, or Tigrinya, whether you have light skin or dark, whether you wear a baseball hat or a hijab, whether you have a hankering for tortillas, injera, samosas or hotdogs. We welcome you if you're having problems, are down in the dumps or don't like organized religion. We're not that keen on it either. We offer welcome to those who think the Earth is flat, work too hard, don't work, vote red, green or blue, can't spell, or are here because Granny is visiting and wanted to come to church. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both or neither.
We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throats as kids or who had a run in with google maps and wound up here by mistake. We welcome pilgrims, tourists, seekers, doubters and you.
-English Cathedral Welcomes Visitors with Unexpected Message. January 15, 2017. NPR. Author unknown. A few words have been altered to fit our context.
The Practicing Church is a fully affirming church. Everyone belongs here regardless of what you look like, where you’re from, what you have, how you identify, or whom you love. Because at The Practicing Church, we boldly celebrate God’s creativity, embodied in the rich diversity of human life, and we are called as a church family to the ministry of justice, reconciliation for all people—in our church, throughout our neighborhoods, and in our city.
Anyone who calls The Practicing Church home is welcome to share in the worship, sacraments, membership, and leadership (all level, including the pastorate) of this church. We acknowledge the long, painful road our LGBTQ+ siblings have walked. We lament that many of them have been and felt so unwelcome and unseen. As a church family, we promise to do better, we promise to love better. As we all move forward with the life and work of this church, we invite you to make justice and belonging a reality for all.
LOVE'S WIDE TABLE
We believe God's table is wide. Jesus' life centered around the table which he shared with the religious and irreligious, the rich and poor, the societal up and comers and the down and outers. In this model of Jesus, we center around God's wide table.
We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, queer, confused, well kept or unkept. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers. We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You're welcome here if you're just browsing, just woken up or just got out of prison. We don't care if you're more Christian than Pope Francis or haven't been to church since Christmas 10 years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.
We welcome soccer moms, football dads, CrossFit fanatics, starving artists, tree huggers, latte sippers, vegetarians, and junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you whether you have lived here for a week, a year or a lifetime, whether you speak Spanish, Amharic, Korean, Vietnamese, or Tigrinya, whether you have light skin or dark, whether you wear a baseball hat or a hijab, whether you have a hankering for tortillas, injera, samosas or hotdogs. We welcome you if you're having problems, are down in the dumps or don't like organized religion. We're not that keen on it either. We offer welcome to those who think the Earth is flat, work too hard, don't work, vote red, green or blue, can't spell, or are here because Granny is visiting and wanted to come to church. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both or neither.
We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throats as kids or who had a run in with google maps and wound up here by mistake. We welcome pilgrims, tourists, seekers, doubters and you.
-English Cathedral Welcomes Visitors with Unexpected Message. January 15, 2017. NPR. Author unknown. A few words have been altered to fit our context.
Kids matter.
As a community, we are committed to fostering an environment that values, supports and nurtures the spiritual life of our kids as well as their sense of love and belonging. We want to invite every child into the story of God and into practices that will form them as they participate in the richness of community. We welcome kids to join us for our gatherings and we provide informal activities in which they can engage and interact with God's story.
As a community, we are committed to fostering an environment that values, supports and nurtures the spiritual life of our kids as well as their sense of love and belonging. We want to invite every child into the story of God and into practices that will form them as they participate in the richness of community. We welcome kids to join us for our gatherings and we provide informal activities in which they can engage and interact with God's story.
Connect to Community
