the refuge

an eclectic faith community, all equal, love Jesus, pretty messed up, lead, follow, laugh, cry, serve, co-pastors, stories of brokenness and healing, smoker friendly, the refuge

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we started the refuge in 2006 with a pile of dreams for an inclusive, healing, faith community that valued generosity, equality, justice, and beauty. i always say we’re “part-church, part-social-service-agency, part-family”.

here’s a little taste from our website:

what we believe (so far):

• Jesus meant everything he said
• the Bible is in places hard to understand and even harder to apply
• that believing is sometimes difficult
• the more we learn of and experience God, the more questions we have
• miracles happen, sometimes quickly, but mostly they are so slow in coming
• we need each other
• it is our responsibility to advocate for and tangibly love the poor, marginalized, and oppressed
• in equality and dignity for all regardless of sex, race, socioeconomic status, or a myriad of other things that typically cause us to power up on others
• we are embarrassed by how the word “Christian” is perceived in the world today and we are sorry for our part in that
• that mostly people need to be loved, not just told they are
• church is messy

“if you want to know what a person believes, watch what they do” – brennan manning