The grace we’ve freely received frees us to freely give grace, to ourselves and to others. So, within gracious community,

We don’t have to be a finished product.

We don’t have to pretend to be someone else.

We don’t have to be impressive to be embraced.

We don’t have to present as having all the answers.

All Souls seeks to be gracious out of response to the grace of God in Jesus Christ. But why? Because Jesus, the one who ultimately had it all together, was exposed to shame and suffered death so that we could find dignity and refuge. Because of who Jesus is and what He has done, we no longer have to hide from exposure and project that we have it all together. God knows, loves, and enjoys us as we are.

As a community, we don’t profess to be perfectly gracious— that would actually be missing the point! We do profess to being a community that is becoming increasingly reliant on Jesus who is perfectly gracious, present, and hospitable. If we hope to share anything good with others, this is the basis.

>> Grace Groups are a diverse set of communal learning experiences that help us to live by God's grace in daily life. Learn more.

When we experience someone as present with us, we experience him or her as:

Undistracted

Focused

Engaged

Desiring to be aware, to learn, to understand

Being present is a process. Presence enters space that words alone cannot. Jesus was present in the flesh and is present now in his church, by his Spirit.

We grow in being present by simply showing up for one another, physically and emotionally. By acknowledging and leaning into our place. By becoming a felt presence in our neighborhoods. God loves specificity. So there ought to be elements of how All Souls ‘does ministry’ that, if copied and pasted elsewhere, would be ineffective because of how uniquely we inhabit our place and how closely we have heard and share its questions and hopes. To build something together that connects where we are, and with the needed depth, we begin with the groundwork of acknowledging and being attentive to our limits. This includes not taking on more than we can do well, or presently. All Souls exists to meaningfully embody the presence of Christ in our place.

>> Prayer Triads and Prayer Groups help us to practice the presence of God with other people as we also learn to be present to others as listeners. Learn more.

Hospitality— as often understood — has tangible elements:

Hands serving a meal, or tea

A handshake; a hug

A thoughtful conversation; a follow up question

But to be hospitable is to make room, in all forms. So while it may mean sharing food or space, before that it means anticipating needs in the hope of meeting them. So, on a Sunday, it means coffee ready when you arrive at worship, and also margin notes in the order of worship that anticipate the need to be lead; guided. Hospitality also cares for your safety. We want All Souls to be a safe place, and we take earnest responsibility for proactively cultivating that safety.

To this end, we carefully guard space for everyone to participate in elements of worship that reflect where they are spiritually. For example, an invitation to remain seated might, in some cases, be more hospitable than a premature invite to the Table. Honesty about ‘where we are’ internally takes bravery, but it cultivates a safety that, in turn, fosters even deeper honesty with God and one other.

Honest communion with God is the greatest aim of our hospitality. And this is made uniquely possible in the most hospitable act the world has ever known: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, when God, at great cost to Himself, made room for us.

>> Home Groups are hubs for experiencing and extending the hospitality of God in Jesus Christ through rhythms of eating and serving together. Learn more.