About:

"Surprise" This one word captures the essence of our church's vision to be a "Beacon of Hope and New Life" in relationship with all of God's wondrous creation. When people are asked, "What is it like to worship at The Garden Church?" they often express their anticipation of the surprise - of experiencing each moment and each day as God creating all things anew.

We are a learning community, informed by God's gifts of memory and hope. We remember our story of 100 years of reaching out to our neighbors, nurturing spiritual life within and outside our doors. More recently, over the past four years, we have created the "Living Cathedral Gardens" that greet passersby with a surprise of beauty in every season. One stranger told us that as she came out of the store across the street from our church, she noticed the word "JOY" spelled out on our front lawn in yellow crocuses. She said, "You know, this morning I was feeling down. I have been out of work for over six months. I looked up and saw your "JOY" and I decided it was time to get on with my life." We are grateful for such stories of hope.

We also hope, even in moments of despair and disappointment, for God's unimaginable vision to unfold before us. We're looking forward to creating a senior citizens' residence on our property in the coming year that will meet a growing need in our community. We hope that our older community members will embrace all the children of the school district as their own, and capture the vision of high achievement for all our students. We hope that jazz, balanced with classical and traditional church music will attract a diversity of worshippers. We hope that everyone who comes through the doors will feel welcome, and if they decide to stay, we hope that our environment of openness will encourage the expression of everyone's unique gifts. We hope and try to listen to God's voice, calling us to action and to learning from our actions how to make new choices in the very next moment. If we meet with negativity or discouragement, we trust that through prayer, we will find God's invitation to continue hoping.

And continue hoping we will, for we are a people in awe of God's wondrous acts in all the relationships of creation - past, present and future. Around every corner, we are looking, with open hearts, open minds, and open doors, for God's surprise. Come and see!