The Parish Collective connects
people to be the church in the neighborhood
church + neighborhood = parish
+
neighborhood
A geographic place large enough to live a lot of life, small enough to be a known character in the story of the place.
church
Christ’s body (team), following, celebrating and learning from the Jesus story to join God’s dreams in the neighborhood.
The church has become so divided, disembodied and displaced that it’s nearly impossible for us to be a tangible sign of hope in the everyday life of our neighborhoods.
But look a little closer and you’ll see that God is renewing a truly local church, starting right where we are.
The Parish Collective connects people to be the church in the neighborhood. We do this through telling the stories to make the movement visible, celebrating ordinary heroes, and bringing people together online and in-person for shared learning and inspiration through gatherings and learning communities.
If we don’t learn to be the church in our everyday lives, we lose our power to collectively confront injustices, we ignore the gifts of our neighbors and we perpetuate the systems that keep us apart.
We believe that when we organize the church around God’s dreams for our neighborhoods, there is nothing in the world that cannot be healed, transformed, and liberated.
values of the Parish Collective
led by practitioners
We believe the future is discovered by practitioners who are living out the way of Jesus in their particular neighborhood.
informed by stories
We learn best by listening to stories on the ground that inspire us to live and tell our own.
linked across difference
We connect with one another across different traditions and parishes for belonging, wisdom and innovation.
committed to equity
We center and amplify perspectives of color and work toward equity and inclusion.
dependent on the Spirit
We walk into the future reliant on God as the agent of transformation.
Parish Collective is a Christ-following ecumenical network bringing people together across intersections and distance. Our main point of unity lies in learning to be the church in each of our unique neighborhoods. When we connect across places, we find the power of God’s love to be healing and transformative. This means we may not agree on everything, but we have a mutual commitment to love and respect, especially protecting those on the margins of our differences.