Visiting a church for the first time can be a little scary.

Our promise is to be a warm, welcoming, radically inclusive community.

The basics

  • Service is at 11a. Half of us are always late. 
  • Bible study is open to all in the parlor 950-1045a.
  • Childcare is available from 945a until church stuff is over.
  • Park in the lot behind the church or in the parking deck (get a voucher from us for free deck parking).
  • Enter through either the big steps facing Ponce or either glass doors on the back of the building facing the condos.
  • We do notice visitors and say hi, but you won’t have to stand up during service and introduce yourself. That would be terrible.
  • Don’t feel obligated to give money. We care about you, not your wallet.
  • Security is only there so we can worship without worry. Say hi, they’re friendly!
  • We are mask-friendly and encourage flu shots/vaccines. Stay home if you’re sick. 

Fun ways to connect:

First-visit questions:

Exactly that. At this church, everyone is equal regardless of social status, education, race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental ability, physical ability, position, or any other distinction.  We are pro-LGBTQ, welcome doubters and skeptics, and don’t care where you slept last night.

We do expect everyone to treat other children of God with respect and love, and we take safety seriously.

  • No matter what your family looks like, you are welcome here.
  • Childcare begins at 945a and concludes at the end of church events (so parents can go to choir practice, etc.)
  • The nursery (ground floor, center of the building) opens at 1045a. Prior to this, nursery care is provided upstairs.
  • Drop kids off in the Children’s Room (2nd floor) from 945-11a, or kids can join for service.
  • Service includes a children’s time where we engage kids at their level. After, children are welcome to stay in service or join Sunday School upstairs.
  • We take safety seriously. All childcare workers are background checked and at least two adults are with children at all times.
  • Feel free to reach out to Pastor Colleen at colleen@dhbc.org in advance of your first visit.
  • More about our families ministry >>

No. We know that people are tired of feeling like an ATM at church. We do not pass an offering plate. Toward the end of service, a deacon will offer a prayer and remind those who wish to give how they can do so, since we are a member-led church that receives no outside funding from a denomination. But giving is never required, especially if you are visiting for the first time.

Whatever you feel comfortable in, no need to get dressed up.

In worship, we practice being in a world focused on doing. We practice being enough in a culture that tells us we lack something. And, we practice being together in an era of individualism and loneliness.

We worship in a contemplative style with a relaxed atmosphere. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. Our music is rooted in piano, organ, acoustic instruments, and choral singing with a church choir. Worship includes call-and-response readings, spoken prayers, and Scripture readings, and lasts no more than one hour.

We call ourselves “proLGBTQ” because we do not believe being LGBTQ+ is a sin. We also believe that God wants LGBTQ+ folks to experience the full joy of human experience, including sexual intimacy with chosen partners. 

Some churches use terms like “welcoming and affirming” or “reconciling.” We think these terms are great, but confusing. You shouldn’t need to know insider language to know where we stand.
 
They also do not go far enough. LGBTQ+ folks are not only “welcomed” and “affirmed” by the church, they are the church. LGBTQ+ people are a testament to the diversity of God’s creation. Marginalized peoples have always offered a perspective on God and the Bible that adds to the richness and beauty of everyone’s collective understanding of God. 
 
The Way of Jesus changes all of us. We simply don’t think people need to stop being LGBTQ+ in order to follow Jesus.
 
As for why we do not consider being LGBTQ+ a sin: 
    • Christians have not always agreed on what is a sin. For instance, the earliest followers of Jesus believed one could not be a soldier and a Christian. That would surprise folks today!
    • At various times, Christians have endorsed slavery, colonialism, war, and anti-semitism, only to learn from Christ’s ongoing revelation. Those misguided Christians used the same methods of biblical interpretation and ethical reasoning we see among anti-LGBTQ advocates today.
    • The New Testament does not refer to adult consensual homosexual relationships but to coercive, violent, and predatory practices between older/adult and younger/less powerful individuals that were common at the time. Churches that take these verses seriously wil spend more time combating sexual violence and less judging their LGBTQ neighbors.
    • The same can be said of the Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, with additional context. Christians are inconsistent about which verses of the Old Testament we consider authoritative. The Hebrew Bible also represents its authors’ preoccupation with avoiding any practices associated with the destructive pagan empires around them. Many of the stories (for instance, Sodom) are flatly misinterpreted, and are about hospitality and not homosexuality.
    • Scripture regularly, repetitively, and overwhelmingly condemns violence, oppression of marginalized people (immigrants, widows, orphans, etc.), exploitation of the poor, and economic systems that degrade human life or God’s creation. Focusing exclusively on sexual sin and LGBTQ_ folks allows some churches to dodge God’s clear invitation to confront empire and cultivate caring community.
    • We read all scripture in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ, who lived and died and rose again to lead us into lives of love. Jesus is our ultimate guide for how to “make sense” of all the diverse (and sometimes contradictory) teachings, rules, stories, letters, and visions in our Bibles. The anti-LGBTQ mania gets the love, life, and teachings of Jesus badly wrong.
    • Most commonly cited verses against LGBTQ folks are taken out of context. For instance, Jesus’s statement in Matthew 19:14 (cf Mark 10:6) is a) a commentary on divorce and not at all about transgender people (or the non-binary “eunuchs” common in biblical times), and b) references a creation story that includes a spectrum between “day” and “night” (dawn, dusk) and land and sea (swamps, marshes, tides). For more, see Pastor Colin’s quick summary here.

Email Pastor Colin at colin.holtz@dhbc.org or check out the rest of our site.