What to Expect
Sunday mornings at The Portico are relaxed, welcoming, and interactive.
When you arrive, you'll be greeted by friendly people, offered coffee, and invited to join a table. Our worship includes music, prayer, scripture, and conversation. While a facilitator helps guide the experience, Sunday mornings are not centered on a preacher or a sermon. Instead, we create space for people to engage scripture together, share insights, ask questions, and learn from one another.
One thing that surprises many first-time guests is the diversity of people around the table. At The Portico, people who are housed and unhoused, longtime Christians and spiritual seekers, young adults and retirees gather as one community. We don't separate people into those who serve and those who are served. We share life together, believing that every person has wisdom, gifts, and experiences that can help others grow.
Many people describe The Portico as a place where they can be authentic, ask difficult questions, and experience genuine belonging--and that they believe that Jesus would actually attend.
Practice. Belonging. Justice.
Not as slogans, but as the answer to "What happens if I show up on Sunday?"
- You'll find Belonging around the table.
- You'll participate in Practice through worship, silence, conversation, and spiritual formation.
- You'll encounter Justice through a community where people from very different backgrounds share life together and where faith leads to action
Sunday 1001 Gathering
at 10:01 AM
Worship Around the Table
Our 1001 Gathering is intentionally different from a traditional church service. While there is teaching and pastoral leadership, the experience is not centered around a preacher delivering a sermon from a stage. Instead, we believe God speaks through scripture, community, conversation, silence, and shared reflection. We gather around tables because we believe lives are transformed when people engage faith together.
What Happens During the Gathering?
Music & Welcome
We begin with live music and a time to settle in, connect with others, and prepare ourselves for worship.
Silence & Prayer
In the midst of busy lives, we create space for stillness. Through guided prayer and moments of silence, we listen for God's presence and open ourselves to the Spirit's leading.
Scripture & Context
A member of our leadership team introduces the scripture for the day, offering historical background, theological context, and questions to consider.
Question & Table Discussion
Rather than simply listening, everyone is invited to engage. Each table discusses a guiding question related to the scripture and shares perspectives, experiences, and insights. Participation is encouraged, but no one is required to speak.
Large Group Sharing
The conversation expands beyond individual tables as key insights and observations are shared with the larger community. Some of the most meaningful moments often emerge from these collective reflections.
Pastoral Reflection
Following the discussion, the pastor offers a brief message (4-5 minutes) that weaves together scripture, the conversation, and practical implications for everyday life.
Communion
We close at the Lord's Table. Communion is open to all who wish to receive God's grace. It is a reminder that we belong to one another and to Christ, regardless of where we are on our spiritual journey.
A Community of Diverse Voices
On any given Sunday, you'll find people from many different backgrounds gathered together: young adults and retirees, lifelong Christians and spiritual seekers, people who are housed and neighbors currently experiencing homelessness. We believe every person has something to contribute, and that faith grows when we listen to one another's stories. At The Portico, we don't divide people into those who serve and those who are served. We gather as one community around one table.
The result is a worship experience that is participatory, thoughtful, authentic, and deeply rooted in belonging. You're never just an observer here. You're invited to be part of the conversation.
Community Breakfast
Stay for Breakfast. Meet Your Neighbors.
Prior to worship, everyone is invited to participate in our Community Breakfast.
Each Sunday, volunteers, church members, and neighbors experiencing homelessness or hunger gather around the same tables to share a meal together. More than a meal, it's an opportunity to build relationships, practice hospitality, and experience the kind of community Jesus envisioned.
There is no "us and them" at The Portico. Just neighbors sharing breakfast, stories, and belonging together. Volunteers and guests alike help create a space where every person is seen, valued, and welcomed.
Small Groups
Go Deeper in Community
Real growth happens through relationships.
Our small groups provide opportunities to connect with others, explore faith, support one another, and grow spiritually throughout the week. Groups gather around common interests, life experiences, spiritual practices, recovery, study, and service.
Whether you're looking for friendship, encouragement, accountability, or a place to ask bigger questions, there's a group for you.
At The Portico, belonging isn't something that happens only on Sundays. Small groups help transform acquaintances into friends and participants into community
Spiritual Practices
Ancient Practices for Modern Life
We believe spiritual growth happens through intentional practice.
Throughout the year, The Portico offers opportunities to engage in prayer, scripture, silent contemplative practices, retreats, art, service, and other experiences that help people connect more deeply with God, themselves, and their neighbors.
Our goal isn't simply to attend church. It's to become people whose lives are being transformed through practice, belonging, mercy, justice, and love.
Wherever you are on your journey, you'll find opportunities to take the next step.