Distinctives
Online
Our weekly gatherings are online (Zoom). Why? For one, gathering online allows us to join with people all over the world, learning from a rich tapestry of backgrounds and perspectives. But even more importantly, there are people in many different places who desire to belong in a spiritual community, but they haven’t been able to find a safe, life-giving faith context in their neighborhood or area. Meeting on Zoom allows us to welcome those new friends from all over into our Harbor community.
Theologically expansive
At times we have described our community as “post-evangelical.” This can be a bit confusing, because it might sound like the only people who belong here are those living the ex-vangelical adventure. But this isn’t true. Harbor is made up of people from a wide array of religious and spiritual backgrounds. Yes, we have quite a few who survived conservative evangelicalism; but there have also been Harboristas from liberal “mainline Protestant” denominations, former Roman Catholics, and folks who journeyed for years in the wilderness, charting their own religious course without a church.
Dialogical and vulnerable
For many, the idea of “church” is inconceivable without a sermon. In fact, because so many of us came from evangelical backgrounds, we grew accustomed to talented communicators who dazzled us with memorable one-liners and alliterative lists. And while our gathering is chock full of brilliant thinkers and teachers, we do not want to just sit around and listen to any one voice. We want to learn from the treasures of every person’s insights and experiences. We do this not only through group discussions about theology or scripture, but most weeks we also schedule a sharer, a member of the community who tells us about their journey and then answers some questions.
Healing and reimagining
Because of the rich diversity of our community, there is no single belief or quality we all share. But one thread common to many at Harbor is that we carry wounds inflicted by religious institutions or people. This is one reason we place such an emphasis on antiracism and celebrating queerness. It’s also why we take a trauma-informed approach to our gatherings. Using a short list of guidelines we share at each meeting (e.g. keeping confidentiality, sharing pronouns, avoiding dehumanizing language), we do our best to care for each other. We give ourselves and each other grace, as we are all on different paths of healing. That healing happens as we reimagine liberative faith and community for a group of misfits like us.
“I never thought I’d find a group of people—let alone a church—that is both committed to each other and that embraces all the gray areas of Christianity without forcing people to choose a side or be expelled.
Harbor isn’t perfect, but it’s home!”
—Amanda L in West Virginia