What a great, diverse, gay friendly place! If you’re looking for a “new” kind of church, that led a ground breaking collaboration with two other churches of different denominations, you should check out Salem!
This is a very welcoming and enjoyable place to worship with many young people exploring what it means to be the Church in the 21st century.
The church right now is focused on trying to live out - to identify needs in the community and respond to them. Some of our focuses are environmental issues (we've adopted a nearby section of the greenway) and the refugee crisis (all three churches recently voted to become sanctuary supporting). We also do normal Lutheran church volunteering like Feed my Starving Children and Open Arms Minnesota on a regular basis.
This is my church. I've been going here for a couple of years now. We share the church building with two other congregations - one United Church of Christ (UCC) and the other Disciples of Christ. We trade around sanctuaries every few weeks. After going to a great UCC church in Somerville Massachusetts (shout out to First Church!) it was important to me to find a church that was (a) radically welcoming and (b) acting in a Christian community that was bigger and broader than just other ELCA Lutheran churches nearby.
I first found Salem four years ago, and I am so glad I did. It is more than just a church building or place of worship. It's a community of welcoming, kind people who have taken great strides to envision a different, relevant way to be people of faith in our context and time. I highly recommend visiting sometime!
The membership is of kind of two generations. There are a lot of older folks, who disproportionately attend the early service at 8:30. Do not be fooled by their age and curly old lady hair - these are awesome people who stuck with the church through some really tough spots. They are engaged, open minded, and deeply loving. There are also younger folks who were attracted by the church's radically welcoming message. You'll see more of them if you come to the second service at 10:30. The generations mingle during adult ed between the services, at volunteer events, etc.
The church is radically welcoming. There is a strong legacy of being tuned into GLBT issues. Our previous minister (who moved on to be lead pastor of a University Church) was selected as our minister even though, at the time, it was not permitted by our denomination (ELCA) because she was lesbian and refused to abide by the church's then-current policy on human sexuality. This congregation helped push the ELCA, which is now, if not welcoming to the queer community, is at least openly confused about what to do with GLBT issues. (Our new minister, by the way, is also great. I swear she could give a great sermon in her sleep.)
It was great to find a church that was truly welcoming. Salem is warm, energetic and open to new ways of thinking. It's not your traditional church, both in its setting (sharing a building with other churches) and in its approach to being a church. Worship is relaxed, engaging and relevant. The community is a joy to be a part of and I'm excited to continue to raise my children there. Salem is like a second family.
Salem English Lutheran Church is a US Church based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Salem English Lutheran Church is located at 610 W 28th St, Minneapolis, MN 55408, USA.
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