The Open House The UnitedChurch of Christ   Portland's new progressive, inclusive, and contemporary church!   The Open House is a first of its kind spiritual community in Portland.  It's true that we are a church, a real church, connected with the United Church of Christ.  But we don't think of ourselves in such institutional terms.  What we are is a community of spiritual seekers that gather weekly for inspiration in our journey to know God and love others.  Our weekly gatherings are celebrations of God's love.  They aren't like other church services you may know of. Our gatherings are designed for people who find traditional church is too formal and stilted. We also have a progressive point of view on matters, from faith, to understanding the Bible, to social concerns. It's those two things--contemporary style and progressive point of view--that make us unique. There are cool churches and liberal churches, but not many whom, like us, are both. If you join us for one of our Sunday gatherings, here's what you will find It's informal.  Come as you are. No one worries about how you are dressed. Good music! We use a lot of pop, rock, and folk music, with a little blues and jazz mixed in. We play music by artists that have a spiritual edge, like U2 or Coldplay or Jack Johnson. We have an excellent band. (You could join in, if you play.) Extravagant welcome: We are an open community. We value and honor all people, including all races, ages, sexual orientations. We are an Open and Affirming Church, which means that we fully welcome and accept our GLBTQ friends. Honesty. No fooling around with liturgy and rituals we don't mean or just repeat without thinking. We say what we mean, we ask questions when we don't know, and we sometimes disagree. We often discuss. When we do rituals like baptism or communion, we seriously think about them and explain them. (Check out our version of The Lord's Prayer (the Our Father) on this website. High energy. I mean, we like to rock! And we believe solemnity is overvalued. We laugh, we dance, we sing, we clap, we shout. Meaningful themes. Our goal is to see people grow deep in faith, so we get right to it. We talk about important stuff, peace and justice, relationships, fear and love, hope and despair. Open spirituality. We are a United Church of Christ, and so we believe that "God is still speaking." (Check out www.ucc.org .) Our faith is open to growth. We aren't dogmatic; we are always seeking where God is leading. Care for others. We give you lots of opportunities to express your care for the weak, oppressed and poor. We hope you will give us a try sometime. We might not be exactly what you are looking for, but you never know! You might fit in. Especially if you are one of those people who don't seem to fit in anywhere else. God bless you, whoever, or wherever you are.     The Open House The United Church of Christ Join us for worship Sundays at 5:00 PM 790 Stevens Avenue Portland     Directions to The Open House: We are currently meeting at the Stevens Avenue Congregational Church, 790 Stevens Avenue, (near Morrill's Corner) in Portland, Maine, right next door to the National Guard Armory. From the North: Both 302 from Windham and 100 from Gray will bring you right to Morrill's Corner. Bear right at the light just past the McDonald's onto Stevens Avenue. Stevens Avenue Congregational Church is a white building on the right, just about one block down. From the South or Downeast: Come into Portland on 295 and take exit 6B to go north on Forest Avenue. Continue on for about two miles. Turn left onto Arbor Street, which is between the Goodwill Store and D'Angelo's. The church is right in front of you when you get to the other end of Arbor Street. From the West: Come into Portland on Rt. 22 (Congress Street), at the Westgate Shopping Center intersection, turn left onto Stevens Avenue; or Come into Portland on Rt. 25 (Brighton Avenue), at Rosemont Corner turn left onto Woodfords Street, and then at the next light take another left onto Stevens Avenue. Continue on for one or two miles; pass Deering High School, Longfellow Elementary, Lincoln Middle School, and the University of New England. The church will be on your left just after the armory. Contact Information: You can contact our pastor, Stephen Carnahan by phone or email. (207) 899-4014 revfun1@yahoo.com You can contact our clerk/web master, Carl Anderson by email. theopenhouseucc@maine.rr.com