Summer Services in the Park!

From Aug 4th-Sept 1st we meet in Martha Washington Park

From AUG 4TH THROUGH SEPT 1ST we will meet in Martha Washington Park, instead of at the Collaboratory.

GETTING THEREMeet on the northern side of Martha Washington Park (use this link; or use 5799 S. Warsaw St. 98118 in a maps app)

WHAT TO EXPECT

  • We meet at 11am as usual, but services are a bit shorter (just ~60 min)
  • The field is a bit bumpy, but you can access the spot using a wheelchair
  • Bring your own chair or blanket and jacket
  • No snacks provided, so bring something to share
  • Stick around at the end to eat, splash, play and socialize
  • We still have a children’s program during the Reflection, but do not otherwise provide nanny care. 
  • Sept 1st is a V&M Potluck Picnic! It’s Labor Day and we are celebrating the 7th Day… Sabbath! So we will have a bit of music and a few words on Sabbath, but otherwise, it is just a community picnic and playtime in the park.
Map to Summer Location

What To Expect

Multicultural, Family-friendly, Spiritually Vibrant

The 11am gathering is a new service, launched in the fall of 2016. It lasts about 75 minutes and is designed to be energetic, family-friendly, multicultural and multi-ethnic, and empowering to those who want to live more fully in the rhythms of the Spirit and the way of Jesus. 

At this service, we emphasize gospel music and world music. Each week we celebrate Communion, a sacrament where all who desire to affirm grace, that they are loved without condition, are welcome to come forward and receive bread and grape juice. 

People tend to dress in a variety of ways, from fancy to casual. Coffee and healthy snacks are available throughout. It’s a new and growing service, and right now about 60-100 people show up to this gathering, including many kids.

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Children's Ministry

Children are very welcome at Valley & Mountain! There is a staffed playroom for wee ones available starting at 10:45am lasting until the end of the service. This is optional! For most kids, they are will their parents for the first 30 minutes of the service, and then kids are invited to join the program in the children’s space for about 30 minutes (they can stay with you parents if you prefer). We have multiple classrooms for the different age groups. We take the spiritual lives of children seriously and offer a play-based, story-centered, empathetic, liberatory form of spiritual education that moves beyond black-and-white moralism and indoctrination, and into helping kids develop compassionate ethics and a genuine spiritual imagination.

Reflections

Messages and Interviews each Sunday

An engaging, relevant, provocative reflection or interview is part of both Celebrations each Sunday. We record the majority of our Reflections and post them on our weekly podcast, creatively called "Valley & Mountain Podcast" which you can listen to on your favorite podcast app or click the "Listen Now" button below.

Listen Now

Music

The 11 am service offers a world music mix, with an emphasis on gospel music. Our leader is Yasmin Ravard-Andresen, who also directs the Resistance Choir.

Interested in helping with music? Reach out to Yasmin to connect more about what that might look like.

Contact Yasmin