Secret Sanctuary Healing Arts Collective

OPINION | Giving church one more chance: The evolving Christian landscape of ...

It's Sunday afternoon in north Minneapolis, and people gather in a school cafeteria converted to worship Mercy Seat Lutheran Church. Folding chairs are set up on the floor and there is a table in front with the words: "Do this in remembrance of me." The faithful skew young, many wearing blue jeans and hoodies with a sport coat or Naire tie in sight. More in the corner is Ben Kyle, the lead singer of local band Romantica. He has a guitar in his hands and sings something about "the Lamb of God" and "sins of the world."

Kyle's presence here is no accident. Since its inception in 2004, Mercy Seat has been perhaps best known for what they call the “third option” for church music—the first and second options being traditional hymns or contemporary praise music. Instead, pastors Kae Evensen and Mark Stenburg have opted to have the church’s tried and true liturgies newly set to music by local artists. Their list of composers has included, in addition to Ben Kyle, Zoo Animal’s Holly Newsom, Chris Koza, and Scott Munson.

Mercy Seat’s musical approach may seem like a cynical marketing ploy—using indie musicians as bait for church-averse twenty- and thirtysomethings—but though there are many words that could be used to describe the church, “cynical” isn’t one of them. Evensen and Stenburg open the service playfully, with a few minutes of unrehearsed banter. The Scripture text for the day, taken from Matthew, is read reverently, the assembly’s “Thanks be to God” intoned without a hint of irony. Evensen’s treatment of the text in her sermon is a wry, probing affair, expanding the acceptable range of responses to the Bible from mindless acceptance to include confusion, affectionate mockery, and even outright anger.

After the sermon comes communion, the pinnacle of any liturgical worship service. Before the assembly rises to take the sacrament, Stenberg joins Evensen at the front and calls out, “This is the Lord’s table, and all are welcome.” He leans on “all,” and under the spell of that word’s inclusivity regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation, I rise with thirty or so strangers and file to the front to eat a bite and drink a shot of Christ.

Art of Union HOME in Costa Rica update - art of union - tribe.net

Greetings Brother Tenasi. My name is Yes I. I am traveling to Costa Rica in January on a personal "destiny quest" for several weeks. I have heard of the righteous work being done by you beautiful beings in Costa Rica. It has been rather synchronistic in my encounters actually and I feel drawn toward the work you spirits are doing at H.O.M.E. down in Costa Rica. I would love to contribute, in whatever way I could to the evolution and manifestation of your community. I would love to work on the farm and live within the community to contribute my light to the postive energy vibration of H.O.M.E. for whatever exchange appropriate.

The Secret

Sanctuary, the corrected text

Sanctuary

The sanctuary

The Secret