Spirit Of Joy

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Welcome to our church web site.We invite you to browse all the areas listed. That wayyou can decideifwe might be the kind of church you are looking for.
Fall has arrived at Spirit of Joy, and with it our full regular schedule.Morning worship is back to its usual time of10:30; Sunday School for adults is at 9:30; andbreakfast for everyone is at 9:00. Education for our children takes place during the worship hour. It's what we call "Children's Church." This year Children's Church will include threedifferent age groupings - pre-school, elementary age, and Tweens (middle school).Childcare for three years and under will continue as usual.

We are excited about using a new progressive Christian curriculum for our children. Our goal is to teach them a form of Christianity that is healthy andholistic sothey will not have to unlearn in adulthood what they learned at Spirit of Joy.

We areasmall congregation numerically, but not spiritually. As such we do not have the resources larger churches do for "programs," butthen, that is not how we understand what it means to be church anyway.Our belief is that churches are called to do ministry, not programs, and that our primary task is helping people grow into mature Christians. Whenever we gather, therefore, we tryto spend our time focused on that great challenge and avoid as much as we can being sidetracked by things that don't contribute to this end.

Becoming mature Christians involves many things, to be sure, but we believe it begins with a spirit of welcome toeveryone.We thinksocial barriers such asrace, color, nationality, sexual orientation,or theological points of view are contradictory to following Jesus. We also believe spiritual maturity includes doing whatever we can to show compassion to people outside the church. In many respectsthe theme of our overall ministry is reconcilation becausewe believe that is the foundation for peace and justice in the world.

Some people ask if we are a denominational church. The answer is Yes. Spirit of Joy is a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).You can read more aboutour denominational history and polity byclicking on http://www.disciples.org. We think you will like what you read, the fact that wewelcomediversityrather than simply tolerating it,encourage open and honest discussion on all issues, whether they be theological, social, or political, anddo not believe differences have to become divisions.

Other places on this website will help you get to know us better. Thank you, again, for visiting us online.What would be even better is if you attended one of our services in person. We look forward to that possibility. And, if you do, tell us you first metus on our website.