Parish Church

What do we mean by ‘simple church?’

Some call them house churches. Some call them organic churches. Some call them simple churches. We prefer to just call them churches. They are rapidly multiplying, simple communities of believers, meeting in homes, offices, campuses, wherever God is moving. This

Dwight J. Friesen July 18, 2007November 12, 2020

New House church site

Welcome to a website dedicated to linking and resourcing simple churches (house churches) in Western Washington. The site has just launched and will be adding features and links to websites and email addresses to simple churches in and around Seattle.

Dwight J. Friesen July 17, 2007September 23, 2022

thank-you

Last night was the final and celebratory gathering of the simple church that I’ve led and been part of for the past 11 years.  I was both surprised and blessed by the evening.  Spending the evening with friends (some of

Dwight J. Friesen July 16, 2007September 23, 2022

bahamas – soularize

I just got off a conference call with Spencer Burke of theOoze and some of the other facilitators for the upcoming Soularize learning party being held, of all places, in the Bahamas, October 25-27, 2007. The closer we get to

Dwight J. Friesen July 13, 2007June 1, 2022

final celebration

If you were ever part of this simple church over the past 11 years, then you are invited to an “I was part of Quest” party on Sunday, July 15 starting at 5:00 pm at the Friesen’s house (bring beverages

Dwight J. Friesen July 1, 2007June 17, 2022

@ zoe in tacoma

Tomorrow, I have the privilege of facilitating at one of the pacific northwest most holistically, missionally focused churches: zoe: livable church. Paul Sparks is the pastor and he is fast becoming a dear friend. I can’t wait to hang out

Dwight J. Friesen June 30, 2007May 8, 2022

missional living = the good life

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to participate in Calvary Chapel’s (Seattle) mission conference and was asked to unpack “The Meaning of Missional.” As I sought to give some kind of understanding to this fairly new word, I

Dwight J. Friesen May 25, 2007September 23, 2022

emergent village & full communion

Tomorrow I will be presenting the following paper to the National Council of Churches “Faith & Order Commission.” I was asked to reflect on “Full Communion” from the perspective of Emergent Village. Full Communion has been a way of describing

Dwight J. Friesen March 16, 2007September 23, 2022

Aloha Breakfast – March 4

Jen & Jamison Nielsen and baby Scott will be storying with us of their experiences for the past year at the Gathering in Hawaii.  Also, since the Gathering typically eats on the first Sunday of the month, Jen has requested

Dwight J. Friesen March 4, 2007September 23, 2022

Feb 4, 2007 – connecting weekend

We’ve decided that between the Super Bowl, and the arrival of baby Snowden, that we would make this Sunday a connecting weekend. No quest gathering this weekend. We will gather for a meal next Sunday (2/11/2007) at Jeff’s place. peace,

Dwight J. Friesen February 4, 2007September 23, 2022

convergence

There is a Northwest gathering of emerging women leaders coming up, January 26-28, 2007 in Troutdale, OR. For more information or to register follow this link.   Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen January 17, 2007December 7, 2020

questions . . . Jan 14, 2007

Beginning with our next gathering, we will explore questions about life, meaning, spirituality, God, humans, evil, race, patriarchy, classism, or whatever! We’ll begin by voicing some of the questions we can – acknowledging some seem almost too deep for words

Dwight J. Friesen January 7, 2007September 23, 2022

Quest’s Rhythm of Gathering

Quest exists to connect people.  More accurately, we exist to help each other awaken to the reality of our already interconnectedness. We life and move in an ecosystem of relations. Each relationship invites our faithful presence. You might say that

Dwight J. Friesen December 27, 2006November 30, 2020

Expression Gathering

Our “expression gathering” is a vital part of the life of our community… in fact they often feel a bit like family gatherings. On the second Sunday of each month we gather to encounter the mystery and story of God.

Dwight J. Friesen December 27, 2006November 30, 2020

The Meal

On the first (1st) Sunday of each month Quest piles into someone’s home to celebrate communion while sharing a meal.  In the Christian tradition we refer this table as the Lord’s. God sets a place at the table for everyone, and

Dwight J. Friesen December 27, 2006November 30, 2020

Connecting Weekend

We have no gathering this weekend but next Sunday (1/14/2007) we will join together again. Quest highly values the need for rest. It is not our intention to fill each moment with “church gatherings.” Just as a reminder we have

Dwight J. Friesen December 27, 2006January 13, 2021

Community Groups . . . A Friend or Two

Jesus once taught that wherever and whenever two or three people gather in the Way of Christ, God is among them. Jesus’s words make sense to most people, because most of us have had the experience of deep meeting and

Dwight J. Friesen December 27, 2006September 23, 2022

Journey . . . quest exists to assist in the process

We have always been focused on serving people in their unique faith journeys.  We believe that every person is in process of becoming.  So we seek to be an aid in that journey; to be a friend to walk with,

Dwight J. Friesen December 27, 2006May 5, 2022

thanksgiving eve . . . together

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice. – Meister Eckhart Lynette, Pascal and I will be joining together in a Thanksgiving Eve Community Worship service tomorrow night. Wednesday, 7:30 pm at

Dwight J. Friesen November 22, 2006October 16, 2020

Quest’s Open Mic

This coming Sunday is Quest’s “Open Mic.” As you may know, we gather on the third Sunday of each month to offer an expression of the work of our hearts, hands, minds, and voices. We seek to offer these expressions

Dwight J. Friesen November 13, 2006January 13, 2021

emergent village & full communion

Samir Selmanovic, Andrew Seely (See Andrew’s blog post about the experience) and I participated in the National Council of churches Faith & Order Commission a couple of weeks ago. The three of us participated in the dialogues as representatives of

Dwight J. Friesen October 25, 2006September 29, 2022

Loving God as Neighbor

Since this month has a fifth Sunday we will engage our collective practice of c celebrating with a neighborhood organization to practice loving God by loving our neighbor. We like to say that one of the most practical ways to

Dwight J. Friesen October 16, 2006January 13, 2021

lausanne . . . what’s next?

I recently returned from the Lausanne’s 2006 Younger Leaders Gathering which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. To be in one place with followers of Christ from 110 nations, was a privilege. Rarely have I had the opportunity to meet,

Dwight J. Friesen October 6, 2006January 14, 2021

Contextuals . . . Beyond Liberal & Conservative Labels

Few terms polarize a conversation between Christ-followers like the L-word and the C-word: Liberal & Conservative. Both terms (liberal & conservative) have long and important histories in political and religious life; even if the terms have become one of the

Dwight J. Friesen June 7, 2006January 14, 2021

da vinci code . . . picking up where luther left off?

The wait is over. The movie opens today. Here is a link to a very brief article I wrote about the public response to The DaVinci Code for a great film site; The Conversation. The site features reviewers & film

Dwight J. Friesen May 19, 2006November 15, 2020

reflection on emergent

Here are just a few of the growing assessments of, or engagements with the emergent church: International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church (Volume 6, Number 1 / March 2006) “Emerging Church.” Criswell Theological Review (Volume 3, Issue

Dwight J. Friesen May 18, 2006September 21, 2022

seeking emerging educational systems

I was really lucky to be able to spend a few hours imagining educational programs with David Male over coffee this morning. David was the founder and pastor of the NetChurch in Huddersfield, UK until accepting the call to a

Dwight J. Friesen May 18, 2006September 23, 2022

international reflection on emerging church life

The latest issue of the International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church (Volume 6, Number 1 / March 2006) is focused entirely on the “Emerging Church.” Online access to the issue will run you close to $80, so

Dwight J. Friesen May 16, 2006September 21, 2022

emergent & the way of Christ

O the beauty of the dialogue sparked by LaRon Shults’ Emergent/C post (for more comments, links and conversation visit emergent blog and generous orthodoxy think tank). The action/belief dance has been a difficult one for modern Westerners. The tune keeps

Dwight J. Friesen May 8, 2006September 22, 2022

in the service of inquiry

The following was written by theologian LeRon Shults, and was sent out in today’s Emergent/C (the newsletter of emergent). “The coordinators of Emergent have often been asked (usually by their critics) to proffer a doctrinal statement that lays out clearly

Dwight J. Friesen May 4, 2006May 8, 2022