Church

Beyond the Ruins . Building Communities Without Rebuilding the Walls

Beyond the Ruins: Building Communities Without Rebuilding the Walls Why the future of faith requires more than reconstruction—it requires practices of re-membering One of the unexpected gifts of publishing my recent long-form essay, “After Deconstruction,” has been the conversations it

Dwight J. Friesen August 12, 2026August 12, 2026

Gathering with West Coast Anabaptists

Next week, I’ll have the privilege of joining the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference Annual Meeting. As someone formed by the Mennonite tradition—while also finding a home among Lutherans, Episcopalians, emergents, evangelicals, urban practitioners, and ecumenical communities—these gatherings always feel a

Dwight J. Friesen June 16, 2026June 17, 2026

Inhabit Conference . May 1-2, 2026

There’s a conference I keep coming back to, and this year I want to invite you to come with me. On May 1–2, 2026, Parish Collective is hosting their annual Inhabit Conference at Lawndale Community Church in Chicago, IL —

Dwight J. Friesen February 10, 2026April 10, 2026

Islands of Sanity in a Chaotic World

Last week I had the joy of spending time with the leaders of the congregationally led churches of the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference. I’m still carrying the warmth of that gathering—the thoughtful questions, the deep listening, and the palpable love

Dwight J. Friesen November 24, 2025November 24, 2025

Thank You St Paul, MN

Thank you to all the St Paul people and groups who collaborated together to co-create the 2025 “Theology Beer Camp,” hosted by Tripp Fuller of Homebrewed Christianity. Special thanks to the good folx at Luther Seminary for hosting the pre-event

Dwight J. Friesen October 20, 2025October 22, 2025

Welcome Pope Leo 14th

With the recent – May 8, 2025 – election of Pope Leo XIV, we find ourselves at the beginning of a new chapter in the unfolding story of Christ’s church. While each papal transition carries its own significance, there’s something

Dwight J. Friesen May 15, 2025June 11, 2025

Thanks Nashville

I am so grateful for the beautiful Spero Dei Church on Nashville’s west side. The church hosted the Post-Evangelical Collective’s second annual national gathering. This was my first time participating. For anyone who feels ecclesiologically homeless in the larger church

Dwight J. Friesen May 3, 2025May 3, 2025

Thank You Lawndale!

So grateful for the legendary Lawndale Christian Community Church on Chicago’s south side. The church hosted Parish Collective’s annual Inhabit Conference. This was the first time Inhabit wasn’t held in the Seattle area, and Lawndale hit it out of park.

Dwight J. Friesen April 27, 2025May 3, 2025

Pope Francis has Died

I was saddened to learn of the death of Pope Francis earlier today. He was 88 years old. Yet, I am grateful that he was able to participate in yesterday’s Easter service. Pope Francis was born in Argentina as Jorge

Dwight J. Friesen April 21, 2025June 6, 2025

Inhabit Conference . Chicago . April 25-26

Parish Collective’s annual Inhabit Conference is about two months away. The conference will be held in Chicago this year. Reserve your spot now. See you there! Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen February 21, 2025April 21, 2025

Launching a Short Series

This weekend I get to preach at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Kent to launch a short series of midweek conversations about our evolving times and cultural context. My working title is: “What’s Going Here? Becoming St Columba’s in a

Dwight J. Friesen September 18, 2024September 18, 2024

Leadership as Convening

So I was poking around the interwebs and stumbled across a little conversation about “gathering” that I forgot about. Enjoy… Peace, dwight View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Seattle School (@theseattleschool)

Dwight J. Friesen July 13, 2024July 13, 2024

The Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future

I highly commend Sue Phillips’s recent essay, “The Spiritual Infrastructure of the Future: Stewards of Religious Assets Should Embrace Spiritual Innovators.” Sue is on the founding team of the Workshop for Emotional and Spiritual Technology, a tech startup working to

Dwight J. Friesen July 12, 2024July 12, 2024

Emerged Podcast . All Episodes

I am so, so, so grateful to Tripp, Tony, Josh, and all the funders of this podcast. What a gift! I can only imagine all the creative energy, conversations, and time invested… thank you! Emergent Village and the entire emerging

Dwight J. Friesen May 6, 2024May 7, 2024

Reserve Your Place for Inhabit 2024

It’s Inhabit time! As you may know the annual Inhabit Conference, is convened by Parish Collective, whose mission is to connect people to be the church in the neighborhood. Inhabit is a two-day event filled with stories, learning environments, music/art

Dwight J. Friesen April 24, 2024April 23, 2024

Conference . Vancouver BC

The Centre For Missional Leadership at St. Andrew’s Hall is hosting a conference exploring “Rhythms and Rituals: Christian Formation on the Edges of Western Culture. ” If you’re in or around Vancouver BC, May 2-4 I invite you to participate.

Dwight J. Friesen April 19, 2024April 19, 2024

Guest Preaching on Palm Sunday

This weekend I will be guest preaching at Evergreen Mennonite Church in Kirkland on Seattle’s Eastside. I’ve been handed a lot of narrative to cover, from Christ’s entry into Jerusalem to the his unjust execution. I’m very much looking forward

Dwight J. Friesen March 19, 2024March 19, 2024

Emerged… an oral history begins

So excited to share the launch of a new podcast co-hosted by Tripp Fuller & Tony Jones, and produced by Josh Gilbert. It’s titled, “Emerged: an oral history of the emerging church movement.” The podcast launched on January 1st, 2024

Dwight J. Friesen January 5, 2024January 8, 2024

Wowie, Wow, Wow!

Well, Sunday was my final Sunday serving at St Luke’s. And today was my final staff meeting. As challenging as transitions can be in the life of any community, this one was so beautiful and warm. It was filled with

Dwight J. Friesen August 29, 2023September 5, 2023

My Time @ St Luke’s Coming to a Close

If you’re a regular to my site you might recall that I have had the privilege of serving as the “substitute pastor” for an ELCA (Lutheran) community here in Bellevue since January 2022. Even though I am not ordained Lutheran

Dwight J. Friesen August 25, 2023August 25, 2023

C-TEN Interview

podcast interview “Church after Mars Hill” In this episode, I am hosted and interviewed by Dr Joel Kiekintveld.

Dwight J. Friesen July 18, 2023August 18, 2023

Thank you, Wilmington

I just returned from a great weekend Delaware. While it was a bit of a whirlwind, it was a rich time of imagining deeply with some very thoughtful leaders from St Barnabas’ Episcopal Church. The leadership retreat was held at

Dwight J. Friesen May 8, 2023May 8, 2023

Leadership Retreat Facilitation

Later this week I am heading out to Wilmington, Delaware… never been to Delaware before! I have been invited to guide the leadership of St Barnabas’ Episcopal Church into a conversation to exploring some of the many changes impacting and

Dwight J. Friesen May 1, 2023May 3, 2023

Nones, Dones & Ums

I recently facilitated a Community Forum conversation at St Luke’s, in which we were trying to listen to and learn from some of the research on people who claim to be done with church. Here is my slide deck. Peace,

Dwight J. Friesen March 13, 2023March 24, 2023

Church Post Christendom . Part 3

On Sunday I will be concluding a short, three week, Community Forum with my congregation about life after Christendom. I’ve titled the series: “Conversations After Church.” Below you will find my “week three” slide deck, followed by my church newsletter

Dwight J. Friesen February 3, 2023May 2, 2023

Church Post Christendom . Part 2

This weekend will be the second, in a three week conversation, I’m facilitating with my congregation about life after Christendom, during our Community Forum. I’ve titled the series: “Conversations After Church.” Below you will find my “week two” slide deck,

Dwight J. Friesen January 27, 2023February 3, 2023

Church Post Christendom . Part 1

Beginning this Sunday I will be facilitating a three week conversation with my congregation about life after Christendom, during our Community Forum. I’ve titled the series: “Conversations After Church.” Below you will find my “week one” slide deck, followed by

Dwight J. Friesen January 20, 2023February 3, 2023

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