WE DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO SHARE THIS GOOD NEWS WITH THE WORLD GOD STILL LOVES.
At a leadership retreat in January 2019, we asked each other: “Why are we all so invested in Galileo? Why do we do all this work, when going to church elsewhere (or not going at all) would be so much easier?”
Our collective answer took shape: “Because what we have here is so doggone beautiful, and so rare. All these people God made, all these differences, all the courage it has taken to become ourselves, all the safety this community affords us – all of this is irreplaceable. We want it to last for as long as it’s needed.”
But we know that what we’ve got here shouldn’t be rare. It should be available to everyone who needs it, wherever they are – in small-town East Texas where there’s no progressive church, in a lonely teenager’s bedroom in the middle of the night, in the metaphorical closet of secrecy when you’re not sure if anybody in the world could be as gay and Christian as you are.
So we do “whatever it takes” – so far – to make our life together transparent, and public, and shareable.
GALILEO WORSHIP: INSIDE OUT
Our “Inside Out” initiative is Galileo’s Sunday worship, livestreamed into the cyberverse every week. It’s our hope that people who don’t have a community of belonging in Jesus’s name can be part of our church, even if they can’t get here (to the Big Red Barn on the outskirts of Fort Worth, TX) IRL.
You can find Galileo Church every Sunday at 5 pm (Central Time), broadcasting from galileochurch.org/livestream. Services last about 80 minutes. We suggest you get some bread and wine (or something else to drink) so we can share communion from afar when the time comes. We’ve got an online host to foster connection in the chat stream – and we’re hoping you’re ready to introduce yourself there to your fellow online worshipers.
Indeed, it’s our highest hope that virtual worshipers will find like-minded friends who also want companionship on this journey. We imagine people who live near each other anywhere in the world gathering in living rooms, singing and praying and sharing communion with each other in worship with Galileo. We call these gatherings “worship parties,” and we’d love to help you find one, or host one. Contact Apprentice Evangelist Remi Shores for more information about that.
WE GET AROUND
Galileo Church shows up in lots of places, making our life together invitational AF. Like:
We’re at UTA every semester, sometimes twice, for fairs where students learn about resources and activities that might just be good for them. We take a giant banner that yells, “LGBTQ+ and Christian? YAAAAS!” And then we just wait for the dawn of recognition on a very young adult’s face who is considering that possibility for the Very First Time. It’s lovely.
We’re in Mansfield, the city of our origin, every spring for Pickle Palooza, with a float in the parade and a booth in the street fair. “Quirky Church for Spiritual Refugees!” is our tagline, and there are rainbows galore. For real, if you live within a certain radius of the seven-six-oh-six-three, and you’re queer – we’re your only church option. We need you to know that we’re here.
We’re out at Pride – both Tarrant County Pride in October and Trinity Pride in June – and so so so happy to be there, in that lovely space where people can be both queer and beloved-by-God.
Watch for announcements on our Facebook page, or in our e-newsletter (click here to sign up!), and come see us! Better yet, let us come see you.
