Columbia City Church of Hope
Seattle, Washington

Columbia City Church of Hope is for the old, young, gay, straight, trans, doubters, believers, fence-sitters, activists, scientists, poets, and slackers.

Seattle, WA
Average Weekly Attendance
Community Challenges
Gender Diversity
Ages
20% BIPOC

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Awaken to God’s presence in the midst of ordinary life.

The community at CoH is figuring out what it means to notice and take part in all the ways that God shows up in the world. They are creating a radically inclusive space where everyone can be real, trusting that we can bring our whole selves and honestly address the struggles within our own lives and in society. God (and the community) can handle it—and find the beauty in it.

Asking hard questions of God and ourselves, they freely express doubts and struggles as they explore the complexities and mysteries of life. They work for justice, especially for those who are systematically denied it: people experiencing homelessness, those who identify as LGBTQIA+, People of Color, those who are economically marginalized. They believe in the universal truth that we’re all connected. They explore faith, nurture spirituality, build community, and serve the world.

Values: Inclusivity, Honesty, Grace

Inclusivity: “We are a radically welcoming community where each of us is accepted and embraced as our authentic selves.”

Honesty: “God can handle it. We can handle it. We are all works in progress, and we trust God and each other and ourselves enough to say what we really think and be who we really are.”

Grace: “God's love sets us free from doubt, shame, and fear in order to open our lives to greater generosity, courage, and joy.”

Reconciling in Christ

“We honor the image of God’s divine sparkle in everyone by embracing people of all ages, races, economic circumstances, abilities, citizenships, religious backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions. We commit to centering the lived experiences and following the leadership of Black, brown, Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ people, who have historically been hurt by the church. We are called to work toward racial justice individually and structurally, knowing that we need each other to be God’s Beloved Community. Come as you are!”

The Four Amigos Beloved Community

El Centro de la Raza (ECDLR) is partnering with Church of Hope and the NW WA synod to purchase the properties on Angeline Street between 38th-39th Avenues to develop a mixed-use building consisting of affordable housing for families, a child development center, and a worship/community space for Church of Hope at their current location.

Since Church of Hope first started in 2010, it has been their dream to live into the vision of shared community space and affordable housing. Thanks to the gift of the previous congregation at this site, Bethlehem Lutheran, they are now moving forward toward this vision! Church of Hope’s Leadership Team enthusiastically supports this new partnership, and has great admiration and respect for ECDLR’s leadership in the community on justice and equity.

The development will have two, non-residential condominium units on the ground floor of the building. One unit will be the community and worship church space for the Church of Hope. While it will be smaller than their current space, they are designing the space to better meet the needs of the congregation as well as many recovery and other community groups that share the current space and will hopefully join in the new space when it is complete.

In addition to the church, the site will include nearly 90 apartments of affordable housing for families, including offering one, two and three-bedroom apartment at 30-60% Average Median Income (AMI). There will be outreach and orientation workshops with translation assistance for those who wish to apply for housing once construction is underway. The redevelopment will also feature a dual language, multicultural child development center with four classrooms and outdoor play space. El Centro de la Raza already operates several children’s programs in the city, and their bilingual, multicultural curriculum emphasizes cultural diversity, social justice, and family involvement to develop a child’s self-awareness, cultural pride, and self-esteem.