Parish Movement Sign 3: Gathering to Remember
SIGN 3: We gather to weave our parish story into the larger story of our faith and remember the massive story of God.
Why Gathering Matters
Some weeks, it feels like we’re stretched thin.
Pulled in too many directions. Showing up for our neighbors. Praying for justice. Carrying the weight of what’s broken and not yet healed.
And in that rhythm of doing, we can feel alone, we can get tired, and we can start to feel like it doesn’t matter.
That’s why we gather. To remember who we are, who God is, and remind each of of the truth of the Spirit’s presence with us.
It’s not just about what happens on Sunday. It’s about creating rhythms of remembrance that re-center us in love, purpose, and presence.
When we gather, whether in a sanctuary, on a sidewalk, around a dinner table, or at a resident meeting, we create space to recall the story we’re part of: God is at work. We are not alone. We are in this together.
“We so easily forget,” Jonathan says.
That’s why we gather. To remember remember the massive story of God.
Gathering = remembering + accountability
As Coté shares in the video, gathering isn’t just comfort or connection (although those things are part of it), it’s a way of holding each other accountable to what we’ve said we care about.
“We remind each other who we are,” she says. “We hold each other accountable to the things we’ve linked arms around.”
Not doctrine for doctrine’s sake, but shared convictions about what it means to follow Christ in a specific place with love, humility, and neighborly courage.
Gathering grounds us in our place and in God’s story.
It connects our action to our worship—and keeps us from drifting toward burnout or disconnection.
What is the “right” way to gather?
This sign speaks to both ends of the spectrum.
Some of us are in long-established churches with buildings, liturgies, and programs, and we’re looking for ways to ground our gatherings more deeply in our neighborhood.
Others are gathering with just a few friends in someone’s kitchen, asking: Is this enough?
The answer is yes.
“You don’t need a fog machine to remember,” Jonathan laughs, “You just need to tell the truth about what God has done.”
Coté adds that often in her neighborhood, gathering looks like spoken word, open mics, or sharing food and art. In those spaces, people begin to name the sacred, even if they wouldn’t use that word.
What matters is that the remembering happens honestly, openly, and together.
Watch the Sign 3 video with Rev. Dr. Jonathan Brooks (Pastah J) and Coté Soerens.
SIGN 3: We gather to weave our parish story into the larger story of our faith and remember the massive story of God.
“We gather to weave our parish into the larger story of our faith. Trusting that God has always been at work we draw together in worship to encourage one another in love and discernment to be present to the Spirit’s activity all around us. This discernment leads us to engage in our communities. We have discovered that the more active we are in our neighborhoods joining in God’s renewal, the more crucial it is for us to step back together and remember the massive story of God. We so easily forget. We come together to name the brokenness around us, bear our collective burden, celebrate our common hope, and be transformed together in the neighborhood.”
Sign 3 Definition written by Coté Soerens & Jonathan Brooks
➤ Write down a story of something you’ve seen God do recently.
➤ Ask some friends over for dinner with the purpose of sharing stories
➤ Schedule a regular rhythm for sharing stories