Best place of worship.

**David L** · July-11-13, 08:26 PM

I am looking for a dynamic, inclusive, progressive congregation in Greater Downtown in which to worship. I don't care about denominations or labels. Anybody out there still going to church?

**michimoby** · July-11-13, 11:00 PM

Originally Posted by David L

I am looking for a dynamic, inclusive, progressive congregation in Greater Downtown in which to worship. I don't care about denominations or labels. Anybody out there still going to church?

I loved my community at Woodside Detroit.

http://www.woodsidebible.org/detroit-campus/

**Ben** · July-11-13, 11:16 PM

David,
Personally I’m a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [[the church that will be having its youth gathering with 35,000 people in 2015 in Detroit). Although there are no ELCA congregations in downtown Detroit, I recommended some similar faith communities that are welcoming and accepting. As a former Roman Catholic I would not recommend you attending a Catholic church [[except for Dignity Detroit). All of the congregations I listed should be welcoming and open to anyone. I feel like sometimes people feel abandoned by religion but don't realize there are inclusive faith communities like these where the spirit of God is truly alive.
Peace,
Ben

Fort Street Presbyterian [[PCUSA)
10:00 AM Sunday
631 W. Fort Street [[At Third St.)
[[313) 961-4533

Central United Methodist
10:30 AM Sunday
23 E. Adams Ave.
[[313)963-5422

Christ Church [[Episcopal)
8:15 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday
960 E. Jefferson Ave.
[[313) 259-6688

Dignity Detroit [[Inclusive Roman Catholic) at Marygrove College
6:00 PM Sunday
8425 W. McNichols [[At Wyoming)
[[313) 278-4786

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 01:06 AM

Originally Posted by Ben

David,
Personally I’m a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [[the church that will be having its youth gathering with 35,000 people in 2015 in Detroit). Although there are no ELCA congregations in downtown Detroit, I recommended some similar faith communities that are welcoming and accepting. As a former Roman Catholic I would not recommend you attending a Catholic church [[except for Dignity Detroit). All of the congregations I listed should be welcoming and open to anyone. I feel like sometimes people feel abandoned by religion but don't realize there are inclusive faith communities like these where the spirit of God is truly alive.
Peace,
Ben

Fort Street Presbyterian [[PCUSA)
10:00 AM Sunday
631 W. Fort Street [[At Third St.)
[[313) 961-4533

Central United Methodist
10:30 AM Sunday
23 E. Adams Ave.
[[313)963-5422

Christ Church [[Episcopal)
8:15 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday
960 E. Jefferson Ave.
[[313) 259-6688

Dignity Detroit [[Inclusive Roman Catholic) at Marygrove College
6:00 PM Sunday
8425 W. McNichols [[At Wyoming)
[[313) 278-4786

Fort Street Presbyterian Church 631 West Fort Street. Very nice staff.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 01:09 AM

Originally Posted by Ben

David,
Personally I’m a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [[the church that will be having its youth gathering with 35,000 people in 2015 in Detroit). Although there are no ELCA congregations in downtown Detroit, I recommended some similar faith communities that are welcoming and accepting. As a former Roman Catholic I would not recommend you attending a Catholic church [[except for Dignity Detroit). All of the congregations I listed should be welcoming and open to anyone. I feel like sometimes people feel abandoned by religion but don't realize there are inclusive faith communities like these where the spirit of God is truly alive.
Peace,
Ben

Fort Street Presbyterian [[PCUSA)
10:00 AM Sunday
631 W. Fort Street [[At Third St.)
[[313) 961-4533

Central United Methodist
10:30 AM Sunday
23 E. Adams Ave.
[[313)963-5422

Christ Church [[Episcopal)
8:15 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday
960 E. Jefferson Ave.
[[313) 259-6688

Dignity Detroit [[Inclusive Roman Catholic) at Marygrove College
6:00 PM Sunday
8425 W. McNichols [[At Wyoming)
[[313) 278-4786

Central Methodist Church 23 East Adams.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 01:12 AM

Originally Posted by Ben

David,
Personally I’m a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [[the church that will be having its youth gathering with 35,000 people in 2015 in Detroit). Although there are no ELCA congregations in downtown Detroit, I recommended some similar faith communities that are welcoming and accepting. As a former Roman Catholic I would not recommend you attending a Catholic church [[except for Dignity Detroit). All of the congregations I listed should be welcoming and open to anyone. I feel like sometimes people feel abandoned by religion but don't realize there are inclusive faith communities like these where the spirit of God is truly alive.
Peace,
Ben

Fort Street Presbyterian [[PCUSA)
10:00 AM Sunday
631 W. Fort Street [[At Third St.)
[[313) 961-4533

Central United Methodist
10:30 AM Sunday
23 E. Adams Ave.
[[313)963-5422

Christ Church [[Episcopal)
8:15 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday
960 E. Jefferson Ave.
[[313) 259-6688

Dignity Detroit [[Inclusive Roman Catholic) at Marygrove College
6:00 PM Sunday
8425 W. McNichols [[At Wyoming)
[[313) 278-4786

Christ Church 960 East Jefferson. Not sure why Ben mentioned this as a progressive church. Its a favorite of many ultra right wing Grosse Pointe residents I know.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 01:15 AM

Originally Posted by Ben

David,
Personally I’m a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [[the church that will be having its youth gathering with 35,000 people in 2015 in Detroit). Although there are no ELCA congregations in downtown Detroit, I recommended some similar faith communities that are welcoming and accepting. As a former Roman Catholic I would not recommend you attending a Catholic church [[except for Dignity Detroit). All of the congregations I listed should be welcoming and open to anyone. I feel like sometimes people feel abandoned by religion but don't realize there are inclusive faith communities like these where the spirit of God is truly alive.
Peace,
Ben

Fort Street Presbyterian [[PCUSA)
10:00 AM Sunday
631 W. Fort Street [[At Third St.)
[[313) 961-4533

Central United Methodist
10:30 AM Sunday
23 E. Adams Ave.
[[313)963-5422

Christ Church [[Episcopal)
8:15 AM and 10:30 AM Sunday
960 E. Jefferson Ave.
[[313) 259-6688

Dignity Detroit [[Inclusive Roman Catholic) at Marygrove College
6:00 PM Sunday
8425 W. McNichols [[At Wyoming)
[[313) 278-4786

Marygrove College 8425 West McNichols. I have not been to a mass there but it sounds like a drive to the west side is in order.Also all the denominations in the city run the gamut from progressive to ultra conservative Take time out to check as many as possible. The historic architecture is worth the trip to most of the churches in the city.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · July-12-13, 12:01 AM

There's nobody more progressive and inclusive than the UU's. I belong to First Unitarian Church of Oakland [[CA) but have attended Detroit's First UU when in town. http://1stuu.org/

**Király** · July-12-13, 12:49 AM

+1 on the UUs. I belong to the UU church in Vancouver and have also visited First UU Church of Detroit on Cass. Beautiful building too.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by Király

+1 on the UUs. I belong to the UU church in Vancouver and have also visited First UU Church of Detroit on Cass. Beautiful building too.

First Unitarian-Universalistic Church of Detroit 4605 Cass Avenue. Sorry about the dark image.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 12:46 AM

Saint Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church 3138 East Canfield. An excellent choir!

**getmoore** · July-13-13, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by p69rrh51

Saint Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church 3138 East Canfield. An excellent choir!

Awwww. I miss this church! I've never stepped foot inside of it but I spent the first 12 years of my life living directly across the street from it.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 12:49 AM

Saint Cecilia Roman Catholic Church 10400 Stoepe.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · July-12-13, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by p69rrh51

Saint Cecilia Roman Catholic Church 10400 Stoepe.

But he said progressive and inclusive, which sort of rules the RCC out. Perhaps the Cathedral Abbey of St. Anthony, since its Ecumenical Catholic and not Roman Catholic http://www.cathedralofstanthonydetroit.org/

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 06:58 AM

Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

But he said progressive and inclusive, which sort of rules the RCC out. Perhaps the Cathedral Abbey of St. Anthony, since its Ecumenical Catholic and not Roman Catholic http://www.cathedralofstanthonydetroit.org/

Both At. Cecilia's and St. Elizabeth's are far more inclusive than almost all Catholic churches in the city and more inclusive than most churches in general in the area. i have not been to St. Anthony''s unfortunately the pastor is not someone I would want to be around.

**DetroiterOnTheWestCoast** · July-13-13, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by p69rrh51

Both At. Cecilia's and St. Elizabeth's are far more inclusive than almost all Catholic churches in the city and more inclusive than most churches in general in the area. i have not been to St. Anthony''s unfortunately the pastor is not someone I would want to be around.

I'm curious, are LGBT members encouraged to be completely free and open and honest at the congregations? Are they treated 100% as equal? Are their relationships considered equal? Are same sex commitment ceremonies performed? Or are these congregations simply more inclusive than most RCC churches? [[Which from the perspective of the LGBT community unfortunately sets a pretty low bar.)

**Ben** · July-13-13, 02:43 PM

Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

I'm curious, are LGBT members encouraged to be completely free and open and honest at the congregations? Are they treated 100% as equal? Are their relationships considered equal? Are same sex commitment ceremonies performed? Or are these congregations simply more inclusive than most RCC churches? [[Which from the perspective of the LGBT community unfortunately sets a pretty low bar.)

In my experience as a former Catholic I felt that there were some communities that would welcome you but that you would not be fully embraced. A lot of it depends on who the priest is and that usually changes every 10-15 years so you could go from acceptance to rejection. In terms of being open and honest to the congregation, the people usually would not be able to be totally open because of fear that the bishop would do something. Their relationships are considered equal by the members and sometimes the pastor but they often can not formally express that relationship. I think that a same-sex blessing would never happen in a Catholic Church, not because they don't accept somone, but our of fear of the Bishop. The most accepting congregation is Dignity Detroit, a special ministry to GLBT people and their families and friends that used to have mass at a Catholic Church but got kicked out by the archdiocese and now meets at Marygrove College. They are so publicly accepting because they don't have to worry about the Bishop.

**p69rrh51** · July-16-13, 01:00 AM

Originally Posted by DetroiterOnTheWestCoast

I'm curious, are LGBT members encouraged to be completely free and open and honest at the congregations? Are they treated 100% as equal? Are their relationships considered equal? Are same sex commitment ceremonies performed? Or are these congregations simply more inclusive than most RCC churches? [[Which from the perspective of the LGBT community unfortunately sets a pretty low bar.)

Since same sex marriages are against the law in Michigan why would you ask that. I do not know of any church in the Detroit area that performs same sex marriage. Maybe you can enlighten me. From my own observations I see same sex couples at St. Elizabeth's, alhough I do know how much they participate in parish life. As much as the powers that be want eveyone to believe all parishes are in line with them, I have found at a local lever that is far from the truth. The parish I grew up in embraced pro choice and contraception and that was back in the 1970's.

**Ben** · July-12-13, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by p69rrh51

Christ Church 960 East Jefferson. Not sure why Ben mentioned this as a progressive church. Its a favorite of many ultra right wing Grosse Pointe residents I know.

I think you're talking about Christ Church Grosse Pointe not Christ Church Detroit. Sometimes I wonder why you would name two churches the same thing that are very close to each other. Anyway on Christ Detroit's website it said they welcome gay people which lead me to believe they were progressive.

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · July-12-13, 01:40 AM

I love Old St. Mary's downtown. I guess there are 2 ways of picking a house of worship, and both are legit. First you can make a list of what you want and need in a church, i.e. teachings, fellowship, community involvement, etc. Then investigate by asking around, stopping by and meeting the priest/minister, looking up the religious tenets, etc. The other method is just visit different church every week until one feels like your spiritual home. While I am firmly Catholic and love OSM, I enjoy sometimes attending other services as well. I find most churches and congregations to be very welcoming and approving of anyone coming to share worship. Good luck, and enjoy your search. God can be found in any home.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

I love Old St. Mary's downtown. I guess there are 2 ways of picking a house of worship, and both are legit. First you can make a list of what you want and need in a church, i.e. teachings, fellowship, community involvement, etc. Then investigate by asking around, stopping by and meeting the priest/minister, looking up the religious tenets, etc. The other method is just visit different church every week until one feels like your spiritual home. While I am firmly Catholic and love OSM, I enjoy sometimes attending other services as well. I find most churches and congregations to be very welcoming and approving of anyone coming to share worship. Good luck, and enjoy your search. God can be found in any home.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church 64 East Monroe. Well worth visiting!

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · July-12-13, 01:43 AM

Forgot to mention, the title of the post including the word "best" is a little misguided. No such thing as a best church. You're looking for the right church for you, which is different.

**David L** · July-13-13, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

Forgot to mention, the title of the post including the word "best" is a little misguided. No such thing as a best church. You're looking for the right church for you, which is different.

Excellent point.

**Honky Tonk** · July-13-13, 09:08 PM

Best place of worship.

In your heart and in your mind.

**p69rrh51** · July-12-13, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by Ben

I think you're talking about Christ Church Grosse Pointe not Christ Church Detroit. Sometimes I wonder why you would name two churches the same thing that are very close to each other. Anyway on Christ Detroit's website it said they welcome gay people which lead me to believe they were progressive.

You don 't know much about Christ Church GP. its very liberal. In fact many conservative patrons have left and gone to St. John's downtown,Christ Church downtown and Mariners.So I guess knowing people who actually attend the church does not matter as much as what their website says?