Welcome to Meetinghouse

“Everyone’s a little broken
And everyone belongs
Yeah, everyone belongs
I want a house with a crowded table
And a place by the fire for everyone”

We’re inspired by “Crowded Table,” a ballad by the Highwomen that you’ll often hear playing at the Alternative Service.  But more than a song, it captures much of our vision of church as Meetinghouse — a common ground where everybody belongs, and where the Lord’s Table gathers us into a mosaic, our differences only making it more beautiful and sacred.

We began our life together in 1946 as Colonial Church. In 2020, we asked ourselves whether our name reflected who we are and who we hoped to be. After a multi-year process, we changed our name to Meetinghouse Church in April 2022. The name reflects our heritage and, more than anything, our desire to be a place where the whole neighborhood can gather and feel welcome.

“I am verily persuaded that God hath more truth and light yet to break forth from God’s holy Word.”

John Robinson, an influential minister in our tradition, said these words in 1620 to a congregation venturing into the complete unknown. As good Congregationalists, we believe that God’s Spirit is always moving in the world, even in the unknown. It’s why we’re not afraid to ask hard questions, whether in our own lives or about the world and the complex issues we’re all facing. Together, as we wrestle in community, our questions slowly become answers we can live out for the good of our neighbors.

“I was formed on the plains, alive with creek and river.
Sunsets were my prayers, sunrises my devotions.
The constant wind of the flatlands was the Spirit reminding me of whose son I really was.”

Bob Dahm grew up in a county of northwest Iowa where farmers were dying of cancer at many times the national average and the dust would kick up in the sky from how the land was used.

Grounded in his love for God and the natural world, Bob became driven to find tangible ways to care for Creation and the people that live in it. It led him to start Organic Bob in 2002. You’ll see Bob at Meetinghouse any given week — high-fiving kids walking in for preschool, sharing corny jokes, and tending the outside of our campus.

Sally Manhard called it a “God Poke.” 

At a weekly Meetinghouse gathering, Mary Lenard from Giving Voice shared about how their choral community for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their caregivers had a long waiting list. Sally felt compelled by God’s Spirit to attend a planning meeting with fellow Meetinghouse member Carole Lee Randall, and after months of groundwork, they launched Giving Voice Crosstown with financial support from Meetinghouse. 

We’re glad to host Giving Voice, because we believe in the power of song and that each person is God’s beloved regardless of their ability.

Voices in the video by order of first appearance: Mary Fisher, Sally Manhard, Carole Lee Randall, and Kris Henderson.

The Meetinghouse High School students were brainstorming ways to embody their faith. With nearly a quarter of U.S. adults experiencing food insecurity, the students chose to create a Little Free Pantry in the Regina neighborhood in South Minneapolis. 

Together, they canvassed the neighborhood so each neighbor could participate in the Little Free Pantry motto: take what you need, give what you can. 

Voices in order of first appearance: Bruce Lowmanstone, Michael Eriksen, Ainsley Jo Phillips, Courtney Vandertop, Elaine Heltne, Elsa Anderson

Special thanks: Leah Appleton, Pete Welch, Bob Dahm, Andrew Zhao