To bridge the gap between elder generations and the millennial generation, the First Christian Church of Santa Barbara, 1915 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, is empowering a new community outreach, the Way Collective, said the Rev. Tim Burnette.
“The Way Collective is a community of shared practices and values rooted in the Jesus wisdom tradition,” said Burnette, who is senior pastor at the church.
“Our church has been ministering and serving Santa Barbara for over 100 years, embracing the changing times with our traditional Sunday morning worship service and making room for more hospitality and connection,” he said .
“Due to the tricky postmodern nature of contrasting and conflicting generational ideologies, curating a community where everyone can belong is somewhat of an art form,” he said.
The Way Collective has been meeting in breweries for book clubs and live podcasts. There’s an ecological sustainability exhibit at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival.
Pints and Parables with Peter Rollins, a Christian author and speaker, is slated for May 26 at SOhO.
Organized gatherings will begin in the fall, emphasizing friendships, transformative experiences, and fresh conversations about topics that inform and inspire everyone to live with more beauty, wholeness, depth, wisdom and urgency.
Self-described as passionate about translating Christianity for the 21st century, Burnette is a minister and theologian. He has spent 15 years in ministry and is a doctoral candidate at Claremont School of Theology.
“We are excited about the new possibilities of connecting with a generation who is increasingly absent from formational communities like churches,” he said.
Burnette can be reached at tim@fccsbca.org. To learn more about the Way Collective, visit www.waycollective.org. To contact the First Christian Church of Santa Barbara, call 682-9228 or visit www.fccsbca.org.
— Kelly Carlson for First Christian Church of Santa Barbara.