I went to my first service this past weekend and I thought the experience was outstanding. For…read morethose of you who are complaining about this church, give me a break. I have seen some pretty messed up churches in this city and this ain't one of them.

Not a family friendly church…read more "There's a place downstairs for your crying baby. That's just too much." Those were the words that Josh the pastor said to us from ON STAGE in front of everyone during his sermon as my wife and I were trying to calm down our crying baby (go watch the livestream - it's recorded). Our daughter was crying for about 5-10 seconds and we were trying to figure out how to get out from the middle of our pew to take her outside, but Josh's comment was completely embarrassing and unacceptable. Jesus said "let the children come to me." Door of Hope said "your kids are too much". Very unfortunate.

I like it - it's not perfect, but it's good and getting better, in my opinion. I can't compare it…read moreto many other churches because there's not a lot of churches out there for atheist pagans for obvious reasons. But that does mean I can say, from personal experience, that they really are sincere about welcoming people of any faith. While it welcomes Christians as much as any other and Unitarian Universalism did spring from Protestant Christianity originally, it's very much its own thing. Congregation-wise, yes, it is absolutely an aging white boomer church; I am probably thirty years younger than the average and I am not young. However, one thing I will say is that within the year I've been (admittedly somewhat irregularly) attending, which happened to coincide with the investiture of a new minister who I greatly respect, I have seen noticeable improvements about working to attract new people and retain them, and I feel like I'm starting to see the results of that in a few more younger people and maybe a few more people of color? They are definitely conscious of it and they are working to not just be that, but also yes, they are still that. It is sincere in its progressiveness and does a lot of real work in that regard. Entirely LGBTQ friendly, probably not as good at being POC-friendly just because I'm pretty sure there's a lot fewer people who aren't white in the congregation than there are people who aren't straight and in the end there's only so much well-meaning people can do without the affected population there to give them feedback, but certainly intends well. Services, eh. I think they give very, very good sermons. Regardless of which minister, I have never not liked their sermon. The music program does seem like it would be very rewarding to be a member of - they have multiple thriving choirs they are very proud of, and there are clearly many people there who absolutely love the music there - but frankly I'd be happier if they cut it short. But this is very much a personal taste thing, and it just is not particularly my taste. Community-wise, you're simply not going to make long term relationships with people just by showing up to service every week; it's too big a church. They have a huge number of programs running for people to join, and they're what you have to join to make community within the church. There is a weekly newsletter, and you pretty much have to keep an eye on that for the things that you want to be involved in. I know they're working on redesigning the website to be more user-friendly, so hopefully eventually it will be a little less extremely dependent on you getting a giant email once a week and carefully reading it for the sub-groups relevant to you, but right now if you want to get involved in this church I would strongly recommend that you do precisely that. Like most things, what you get out of it is dependent on what you put into it. But it is a good place to put the effort into it.

Soon after my son moved to the Rose City from the East Bay, I asked him what he liked about…read morePortland. His first and immediate answer was "No Blacks!" That unexpected answer was entirely inappropriate and I immediate told him so. His mother was glad that I corrected him, but added that she frankly echoed his sentiment. That conversation came to mind as Gayle and I attended a service last Sunday at the First Unitarian Church of Portland. My son's mother mentioned that this Congregation is perhaps the biggest Unitarian one in the World, and I don't doubt it. The Church grounds take up almost an entire city block and their Elliot Chapel is perhaps larger than most main sanctuaries that I've previously visited. And there's lots of people, progressive programs, and at least 3 Ministers to match. But you would think that a Church with so much going for it in terms of diversity and social action wouldn't be so overwhelmingly (~98%?) Caucasian. Perhaps their new Senior Minister (Rev. Bill Sinkford), the African-American and former President of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) will help solve this riddle. My ex-wife (a member of this Church) is certainly excited about it, specifically mentioning his Obama-like charisma (with or without any perception of any tokenism UUs themselves abhor). I have been attending Unitarian services since my Grandparents took me to the Nora Church in Hanska MN when I was a child. This Congregation has many of the familiar Church trappings, but of course without any religious symbols outside of the Chalice. Unitarian Churches are also known for their music and I was not disappointed as the Chorus last Sunday was fabulous. The service itself flowed well, and the sermon by the Intern Minister about her adventures in the Transylvanian Mother Church countryside was fun to listen to and insightful. I still have issues with the depth of UU theology and some occasional pedantic psychobabble flareups. However, the atmosphere here at the First Unitarian Church of Portland is comfortable, accepting, and non-proselytizing. This Congregation is also ready to welcome any religious seekers or renegades who care to walk through the door. And as my son follows both his mother's and his father's early UU footsteps, I'm sure I'll drop by when I'm in town to see how he's doing.

Small church, great atmosphere, good word. Enjoyed the discussion afterwards. Definitely will…read moreattend again.

Love this church. Music is awesome and the message is done by a married couple. He typically sets…read moreup the passage and she comes in with the application. Awesome! And people are friendly. Small groups available midweek if you want to go. No pressure. And they do their own thing, not prearranged and insisted upon by the leadership. This place is a breath of fresh air compared to the mega-churches we've attended. Try it out! They're out of the box, but still right on!

We absolutely love this church! The community is so welcoming and friendly, and you can truly feel…read morethe presence of God in every service. We highly recommend being a part of it

The Apostolic Faith church preaches the whole Bible. Doctrine includes the trinity and salvation,…read moresanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Wonderful people, music, and a beautiful church :)

I attend this church for 4 years before moving and I loved it. The pastor is highly personable and…read morewill make an effort to meet you and know you. The worship was impactful and had meaningful songs. My life group was where I met my eventual wife. I volunteered in Sunday School and sound it highly rewarding. Do yourself a favor and check this place out.

I get the strangest feeling that I've been here before…read more.. Old church building repurposed to be a new church building. Starbucks color scheme. Coffee in the lobby. Candles on the stage. An intentionally diverse praise team earnestly trying to get people to worship in the twenty-two minutes of time allotted. A younger pastor with a casual style and cool hair. A name (and logo!) that is deep, meaningful, artistic, and used by similar churches across the country. Mosaic Portland is a casual meeting of believers in in the city's Hollywood district (Northwest). Lots of families. If you're looking for a laid-back church experience, Mosaic would be a good choice. They have lots of programs (they might not call them that, but...) where they get involved in community outreach and service. We visited on a Sunday morning in late summer. We dropped the kids off at the childcare station in the basement, and headed up to the worship center. Nobody really talked to us, but they didn't really ignore us, either. I know church isn't supposed to be about "what's in it for me," but an attractional model of church kind of sets itself up for that. The service was nice- it moved along at a nice pace and kept our attention pretty naturally. The preacher (one of Mosaic's pastors) was approachable and demonstrated that he's a great storyteller. He seems like the kind of guy I'd like to get to know and hang out with. He also seems like the kind of guy I won't ever get to know unless I become a regular at Mosaic. The church seems to be growing- they're looking at buying more space in a building across the street. I just wish they didn't look like hundreds of others churches across the country. Portland is unique- people here are different. It would be nice to see a church like Mosaic that didn't require a conversion to contemporary American Christian culture in order to belong. Worship times: Sundays at 9:30am, 11:15am and (in a bold retro move) 5:30pm. For more information, visit Mosaic Portland's website: http://www.mosaicportland.org After church, head across the street to Laurelwood Pizza Co. It's got a great family atmosphere (play area for kids!) and excellent pizza. http://www.laurelwoodbrewpub.com/

Finally a Christian church that accepts EVERYONE! Bravo!read more

Three times I have visited this church and three times I was disappointed. I went for Christmas…read moreservice and the congregation sang one song and the rest was a concert with no sermon at all. My other two visits were the same...no service, just musical people singing. the only time the pastor spoke was when he was asking for money, even on Christmas eve; reminding the congregation that they accept debit and credit cards. My advise, if you want to see a concert, go to MCC, if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, find somewhere else to go.

I first came to Grace at the invitation of one of the clergy when my previous church closed. I love…read morethe diversity, the range of opportunities for involvement in church life, the compassion and support given to needy people in the community, and the fact that everyone was welcoming without being overwhelming. Grace quickly became my church home; I don't make it in every Sunday (total night owl here), but I never feel judged for that. If you're looking for a new faith community and you're Episcopalian or at least open to trying an Episcopal church, I highly recommend giving Grace a try. It may or may not be a good fit for you, but it's definitely worth checking it out.

A place of faith and kindness. Solid preaching and liturgy. The music is very good and the…read morecongregation is quite diverse by Portland Episcopal Church standards.

First time visiting with the new congregation. I had been to the former church at the same building…read moreas a guest of my father before he passed away in 2019. Coming back to check it out today was a pleasant surprise to see the lot was near capacity, and after staying through the service it was easy to see why. There was enthusiasm I haven't seen since my days in Bible College at CFNI in Dallas, Texas in the early 1990's. Would highly recommend, and they may have to start a second service soon.

Amazing down to earth everyone accepted. Very welcoming very accepting very friendly.read more