Who We Are
Our Vision
Living Heart is a community of faith for people who want to hang out with Jesus but aren’t sure about church. Responding to the world around us, we encounter sacred stories and each others’ stories with a particular focus on what we can learn from experiences of those marginalized by society (queerness, disability, immigration, and more). We are an unapologetically queer church, challenging norms and breaking binaries. We envision the church as a community of mutual aid, creatively stretching beyond capitalist notions of scarcity and value — a place where everyone both contributes to and gains from the community in meaningful ways.
Our Grounding
Living Heart rests on the foundations of breaking bread, prayers of the people, and sacred story. This community is designed primarily for those who take the sacred stories of Jesus as one of their personal sacred stories (although not necessarily the only one), but some gatherings or parts of gatherings will be less explicitly Christian. We are Open & Affirming for LGBTQ+, gender non-conforming, and polyamorous people. In affirming the presence of queer and polyamorous folks, disabled people, and others marginalized by society, we do not simply accept them but seek the theological wisdom to be found in their particular experiences of self, world, and Divine.
As we respond to the world around us, we engage the question: “what does our faith have to say about this moment in history/culture/society/politics?” We think about these things on all levels, from the global to the neighborhood. In particular, we recognize a core tenet of Christian faith as the call to create a place of safety and welcome for all, especially those made vulnerable by systems of power. We return to sacred stories for guidance in this pursuit: the sacred stories of the Bible, the sacred stories of literature and poetry, the sacred stories of other religious traditions, and the sacred stories of our own lives.
We build community through the practice of vulnerability in prayers of the people. We share the joys and concerns of our lives. We give each other space, time, and attention to express what is needed. We risk sharing and trust that it will be honored. We commit to holding each other in prayer (whatever that looks like for each individual) between gatherings.
We feed each other and support each other, both physically and spiritually. Prayers are not enough when physical needs are unmet. We strive to be a community of abundance, where each person can give of themselves knowing that their own needs will be similarly met. We commit that we will creatively work to create this abundance. We recognize that each of us has both something they need and something to give.
In this spirit, the pastor’s voice is only one of many. Members of the community are encouraged to share their own wisdom through preaching, teaching, and leading reflections or meditations. We think theologically together, always challenging one another with new perspectives. We believe that our differences of identity, experiences, and beliefs makes us stronger. All of us need all of us to survive.
Leadership
Micah Buff (they/he)
Micah is the second openly polyamorous person to be approved for ordination in the United Church of Christ. They have been influenced by living and working around the world, and by sharing life with people with disabilities in a L'Arche community. In his spare time, Micah enjoys hiking, reading and writing poetry, and playing music.