WELCOME
Dear Friends,
Welcome to All Souls Charlottesville. What you will find here is a simple introduction to who we are as a community. We’ve included snippets of our story, our ethos, and a handful of frequently asked questions we have received over the years (with more to come). Of course, these are all snippets, which means if you want to hear our story, you’ll need to ask. We’d love to sit down and have a conversation and have a chance to hear your story, too.
UPCOMING WELCOME TO ALL SOULS LUNCHES
Join us for Lunch with the Staff, Clergy, and a few others on a Sunday immediately following the service. We’ll share a meal and a conversation about who All Souls Cville is, and give you space to ask questions about our community. This is open to anyone who is new(ish) to All Souls Cville or those who just want to know more about who we are and how to get involved. Childcare is typically provided, but please register so we can plan accordingly.
Our next lunches:
November 2024 (Link Coming Soon)
OUR STORY
In 2007, a collection of Charlottesville area churches began to pray about helping a new church form. A year later, a handful of friends moved to Charlottesville, connected with a few locals and began to listen to Charlottesville’s stories. You can still read the document created during that time articulating how we hoped God would form us.
From the beginning, our desire has been to learn what it might look like to plant deep roots in this place and help a community form that would attempt to live out the way of Jesus and serve the common good of our neighbors. We desired to use our hands and our voice to step alongside the many other good churches and community movements – and learn to love this place well. The first year was intentionally quiet and slow. We got to know the neighborhoods and began to hear people’s stories. We drank a lot of coffee and had lots of conversations. A lot. We became involved with several nonprofits and artists and justice issues. Mainly, we just listened. And prayed.
Eventually, we began to meet as a house church in the Ridge Street Neighborhood. Our little community was quite simple. We told our stories to one another. We shared meals. We gathered around the Scriptures and prayed the evening hours. Sometimes, we would sing a little. We always ended our time together around the Eucharist. Mixing newcomers who desired to truly see and know Charlottesville with those who had lived their lives here for many years allowed us to form a rich connectedness to this place we all call home.
In June of 2009, we began to meet in a more public way, in CitySpace on the downtown mall. A few years later we began to meet On Grounds at Eunoia, eventually moving to our communal gatherings to Venable Elementary School, where we gathered weekly until June 2023.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, our Found Pastor, Rev. Winn Collier (pictured above offering his final Benediction at All Souls as Senior Pator), accepted a call to help found and direct the Eugene Peterson Center for Christian Imagination at Western Seminary in Holland, MI. Following a six month search, we hired Rev. Bliss Spillar to serve as our Senior Pastor in January of 2021.
In the Spring of 2023 we began a renovation project in the original worshipping space for the Historic Belmont Baptist Church. In the Summer of that year, we moved into that space, honoring the legacy of our neighbors and precious saints at Belmont Baptist.
REMEMBERING & REIMAGINING
During our transitions from Venable Elementary to our new home on Monticello Ave. in 2023, we held a series of conversations titled “Remember & Reimagine.” In these conversations, we intentionally looked back to the various places we have inhabited over the years, inviting storytellers to help us remember how God has formed us and planting seeds of imagination that we hope will shape our life together in the future. You can access those conversations below:
OUR ETHOS
While birthed by the BGAV, All Souls holds much in common with the Anglican tradition. Most people assume we are connected to the Anglican Communion. We live in the rhythms and the story of the Church Year. Liturgically, we follow the flow of the Book of Common Prayer (1979), though our liturgy is contextualized for our community and offers a good bit of creativity. On any given Sunday, you might hear us sing a fifth-century hymn or a gospel rendition or a bit of bluegrass or a song familiar to our church’s partners in Kenya. You’ll often hear original music emerging from our community, particularly pieces written by Pastor Brendan.
We’re a contemplative church, seeking a listening and discerning posture. We are comfortable with silence, with questions. We assume that what we most need is for God to speak to us, and we assume that this path, following the God Who Speaks, will be a lifelong endeavor. We invite people to practice Sabbath and friendship and prayer and generosity and service to our neighbor, all fruits that are born as we hear from the Living Jesus in the Scriptures and as we find our hearts and affections transformed by God’s healing love. Amid cultures obsessed with image and expertise and efficiency, we long for the simple, quiet way. By God’s Spirit, we hope to defame the idols of accomplishment and reputation, of accumulation. We ask God to renew us, to make us people of New Creation. We hope to be a people who receive and extend God’s hospitality, restoration and shalom.
But don’t take this to mean we’re grey and somber. We laugh a lot. We don’t take ourselves too seriously (the running joke is that sometimes All Souls is a three- legged dog). Sundays are holy and reverent, but they’re also playful, imaginative. Some folks write litanies. We regularly have a space for “Beauty, Truth and Goodness” where folks share something they’ve created—or something they’ve encountered—that has touched their soul. We have parties. We have impromptu afternoons at a local Vineyard. Potlucks are a hit. And hot donuts on Easter. You could sum it up this way: All Souls is vibrant community that knows the way of both laughter and tears.
We are compelled by the vision of the Church as Jesus’ new community, created to be, by the Spirit, Jesus’ presence in the world. We believe that following Jesus means we will never fit neatly into the binary categories often assumed (left/right, progressive/conservative,activist/disengaged). We seek to learn and walk the Jesus Way. Jesus creates new possibilities, and we long to be part of Jesus’ generous, upending, creative work.
FAQs
Why “All Souls”?
We were drawn to the name All Souls for several reasons. First, All Souls connotes roots, a connection to the historic church. It is a name common among a number of the older Christian movements. We hope to be part of a Christian community that is simply entering the long story of what God has done in his world, how God’s people have long been living in his world. Even as an artistic and creative new expression of church community, we resist fad and gimmick. We are not reinventing the church. We are incarnating the old, beautiful gospel into a new context, a new day. We want our ethos to reflect how we look back as much as how we look forward. Second, All Souls speaks of openness, generosity. We are for all people, the entire city, every heart, every broken family, every broken story – every soul. Third, we think our name evokes an artistic quality. The beauty of creation (and new creation, redemption) will be a constant theme in our community.
Is All Souls a part of a denomination?
We are not. Since our earliest days we have been in conversation with and informed by many Christian theological traditions and in harmony with historic, orthodox Christian faith. For this reason we often refer to ourselves as “inter-denominational” or “ecuminical” which simply describes a desire to move toward what brings togethers various denominations, traditions, and practices rather than moving toward what divides them. We hope to hold a posture that moves toward unity as was Jesus’ prayer in John 17.
What is the view of women in leadership?
At All Souls, we believe women can and should lead in every aspect as men, including deacons, pastors, elders, and teaching. There are numerous women leading All Souls, from leadership, elders, liturgy, sermons, and sacraments.
What do the children do during the gatherings?
All Souls Kids: Children from newborns through 5 years old are checked in when you arrive and will be offered a safe, secure space. You will pick them up at their room after our Sunday Worship Gathering. Children from 6-11 years of age are dismissed to their classrooms before the Scripture Readings, and then led into the gathering with the adults to be a part of the Eucharist. All Souls Youth (Middle School & High School) is available as well, seasonaly. *Everyone involved with All Souls Kids and Youth Ministries have had MinistrySafe training as well as background checks.
How do I know if my child is ready for Communion?
Has your child asked? Have you asked your child if they want Communion? Does your child imitate your actions when you come forward? Has your child put their hands out to receive? These are good signs that your child is ready. Baptized children are encouraged to receive when you feel they are ready. One of our pastors would welcome a conversation if that would be helpful.
Does All Souls have an “Open Table”?
Yes, we do. We believe that the real presence of Jesus is with us at Holy Eucharist. If you are a person of faith in Jesus Christ, you are welcome to receive the sacrament of Communion regardless of your denominational origin of baptism, church attendance frequency, or church affiliation. The Eucharist is a gift, so we encourage a posture of receiving rather than “taking.”
Which Bible translation does All Souls use?
We typically reference and read from the NRSV, though you will hear many translations referred to. From NIV, First Nation, as well as RSV and Message on occasion. Our clergy suggest that we read from numerous interpretations and do so with a broader historical approach rather than a short-sighted modern perspective.
How is All Souls navigating the cultural and political climate?
Our community hopes to offer another way… The Way of Jesus. We strongly discourage culture war approaches, as they are only meant to divide & inflame. “Distance breeds suspicion. Proximity breeds empathy” -Tyler Merritt. As we follow our Teacer, Jesus, we look for the image of our Maker on every single human. Today, we must change the narrative, seeking to understand more than to be understood… The Way of Jesus is better than a “left & right” or so-called “center”. This is the Way.