Anamesa, is a Greek adverb that literally means between. Our hope is that we can all enter those spaces between heaven and earth, you and me, us and them, birth and death, past and future, to find God in our midsts and act accordingly. We believe that we are all made from the same source of Divine Love, and no one member is above the other. We believe everyone has a place in the redemptive story of God’s great love and grace. We gather together as a church by making a covenant with God and with one another. Join us weekly in person or online as we strive for justice, peace, and walking humbly with our God.
We are part of a growing house church movement and invite you to take a new look at how you define "organized religion" as we move to redefine the traditional "church in a box" thinking. We do that by coming to you as a virtual church as well. By connecting with people online, we are able to reach people who may not be able to go to church, have a church, or will ever step foot in a church. Our aim is to start conversations in those sacred spaces we put between ourselves - conversations grounded in love, not shame. Wherever or however we gather together, we will always seek to practice radical hospitality and inclusion, no matter who you are or what you believe.
We acknowledge that we are not perfect. We don't even try to pretend to be. We simply come as we are. Which is often messy. We are trying to build up our faith and live it out in Anamesa in a way that is both relevant and purposeful. Join us as we look to the Holy Spirit to guide our understanding and faithfulness to God as students of Jesus.
Our Vision: To Love God. To Love Others. And To Serve Both.
Our Mission: To inspire people to live out the gospel of Jesus the Christ faithfully by entering into every space with authentic love as a way to teach others.
Our covenant:
"We bind ourselves together for the sharing of the gospel in its fullness through the diversity of faith and loving support of one another as the Holy Spirit moves us to do so for the building up of the Kingdom of God."
We Are Separate But Together As One
Rev. Ian Macdonald earned his Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from California State University, Fullerton. Ordained in the Congregational Way, Rev. Ian is an alumnus of the Congregational Fellowship for Theological Studies (CFTS), and remains active in the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. Since 2010, he has served churches in Michigan and California. Prior to answering his call to ministry, Rev. Ian was an award-winning Creative Director for numerous national and international advertising agencies. His love for world travel and passion for meeting people became the genesis for his blog Jesus, not Jesús: Finding The Divine In The Space Between Us. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife Kathleen, their three spirited children, a dog, a tortoise, a few guitars, and whatever fish are alive in the tank.
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Rev. Dawn Carlson is Senior Co-Pastor of Anamesa. Prior to Anamesa, Rev. Dawn founded The Phoenix Congregational Fellowship and served as senior pastor for a 175 year old Indiana Congregational Church. A native Texan, Rev. Dawn has been both a teacher and librarian and served as the regional director of the program for Infants & Toddlers with Disabilities in west central Indiana for twenty years. She has served on leadership with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and continues to work on Ministry Councils and Task Teams for the NACCC. She enjoys weaving, painting, writing, and is an avid baseball fan, rarely missing a game played by her beloved San Francisco Giants, a passion she shared with her late husband, John. She’s the mother of a 37 year old son with autism, who has taught her a great many things, and has a passion for building online communities.
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Rev. Bob Cooper is a lifelong resident of the state of Michigan and the Senior Minister at our sister church, First Congregational Church in Wayne, MI. He is a devoted husband, father, grandfather and decent trivia-game player due to the vast amounts of useless information stuck in his head. More importantly, Rev. Bob is a gifted Biblical scholar and compassionate teacher. A graduate of Warner University and ordained by the Church of God (Anderson, IN), Rev. Bob has served congregations in Flint and Greenville, in ministry capacities ranging from youth worker to senior pastor. He’s been blissfully married to Michelle for over 30 years and together raised two U.S. Navy veterans. Rev. Bob enjoys hiking, movies, sitting on the beach, Jimmy John’s sandwiches and people who drive Jeeps. He loves all Detroit sports teams (Go Lions, Pistons, Red Wings and Tigers) and bleeds Maize & Blue for the Wolverines of Michigan (Go Blue).
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Pastor Carol P. Taylor serves as Licensed Lay Minister at United Church of Beloit, WI. She is married and has two grown sons. Carol was very involved in the merger process when First Presbyterian and Second Congregational came together to form United Church of Beloit in 2012. Her administrative talent and photography hobby are used to promote UCB on social media. Carol serves on the Leadership of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (www.naccc.org).
“My ministry is to help people understand God's presence in every aspect of life, and to share that divine Love, because to live our faith is the most powerful witness.” Twitter page: twitter.com/pastorcarolt |
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On June 24, 2023, Anamesa was recognized and welcomed into the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches which is an association of individual congregational churches founded in fellowship and support of the congregational way. To learn more about the NACCC please visit their site.
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