About Us
Growing Together in Love and Grace
At Becoming, our mission is to create a safe and welcoming community that celebrates love, faith, and diversity. We believe that everyone is entitled to respect and kindness, and so our doors are always open to anyone who wishes to join us. Our community is committed to the radical pursuit of love and inclusivity, and we invite you to come and experience it for yourself.
Our Story
We know our why and we are excited to have you join our why.
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Our why:
To be an affirming, authentic expression of faith.
To be multicultural, multi-generational, and multi-dimensional.
To show that a church can have modern worship and strong programs AND have strong roots, rituals and traditions AND have progressive, love-no-exceptions theology.
To build a blueprint of what the church out to be
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Why Oswego?
Lots of research was done before establishing Becoming.
The population in Kendall County is growing rapidly.
The population specifically is growing in Oswego - as showcased by major developments happening on Wolf Road and Orchard Crossing.
Thus, we chose Oswego because we want to be proactive and build with the community. We want to be necessary and needed by community members. Rather than come in after people have settled, we want to welcome newcomers and be a bridge to the rest of the Oswego community.
Additionally, Oswego doesn't have an ELCA presence. Nor does it have an openly affirming church. We strategically chose Oswego to offer a safe space and refuge for our LGBTQIA+ siblings a place to here God loves them and created them in God's imagine.
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Our how?
We don't want to be a weekend Church.
We want to be a mission center for the community. One thing we will offer will be worship. However, even our worship will be non-traditional. We plan to offer modern, multicultural music. We plan to have participation throughout the worship. We plan to create a family-friendly environment where children aren't just tolerated, they are celebrated and affirmed. Throughout the week, we want to be helping people get involved within the community. We want to help people grow deeper in their spirituality and faith. We want to create spaces and places for people to build life-long friendships.
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Our what?
Gatherings/Worship lead us into our what.
Our what is Becoming House
House as model for how live out our faith as a community, how we grow deeper as individuals, and how we support one another
We aren’t a building. We house all God’s people - no exceptions. Together, we are a home - a place to make memories. A safe place to find out who we are (identify). A refuge from the storms of society.
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Expressions:
Front Porch - architecture changed so everything became fenced backyard. Front porch is a return to communal living. Not secluding self but intentionally facing our neighbors and opening self up to others. At Front Porch, it’s the first entry point into our faith community. Focus is on fellowship & conversation
Public pool initiative - anti-racism work. Utilize the philosophy of what public pool was meant to be in 50s before racism halted all integration
Feast Kitchen - release the feast. Community meals. Feeding program
Man cave/cigar corner - men’s ministry
Playroom - children & youth ministry
The Den - adult study & adult faith formation programs
Next (Step) - leadership development. Discipleship training.
Beyond (Sunday) - High expectations of members. Small groups. Ways to connect and be involved within internal and external community
Wholeness Gym - health & wellness initiatives. Spiritual practices. LvCares
Open Table / Open Concept - not building walls - we building longer table so all included. we’ve torn down the walls and invite all into worship/sanctuary
Mud room - outreach ministry. Unfinished/messy work we do in community
Open Door - inclusive and affirming work. We work hard so others let us into their world. Not coming out - we create safe place so we are allowed into people’s real stories
Family Room - multi-cultural work. We are becoming God’s family - no one left out.
Turnkey initiative - affordable housing program. Creating opportunities for people to get own home. Resume building. Financial empowerment.
Street initiative - homelessness program
Garage band - music program. Worship band. Kids choir. Hs worship band.
The Desk - after school program
Coffee & Wine - women’s ministry
Night out - assign young families with older couple. Developing mentorship and pairings to support one another
Thomas Cafe - Thomas wasn’t afraid to ask questions; neither are we. In this space, we engage in hard conversations. Where do Church & society collide