Called together
"The first night we met,” said Rebecca Sumner, referring to her spouse, Luke Sumner, “we talked about church, personalities, and how we did ministry.” The two discussed planting churches that night—and eventually ended up planting one together.
Rebecca, a Quaker, loved the art of crafting beautiful worship and longed to return to her hometown of Everett, Washington, to start a worshiping community. Luke, who comes from the Foursquare Gospel churches, was serving a congregation in Portland that worshiped under a bridge. He enjoyed the nontraditional aspects of ministry on the street, working with people who lived outdoors, and didn’t feel called to serve as a lead pastor.
As their relationship deepened and they began to discuss their future, they longed to share a religious tradition. Wanting to be a part of a denomination that affirms LGBTQ people and celebrates weekly communion, they considered the theology and practice of different denominations and decided to join the Disciples of Christ. The Disciples affirmed Luke’s call to a nontraditional ministry, and in 2014 both became commissioned ministers in the Disciples’ ordination discernment process, moved to Everett, and began to plant a church.
