Stories of Faith in Action

All Places Together

By: Claire Utley, adapted for SOFIA by Caitlin Sellnow

The Rev. Colleen Hetrick has been a digital-first, progressive pastor in the ELCA for over nine years. Like many of us, Colleen felt her faith change during the pandemic. At that time Colleen was offering communion in parking lots, yards and other nonchurch spaces. “I was saying it in all places,” she says.

Colleen knew that God wasn't just inside buildings, and she felt an urgency to create an online faith community. From that place of urgency she launched All Places Together, a digital faith community and weekly podcast. The group meets online for worship and communion once a month.

"All Places Together has many communities within it,” Colleen explains. “We've grown from just the podcast community to a social media community, Zoom community and partnering with other mission developments and new-start ministries on digital ministry projects. Young adults are woven throughout all of these communities.

Each member has a unique perspective and collection of experiences - and together, they create an inclusive, nourishing community. All Places Together recognizes that everyone's story is valid and that all stories are interconnected. The ministry website invites attendees, “Celebrate your belovedness. Find your story in Scripture and connection with people who have big questions too.”

As pastor of All Places Together, Colleen hopes this ministry can help people feel and share God's love in all its vastness. The invitation on the website continues:

“Live God's love into the world in your ordinary and extraordinary moments.”

Hoping to engage and grow her community, Colleen jumped at the chance to work with the ELCA Innovation Lab — a new initiative to change the way we think about and approach challenges in the church, and to inspire innovative solutions.

In partnership with a virtual-reality platform, the Innovation Lab developed a prototype to connect spirituality and authenticity in a virtual space where people use personalized avatars to interact with each other across the world in real time. Having built a temporary platform, the lab needed someone to test the prototype in their own ministry context. Colleen, All Places Together and the ELCA Young Adult Ministry volunteered.

All Places Together hosted a prototype event where young adults could wonder, reflect and chat with other curious people about life's biggest questions in a “no-judgment zone” facilitated by Colleen. On this night of learning, young people from across the ELCA gathered around a virtual campfire to share their experiences of God in a whole new way.

The All Places Together community continues to explore new ways to connect in digital spaces. Currently, Colleen is focused on growing her ministry in small groups and on the subscription-based platform Patreon.com.

“My hope is that All Places Together continues to be a ministry that celebrates that God loves us, wherever, whoever, however we are,” says Colleen. She hopes “that we can be a safe faith community for LGBTQIA+ individuals who may not live near an affirming congregation. When nourished by God, we can grow our capacity to see God's movement around us and share God's love in our daily lives, with neighbors and strangers alike.”

This ministry has received support from across the three expressions of the ELCA — congregations, synods and the churchwide organization — to build this welcoming digital space. This includes New Start Grants from the churchwide organization and grants from the Virginia Synod. These grants are made possible by the Mission Support funds that congregations share with their synods and that synods, in turn, share with the churchwide organization.

Initiatives such as All Places Together are finding new and innovative ways to welcome people into our church - especially those searching for a more inclusive, forgiving God. Pastors such as Colleen are being empowered to bring their whole selves into their ministries and to model the radical acceptance (of both neighbor and self) that we profess as Lutherans. Together, across physical and digital spaces, we are creating an authentic and loving community.