frequently
asked questions

What does Imago Dei mean?

Imago Dei is a latin phrase which means “image of God.” Our name continually reminds us that every single person, regardless of their life experiences, is made in God's image. God’s goodness that resides in us is a wonderful starting point for any discussion about faith.

And because we believe that every one of us reflects the image of God, we affirm the worth of every person regardless of social, economic, or marital status, race, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, political or previous religious affiliations. If you want to be part of us, you’re “us.” Just as we are freely loved and accepted by God, we will offer love and acceptance to everyone.

IS IMAGO DEI A PART OF ANY DENOMINATION?

Imago Dei is an independent, interdenominational church of approximately 280 people from a wide variety of faith backgrounds. Though we are autonomous, we learn from the practices and traditions of other denominations and partner with other congregations for ministry health and effectiveness.

Do I need to wear my Sunday best?

There is no dress code. You do you.

Where do I park if the lot is full?

You can street park on Gale or in the funeral home parking lot, which is entered from University, just south of the church.

That’s a lot of doors, where do I enter?

The main entrance is in the courtyard facing Gale.

Where can I find your statement of beliefs?

Read more about our five directives.

Is communion for everybody or just church members?

We receive communion the first Sunday of each month and every week during Lent. All Christians are invited to participate. We begin communion by affirming the Apostles’ Creed. (Allergen-free options are offered.)

Wait, do you even have membership?

Nope. If you want to be a part of us, you are a part of us.

are all welcome and what does that mean?

Here at Imago Dei we embrace and try to fully live out the idea that all are welcome. With that comes messiness, including, but not limited to, crying babies, people walking in late, technical difficulties, people getting up for coffee, loud off-key singers, people interrupting service, yelling children, loud conversations at less-than-ideal times, people getting up for coffee again, potentially uncomfortable comments during scripture discussion, and the list goes on. And that’s okay. Because here at Imago we don’t just do church together on a Sunday morning. We do life together. And life is messy and uncomfortable and awkward. That said, awkward as we may be, we value the safety of our Imago family. To see to that safety, we have an amazing security team that is physically present every Sunday morning, along with many others that are in constant conversation about the well-being of our community. So rest assured that you’re being loved and cared for from behind the scenes, whether in person or online, and let’s delight in the presence of each other, mess and all!

What about my kids?

Childcare is provided for younger children during the service, though you are welcome to have your children stay with you if you'd prefer. Those aged 3 months – 3 years have childcare provided, and 4-year-olds through 2nd grade can be dropped off for classes during worship.

(There are also classes at 11:15 AM for children and adults.)

WHY DO WE HAVE A SERMON DISCUSSION?

We believe that God speaks to us in many ways. We learn by reading and pondering the Bible on our own, and we also learn through conversation. That’s why most Sunday mornings we take time to pause, listen to Scripture or a part in the message and share what we notice. Sometimes we grow the most when we open our ears and hearts so God can challenge us through the thoughts and questions of our others. The goal of our discussion is not to agree on every point. The goal is not the change everyone’s (or anyone’s) mind. The goal is to practice the art of listening and paying attention to how the Spirit is moving. It’s a gift to be able to do that together.

WHY DO WE WEAR THE CROSS DURING READINGS?

The Bible is unique and powerful. We might have different ideas about how the Bible was recorded or how people should read it, but we agree that God’s truth and love are woven throughout its pages. That fact makes the Bible beautiful, even when it’s confusing. That fact makes the Bible valuable, even when truth feels elusive. The Bible contains the words God’s children chose to tell his story. All are welcome to read the Bible out loud at Imago Dei Church, and we want to emphasize that they are reading Scripture, not necessarily their own ideas or thoughts. The act of putting on the cross reminds us that the speaker isn’t sharing their own ideas, but sacred words that have been passed down in many forms to God’s people.

WHY DO WE TALK TO EACH OTHER FOR 7 MINUTES?

One of the beautiful things about Imago Dei is the way we benefit from the wisdom of so many other denominations and traditions. A few years ago, we noticed that people weren’t always able to connect on Sunday morning. We were taking care of volunteer responsibilities and rushing around, and we missed each other. One of our worship leaders spoke at a Lutheran Church and noticed that they shared the peace during the service. He brought that back to Imago and we tried it just for Lent. We set aside 10% of our 70-ish minute service (thus the 7 minutes) to talk to each other. To cross over the sanctuary and find people who didn’t sit near us. To look for new faces and say hello. Some people loved it. Some people hated it. Everyone gave it a try. And it stuck. It worked. We reconnected. A new Imago tradition was born.

WHY DONT WE DO MEMBERSHIP?

When Imago was started, we decided membership would become an official "list" of who was in and who was out. Every fiber of our being vibrated against making Imago a place of exclusion and membership would force us to define who was "in” and most people in our communities would be, by definition, "out." Church membership is not wrong, but it did not embody the qualities of the space we were trying to create: a place where you could be included, regardless of your stance on various theological issues, a place where you could explore the big God we serve without fear of judgment or casting out, a place for questions and unknowing and doubts. Ultimately we decided that the body of Christ has "members" that span time and history and orthodoxy and we wanted to be part of that stream of love and inclusion that we all felt the Spirit was calling us into. 

how did imago get its name?

“Imago Dei? Is it too funky? Is it too hard to remember because it’s Latin? What does that even mean?” These were questions we knew we would get a lot of when we named the church. And we were okay with it because of the reason behind it. In case you don’t know, it means image of God, in Latin.

We knew this would be the starting place of people’s journeys. Maybe not chronologically, but interiorly. What you think about who and what God is (your image of God) forms everything about your spirituality. It’s the starting point of every season of our lives with God. And we wanted to create a space for people to explore who God was. If God was angry, judgmental and eternally offended by our sin, then we would become people who were angry, judgmental and offended by sin. But what if we put in the work to create a space where people could experience other images of God? What if we could experience God as infinitely patient and loving? Our trajectory as a people could change. We wanted this space to see God in new and true ways. Not a god made in our image, but the God we saw reflected in the person of Jesus Christ and in the images of those around us. In a community that was patient, loving and kind. Not perfectly, sure, but in ways that would draw us forward in a trajectory that was healthy and life-giving for all of us (even the marginalized), true to the best parts of Christian orthodoxy and receptive to the Holy Spirit in our midst.