Blue Ocean Faith Ann Arbor

The church was founded by Emily Swan and Ken Wilson, who served as pastors at the Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor (Ken was the founding pastor of that congregation) until the Vineyard denomination adopted policies that forbade full welcome and inclusion of same-sex couples. Rather than enforce these policies, Ken and Emily planted Blue Ocean Faith Ann Arbor in January 2015, serving as co-pastors.

Blue Ocean Faith Ann Arbor is part of an emerging network of churches with a similar vision in places like Lower Manhattan, Cambridge MA, Iowa City IA, Madison WI, Berkeley CA, and Philadelphia PA.

These churches have roots in what Phyllis Tickle has characterized as Evangelical and Renewalist Christianity, but are also eager to blend treasures found in the Liturgical and Social Justice sectors of the Christian landscape.

They are energized by an approach to faith that expects the Spirit to be everywhere, in everyone, all the time, thus breaking down the divide between “secular” and “sacred.”