The Practice Church Podcast
The Practice is a community that gathers for worship, prayer, teaching, and communion. The Scripture, prayers, and songs of our opening liturgy help us to set aside all that distracts us from the Lord’s loving presence. We slow down to learn and engage the spiritual practices that help us to walk with Jesus. Every gathering, we center around the communion table to meet with Christ in a tangible way. Through all of this, we are seeking to create a sacred space, both in our gatherings and in our everyday lives, so we can be formed by Jesus to be like Jesus for the sake of the world.
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Experiment in Joy: Fertile Ground
04/22/2024
Experiment in Joy: Fertile Ground
Joy is a foundational element of our faith. It connects us to God, ourselves and one another, it helps us endure difficult seasons, and it grounds our lives in the loving presence of God. This month, we will craft experiments to practice together that will help us deepen our capacity for joy. In the third week of our experiments we asked, what if God is dancing through creation spreading the seeds of joy and connection all over? How might we become fertile soil for those seeds to take root and flourish? If you haven't yet crafted an experiment, it's not too late to join us. You can find the handout for crafting an experiment . If you are forming a group or would like help, please ! For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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An Experiment in Joy: Our Joyful God
04/15/2024
An Experiment in Joy: Our Joyful God
Joy is a foundational element of our faith. It connects us to God, ourselves and one another, it helps us endure difficult seasons, and it grounds our lives in the loving presence of God. This month, we will craft experiments to practice together that will help us deepen our capacity for joy. In the second week of our experiments, Bethany Timmons reminded us it is okay to wrestle with joy because God is always joyful and always offering joy to us. If you haven't yet crafted an experiment, it's not too late to join us. You can find the handout for crafting an experiment . If you are forming a group or would like help, please ! For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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An Experiment in Joy
04/08/2024
An Experiment in Joy
Joy is a foundational element of our faith. It connects us to God, ourselves and one another, it helps us endure difficult seasons, and it grounds our lives in the loving presence of God. This month, we will craft experiments to practice together that will help us deepen our capacity for joy. You can find the handout for crafting an experiment . In the first week, Nicole guided us through crafting our experiments. She invited us to consider how we might move toward centering ourselves in Christ and cultivate the conditions necessary for joy to grow in our lives. If you are forming a group or would like help, please ! For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Easter: Resurrection Hope
04/01/2024
Easter: Resurrection Hope
On Easter Sunday, we gathered to celebrate the risen Christ. This year we considered three great hopes of resurrection. First, Jesus is with us in our suffering. Second, God’s kingdom is present and available here and now, and finally, one day God’s kingdom will arrive in its fullness, God will make all things new and everything sad will become untrue. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Practice of Joyful Connection: A Practice of Gratitude and Memory
03/18/2024
Practice of Joyful Connection: A Practice of Gratitude and Memory
This guided practice is a part of our series . We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. This is one of the practices from the of the series. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at
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Practice of Joyful Connection: A Practice of Stillness
03/18/2024
Practice of Joyful Connection: A Practice of Stillness
This guided practice is a part of our series . We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. This is one of the practices from the of the series. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at
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Practice of Joyful Connection: An Imaginative Encounter with Jesus
03/18/2024
Practice of Joyful Connection: An Imaginative Encounter with Jesus
This guided practice is a part of our series . We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. This practice comes from the of the series. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at
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Practice of Joyful Connection: Guided Meditation on the Parable of the Prodigal Son
03/18/2024
Practice of Joyful Connection: Guided Meditation on the Parable of the Prodigal Son
This guided practice is a part of our series . We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. This practice comes from the of the series. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at
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Practice of Joyful Connection: An Embodied Practice of Centering
03/18/2024
Practice of Joyful Connection: An Embodied Practice of Centering
This guided practice is a part of our series . We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. This practice comes from the of the series. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at
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Practice of Joyful Connection: A Practice of Curiosity
03/18/2024
Practice of Joyful Connection: A Practice of Curiosity
This guided practice is a part of our series . We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. This practice comes from the of the series. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at
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Attached: Practices to Deepen Our Capacity for Joyful Connection
03/18/2024
Attached: Practices to Deepen Our Capacity for Joyful Connection
We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. In the final week of our series, we considered how we are being invited to move forward. Rather than seeing this series an end, what if we saw it as a launching pad into a deepening capacity for joyful connection? Our hope in this series is that we gain a framework for understanding how our wounds impact us and our relationship with God, and begin to receive some practices that help us to open ourselves to the healing, delight-filled presence of God. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Attached: Barrier or Conduit?
03/10/2024
Attached: Barrier or Conduit?
We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. In our fifth week, Aubrey Reynolds invited us to consider how the barriers to connection we experience, might actually be conduits if we seek to love these wounded parts of ourselves. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Attached: Intimacy and Independence
03/03/2024
Attached: Intimacy and Independence
We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. In our fourth week, Nicole invited us to consider what strategies we have employed seeking protection instead of joyful connection. Have we pushed for intimacy without independence or independence without intimacy? She then asked, what it might look like for us to return to joy. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Attached: Rupture and Repair with God
02/19/2024
Attached: Rupture and Repair with God
We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. In our third week, we reflected on the neuroscience of rupture and repair and how it impacts our capacity for joyful connection with God. Cyd Holsclaw invited us to consider our implicit views of God and how we can engage our bodies as we participate with God in the process of repair. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Attached: Curiosity Instead of Shame and Fear
02/11/2024
Attached: Curiosity Instead of Shame and Fear
We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. Our series began by wondering if we might see salvation as "a new and active attachment with God that forms and transforms our identities?" What if we grounded our journey in the reality that we are created for joyful connection, and that God doesn't just love us, but God likes us and even delights in us. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Attached: What if God Actually Likes You?
02/04/2024
Attached: What if God Actually Likes You?
We were made for joyful connection with God. The truest thing about us is that we were created to live in joy-filled communion with God and one another, but we think we can do better. We choose what is right in our own eyes and introduce disorder into the world. That disorder infects the world, and the pain, sorrow, and injustice leads us to question if God really loves us. In this series, we hope to become aware of what gets in the way of our attachment and deepen our capacity for attachment to God. Our series began by wondering if we might see salvation as "a new and active attachment with God that forms and transforms our identities?" What if we grounded our journey in the reality that we are created for joyful connection, and that God doesn't just love us, but God likes us and even delights in us. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Walking in the Wilderness: Wrestling in the Desert
01/22/2024
Walking in the Wilderness: Wrestling in the Desert
In this recurring series, we are walking in the story of scripture, noticing the intricate way God’s story is woven together and shines a light on our own stories. After spending time in 2023 walking in (Genesis 1-11) and (Genesis 12-50), and , we now turn our attention to Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. What teaching can we receive from the story of Israel's journey from Sinai to the promised land? How is grumbling different from lament, and why does Moses tell the next generation over and over to remember their parents? For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Walking in the Wilderness: Purity and Sacrifices
01/14/2024
Walking in the Wilderness: Purity and Sacrifices
In this recurring series, we are walking in the story of scripture, noticing the intricate way God’s story is woven together and shines a light on our own stories. After spending time in 2023 walking in (Genesis 1-11) and (Genesis 12-50), and , we now turn our attention to Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. What is the story being told by the sacrifices of Leviticus? While burnt and purification offerings may seem outdated and maybe even primitive to our modern sensibilities, they actually offer important teaching about God and God's relationship with us. The teaching of Leviticus shows us how God has made a way for us, people who live close to death and disorder, to live with the One who is the source of life and order. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Walking in the Wilderness: Leviticus Details
01/08/2024
Walking in the Wilderness: Leviticus Details
In this recurring series, we are walking in the story of scripture, noticing the intricate way God’s story is woven together and shines a light on our own stories. After spending time in 2023 walking in (Genesis 1-11) and (Genesis 12-50), and , we now turn our attention to Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In the first week of our series, we considered how God is with us in the details. Leviticus is full of details, and a part of the Torah (teaching) of this book is, as Casey said, "The good stuff of life is being in the weeds with God." For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Advent: Longing for Jesus
12/18/2023
Advent: Longing for Jesus
Advent is a season of waiting and longing. Through history, the church has identified the weeks leading up to Christmas as a time of preparation, a season to notice our deep and innate longing for Jesus. We anticipate the coming of the Christ child and his presence with us today, and we wait in hope-filled longing for the day when he will come again. As we journey together through Advent this year, we will seek to consider, welcome, and hold our longings as we anticipate the coming of Jesus. We hope for his presence with us today, and we look forward to the day of his return when everything sad will become untrue. This week, Casey Tygrett invited us to consider the longing we see revealed in the Psalms of David. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Advent: Longing for Jesus
12/10/2023
Advent: Longing for Jesus
Advent is a season of waiting and longing. Through history, the church has identified the weeks leading up to Christmas as a time of preparation, a season to notice our deep and innate longing for Jesus. We anticipate the coming of the Christ child and his presence with us today, and we wait in hope-filled longing for the day when he will come again. As we journey together through Advent this year, we will seek to consider, welcome, and hold our longings as we anticipate the coming of Jesus. We hope for his presence with us today, and we look forward to the day of his return when everything sad will become untrue. This week, Nicole invited us to consider our longing for home as reflect on the story of Ruth. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Practice: A Prayer to Welcome Our Longing
12/03/2023
Practice: A Prayer to Welcome Our Longing
This guided practice is a part of our in 2023. We are seeking to consider, welcome, and hold our longings as we anticipate the coming of Jesus. We hope for his presence with us today, and we look forward to the day of his return when everything sad will become untrue. A tax-deductible gift can be given to The Practice Church at
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Advent: Longing for Jesus
12/03/2023
Advent: Longing for Jesus
Advent is a season of waiting and longing. Through history, the church has identified the weeks leading up to Christmas as a time of preparation, a season to notice our deep and innate longing for Jesus. We anticipate the coming of the Christ child and his presence with us today, and we wait in hope-filled longing for the day when he will come again. As we journey together through Advent this year, we will seek to consider, welcome, and hold our longings as we anticipate the coming of Jesus. We hope for his presence with us today, and we look forward to the day of his return when everything sad will become untrue. This week, we identified our longing in this season and sought to welcome and hold it in hope-filled expectation for the coming of Christ. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Faith Like a Child: Play
11/20/2023
Faith Like a Child: Play
In the Gospels, Jesus shows great affection towards children. In Matthew, he says “unless you turn from your sins and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom.” In her wonderful book, Faith Like a Child, our friend Lacy Borgo writes, “Our first and most natural inclination as children is to connect with God in deeply uniting and often ordinary ways.” In this series, we are asking how have we left these childhood aspects of ourselves behind. And more importantly, how can we get them back so we might once again attach to God with faith like a child? This week, Kirsten Hitchcock gtaught us about the formational role of childlike play. Play ushers us into the freedom of Christ and invites us to be with Jesus. For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Faith Like a Child: Curiosity
11/13/2023
Faith Like a Child: Curiosity
In the Gospels, Jesus shows great affection towards children. In Matthew, he says “unless you turn from your sins and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom.” In her wonderful book, Faith Like a Child, our friend Lacy Borgo writes, “Our first and most natural inclination as children is to connect with God in deeply uniting and often ordinary ways.” In this series, we are asking how have we left these childhood aspects of ourselves behind. And more importantly, how can we get them back so we might once again attach to God with faith like a child? This week, Caiden and Jason invited us to consider the role curiosity plays in our childlike faith. Curiosity invites us into deeper relationship and encourages us to live in the freedom of not having everything figured out. For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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Faith Like a Child
11/06/2023
Faith Like a Child
In the Gospels, Jesus shows great affection towards children. In Matthew, he says “unless you turn from your sins and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom.” In her wonderful book, Faith Like a Child, our friend Lacy Borgo writes, “Our first and most natural inclination as children is to connect with God in deeply uniting and often ordinary ways.” In this series, we are asking how have we left these childhood aspects of ourselves behind. And more importantly, how can we get them back so we might once again attach to God with faith like a child? This week, Lacy Borgo was here to guide us in considering our image of God including the wonder and wound of our childhood. As we seek to deepen our attachment to God, Lacy invites us into a three step practice: notice, run to Jesus, and look around. For some additional resources, please visit our website. If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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For the Sake of the World: an experiment
10/23/2023
For the Sake of the World: an experiment
Our formation is never for our own benefit alone. It is always for the sake of the world. Trevor Hudson has said, “The kingdom of God is creation healed.” This month we ask how is each of us being invited to partner with God in that healing. Whether we know exactly where God is inviting us or we have no idea at all, it is our hope this experiment will help us gain clarity on how our formation is leading us to partner with God for the sake of the world. This week, Andy King from the will share about their ministry to unhoused women and children and encourage us to consider how we might listen to those impacted by the groans of creation we have identified. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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For the Sake of the World: an experiment
10/16/2023
For the Sake of the World: an experiment
Our formation is never for our own benefit alone. It is always for the sake of the world. Trevor Hudson has said, “The kingdom of God is creation healed.” This month we ask how is each of us being invited to partner with God in that healing. Whether we know exactly where God is inviting us or we have no idea at all, it is our hope this experiment will help us gain clarity on how our formation is leading us to partner with God for the sake of the world. This week, Troy Jackson from the ministry invited us to consider how we might open ourselves to allow the groans of creation to move from our heads to our heart and into our gut. (A note about the practice: this was a communal practice that does not translate well to a podcast, but we would strongly encourage you to find a way to practice it with someone. It was a deeply meaningful practice.) For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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For the Sake of the World: an experiment
10/09/2023
For the Sake of the World: an experiment
Our formation is never for our own benefit alone. It is always for the sake of the world. Trevor Hudson has said, “The kingdom of God is creation healed.” This month we ask how is each of us being invited to partner with God in that healing. Whether we know exactly where God is inviting us or we have no idea at all, it is our hope this experiment will help us gain clarity on how our formation is leading us to partner with God for the sake of the world. This week, Gabe Lerma invited us to consider how our stories tie into our experiments and how God might be stirring us to action this week. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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For the Sake of the World: an experiment
10/02/2023
For the Sake of the World: an experiment
Our formation is never for our own benefit alone. It is always for the sake of the world. Trevor Hudson has said, “The kingdom of God is creation healed.” This month we ask how is each of us being invited to partner with God in that healing. Whether we know exactly where God is inviting us or we have no idea at all, it is our hope this experiment will help us gain clarity on how our formation is leading us to partner with God for the sake of the world. This week, we considered which groans of creation echo most loudly in our lives. Where do we sense an invition to join God's work of restoration in the world. It may be a deep need in the world or a need close to home. For some additional resources, please visit our . If The Practice Church is your home community, please join the . If The Practice Church has been meaningful to your journey, would you consider a tax-deductible gift? You can give at
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