Gather Church

Gather Church Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Gather Church, Nondenominational church, 100/104 S Rock Street, Centralia, WA.

06/23/2026

Devotion - Praise

The last five psalms in the book of Psalms are psalms of praise. There are many others as well, but these five are unique in that they all begin and end with Praise the Lord, which is the English translation of Hallelujah.

These psalms give us the reasons we should praise the Lord as well as how and when we should praise the Lord. They tell us that humans are not the only ones who praise. The sun, the moon, the trees, and the animals also offer praise. All of nature praises God.

Psalm 150 tells us to praise with a variety of instruments and ends with “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” These are the final words of the book of Psalms.

This book of wisdom contains all that it means to be human: joy, sorrow, fear, comfort, anger, and peace. In the end, there is repeated praise.

Psalms gives us permission to be human, to feel all of our feelings, including anger and fear, but it does not let us stay there. It moves us out of ourselves and into the glory of God by inviting us, almost demanding us, to praise.

We need to be invited to praise, reminded of all that is good and right and praiseworthy. We need to see that all of creation naturally praises its Creator. And then we need to choose to praise, in the light and the darkness, in hope and despair, in easy times and hard times, with others and alone, when all is well and when nothing seems to be.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Prayer - I praise you God for who you are and for all you have done, in my life and throughout time. Forgive me when I forget to praise you in difficult times, only reserving my praise for when it is easy or natural. Help me to remember to praise you even when, especially when, it is hard. You are always with me, and you never change. Hallelujah! Amen.

06/21/2026

Saturday Service
June 20th, 2026

06/19/2026

Devotion - Fruit

In the book of Galatians, chapter 5, Paul lists nine fruit of the spirit. Each one is necessary and a beautiful result of a flourishing Holy Spirit within us. Each is difficult to cultivate at times and each needs attention to continue to grow.

Love, joy, and peace are the first three, and they are the ones we most need to help us cultivate the others. These three are gifts from God to us that lay the foundation, that till the soil, if you will, so good fruit can grow.

We only know how to love because God loves us. God’s unconditional love for us encourages us and enables us to discover who we are. When we know we are held in love, no matter our choices, our successes, or our failures, we are free to become who we were created to be and filled with the desire to help others do the same.

In some ways, we can arrange for our own happiness, but only God can bring us joy. Joy is the river that runs deep within us, and the joy-river is there regardless of our circumstances. When we are in touch with the joy that is within us, we are strengthened even in difficult times.

Peace is the other foundational fruit that we can’t create on our own. We can work hard to create an environment of peace for ourselves, but inner peace can only come from God, and that inner peace can happen regardless of our environment. God gives us peace that passes understanding, the kind of peace that is greater than the peace we get from having knowledge about something. Our knowledge can soothe our minds but may not do anything for our troubled hearts. God’s peace can soothe even our troubled hearts.

Each of us goes through times in our lives where one fruit is lacking or needed in greater abundance. Do you need more of any of these?

Do you need more of God‘s love within you? Do you need to know that you are loved, to the core of your being, not because of anything you have done, but simply because your Father loves you?

Do you need more of God‘s joy within you? Does the world seem heavy, and hard, and bleak right now? It is for so many people. If the answer is yes, this is the time to ask God to take you to the Joy-river within you.

Do you need more of God’s peace within you? Are you unsettled, anxious, or afraid? Do you need the peace that passes understanding to settle your soul in spite of your situation?

Pray to God who gives freely and generously and ask him to give you what you need. Ask him to help you till the soil of your heart and to show you how to grow good fruit.

Prayer - God, sometimes I know that I need something from you, but I couldn’t even tell you what it is. I just know that I need more of what you offer me. Remind me that I don’t have to make it through this life on my own, in my own strength. I put myself before you because you know my needs better than I do. I know I need your love, joy, and peace to settle my stormy soul and help me to grow. Amen.

06/17/2026

Clothing bank needs - 6/17/2026

Men's:
Jeans/sweats - size 30-34 waist
Hoodies - size XL and larger
Shoes - size 10 and larger

Misc:
Wide-toothed combs
Kids pullups - all sizes
Light blankets

Please bring donations to our cafe, 408 West Main Street in Centralia.

Thank you!

06/16/2026

Devotion - A prayer

Gracious God,

I come before you with a contrite heart, relying on your mercy and grace.

I confess that I am not always the person I want to be, that I often choose what benefits me over what benefits others. I do not always treat others the way I want to be treated, but instead, I judge them to make myself feel better. It is not difficult for me to love those who love me, but I struggle at times to love the stranger and often to love my enemy.

I desperately need your help, God. I want to see others as you see them, as worthy of love and sacrifice. I want to use whatever power I have, not to get my way, but to empower others. I want to use my voice for the sake of the powerless and the vulnerable, not for my own sake.

Forgive my pride and teach me humility. Forgive my judgment and teach me to love. Forgive my self-centeredness and teach me to open my arms and welcome everyone. Forgive my striving to remain comfortable while others suffer and teach me how to join the sufferer.

Praise you, God, for your forgiveness! You are a loving and gracious God who hears us when we call and who meets us in our desperation. Show me how to follow you more closely, how to shed the worldly desires that sometimes motivate me, and to continually seek you and your kingdom over myself and mine.

Thank you for Jesus, who has shown me how to live this way and for the Holy Spirit that gives me the wisdom, comfort, and strength to be able to do so. And thank you for your forgiveness.

Amen

06/14/2026

Saturday Service
June 13th, 2026

06/12/2026

Devotion - Reading Scripture

Imagine tucking your child into bed, opening a book to read a bedtime story, and only reading one paragraph from the middle of the book. We would not do that because it does not make any sense. Unfortunately, that is how many people read the Bible.

In reading scripture, there is absolutely a place for taking in short passages, even just one verse, and really contemplating what we have read, gnawing on it like a dog with a bone, turning it over in our minds and sitting with it. We need to do this with the greatest commandment and the Golden rule, for example. We need to do this with some of the parables of Jesus, the short stories with significant lessons that can change our perspectives on so many things. We need to do this with passages that challenge us, for example those that call us to a life of service and sacrifice, or that tell us to love our enemies. These short passages need to be read with purpose and heard for all they have to say to us.

There is also a place for devotional reading, for asking the Holy Spirit to open the Scriptures to us. In this type of reading, we begin by preparing our hearts to receive, and we ask God to give through his word. This can be a powerful time of hearing from God, individually.

While both of these types of scripture reading are good, neither one nor both are sufficient as a steady diet. We must have times when we read long passages of scripture and let them speak to us in their entirety. We need to read the creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2 in one sitting, not to try to turn them into one story, but to appreciate the perspective each one offers. We need to read the entire sermon on the mount in Matthew and the entire sermon on the plain in Luke to appreciate them as complete sermons with interconnected ideas throughout. We need to read John chapter 17, the high priestly prayer of Jesus. We need to read parables in the gospels, one after the other, and ask, what is the common message over several stories?

In a literate society such as ours it is easy for people who can read the Bible to think they can determine what it says for themselves. Unfortunately, so much of scripture is taken out of context and used in ways that are sometimes destructive when put into a different context. Reading longer passages of scripture keeps us from cherry picking verses to fit a particular situation and asks us to do the hard work of interpreting the words within their context. When we are willing to do this work, the beauty of scripture and the consistency of the message shine through.

Choose a long scripture passage, read it, and ask God to help you see the big picture. There is much to learn when we are willing to take a wider view.

Prayer - God, I know that you call me to read scripture in a variety of ways. I also know that I don’t often take the time to read and think about long passages, in part because they seem daunting. Help me overcome my reluctance so I can see all of what is present in your word. Amen.

06/12/2026

Clothing bank needs - 6/11/2026

Men's:
Shoes - size 10 and larger
Hoodies - size XL and larger

Women's:
Shoes - size 6 - 6 1/2

Toiletries:
Deodorant
Travel size shampoo/conditioner
Travel size body wash
Travel size toothpaste

Please bring donations to our cafe at 408 West Main Street in Centralia, Monday through Friday between 9:00 and 3:00.

Thank you.

06/09/2026

Devotion - Systems

Most people prefer order to chaos and certainty to uncertainty. One of the most common ways to bring perceived order and certainty is to create a system and then require that people work within the system. This works when we talk about taming out-of-control spending with a budget or creating an assembly line so all of the end products are consistent. There are many occasions where it is appropriate to systematize. However, when we systematize Christianity, we bring a form of death to something that is meant to bring life.

We see examples of this in the Old Testament with the sacrificial system that required people to bring an animal to a priest, in order to atone for their sins. There were requirements for what kind of animal, depending on the socioeconomic status of the person and the type of sin for which they were atoning. There was a requirement for a priest to be the mediator between the people and God. And there was the requirement that this be done over and over again because people are sinful.

In Exodus, God gave Moses ten commandments and over time the Pharisees added over 600 laws to create a system of living that they believed would bring the Messiah. They tried to keep people from sinning by requiring them to behave in particular ways. According to Jesus, their system led them to focus on the wrong things and to set aside the things of God.

Many of us grew up in or are currently in church systems. Unfortunately, much of what has been systematized in the church has been used to exclude rather than to include. When churches use the words of Paul to prescribe the one way of salvation or insist on a particular theory of atonement, and use belief in those things to determine someone’s belief in God, they have created a system of exclusion, and a very small god.

We cannot claim that God is sovereign, and then insist that he only works in one particular way. We cannot say that Jesus is Lord and lord power over one another. We cannot say that God forgives and then put requirements on others that would force them to earn our forgiveness. And we can’t claim to follow Jesus and put walls around our tribe.

A sovereign God can’t be controlled by a system. Following Jesus means following his way, not creating a way of our own.

Living in radical obedience to the God who is love is not going to be orderly and contained, but it will be life-giving and worth the risk.

Prayer - God, I must admit that I am very comfortable working within systems. I appreciate rules and a clear path. Forgive me when I prefer my religious system to your way of abundant and sometimes unpredictable life. I want to follow you beyond my black-and-white notions of how things should be into the messy and glorious world of love, grace, and mercy. Help me to remember that you are always bigger and better than I think you are and your ways are always better than mine. Amen.

06/07/2026

Saturday Service
June 6th, 2026

Address

100/104 S Rock Street
Centralia, WA
98531

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm
Saturday 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Telephone

+13608270264

Website

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