Who we are, and aspire to be, in Metanoia is derived primarily from the understanding of church (ekklesia) which is described in the New Testament. We see ourselves as a community of Jesus’ disciples, a particular and unique expression of the Body of Christ, members of the household of God, God’s light for the world, the communion of saints, a priesthood of all believers.

Though officially we are a congregation of the United Methodist Church, we embrace and include persons from many faith traditions. Moreover, our life together is less like that of a typical parish congregation, in that we are committed to sharing our daily life together.

Members of Metanoia are guided by a written Covenant of Membership (see "Become a Member"). The Covenant helps to define our relationship to each other, and guides us in discerning and fulfilling the work that we believe God has called us to do, collectively and individually.

Some of us choose to live together in a communal household in the inner city of northeast Portland. Together with others who live alone, we share meals and morning prayer on a daily basis. As we come together in this way it is quite natural that we also share work, play, possessions and, in some cases, income. Some members and sojourners devote time to the operation of “cottage enterprise” (please see www.griefwatch.com) which provides financial support for church ministries.

Every Sunday evening we have an open gathering called “Metanoia Sunday Evening.” Here friends and strangers are warmly invited to be our guests for a common meal, singing, Bible reading, teaching, preaching, communion, and decision making.

In our decision making we follow a process developed by the Religious Society of the Friends of Truth (Quakers), called “sense of the meeting.” In this process we endeavor to set aside our private desires and opinions and to speak only as we are led by the Spirit to offer something to the rest of the body. Some of our meeting time is spent in silence as we let the Spirit bring us clarity and lead us to a common understanding regarding the issue or decision before us.

Members meet regularly in small Covenant Member Groups which are patterned after the historic Methodist class meetings developed by John Wesley some 200 years ago. In these groups 3 to 5 members examine each other about their faithfulness in observing the Covenant of Membership, and encourage one another when they have fallen short.

Not everyone in Metanoia Peace Community is a member, however. We are blessed with the presence and the gifts of non-members whom we call “sojourners,” including persons who meet with us only occasionally and persons who are very active in the life of the community. Although these brothers and sisters have not chosen to enter into the covenant life as members, they find some benefit in being in relationship with us, and they contribute to the life of our community in significant ways. We welcome sojourners as participants in all our activities except those meetings called for the sole purpose of addressing issues of specific concern to members.