MILWAUKEE — Two pastors. Two backgrounds. One new place to gather and worship.
UFlourish Church is just weeks away from opening and aims to bring together a congregation that reflects the greater Milwaukee area.
On the corner of Thurston and Teutonia, on Milwaukee's north side, sits a church building many drivers pass daily.
But thanks to diverse leadership in Kurt Owens and Ronaldo Ghenov, UFlurish looks to assemble a congregation filled with diverse faces reflective of Milwaukee's diverse population.
“We think that ethnic diversity is divinely created and we want to see them come together,” Ghenov said.
“Two pastors are coming together from two different communities, so we are establishing a multi-ethnic church,” Owens said.
According to the Pew Research Center, eight out of ten churchgoers go to worship services at a place with a heavy majority of people, at least 80 percent, are the same race.
“So it's kind of an amazing thing in the City of Milwaukee, where it is considered to be one of the most segregated in the country,” Owens said.
Over Labor Day weekend, UFlourish hosted members of the community for food and fun, and to invite them to consider its first service later this month. It hopes to mark the beginning of a relationship this church aims to establish with this area and anyone in the area, looking to flourish in their faith.
“We love this community and we wanted to welcome them into our lives and we hope to be welcomed into their lives,” Ghenov said.
UFlourish’s first in-person morning service will be held Sunday, September 26. the church also will offer Sunday evening services on Zoom.
