HOW TO FIND US

HomeStar is currently meeting on Sundays at 5:00pm at The Ministry Incubator, located at 206 New Bern Place in downtown Raleigh.

From the Raleigh/Cary/Apex area: take I-40 East around the south side of Raleigh and take the Person St./Hammond Rd. exit. At the end of the ramp, turn left. Follow Person St. into downtown and turn left on Edenton St. Go one block to the stoplight and turn left on Blount St. Take the first left onto New Bern Place. Our meeting place is the three story yellow house on the right.


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For more information, contact Jan Cartledge at 919-362-1799 (home) or 919-818-4788 (mobile). You may e-mail Jan at jancart@mindspring.com

OUR APPROACH

HomeStar meets on Sunday evenings at 5:00 p.m., usually for about 1 ½ hours. Our time together usually includes elements of creative worship, Bible study, discussion and fellowship.

Those who feel comfortable doing so take turns leading the worship/discussion time, which generally includes participatory activities.

We seek a variety of ways to serve in the community, volunteering with a variety of social service organizations and occasionally assisting individuals.

Currently, some of our members are serving as volunteers with the following agencies in the Raleigh area: The Women's Center, C.A. Dillon Youth Center, The Alliance of AIDS Services -Carolina, Christian Women's Jobs Corps of N.C. and the Second Round Youth Center.

OUR HISTORY

HomeStar Fellowship began in the fall of 2002 as a small group of friends meeting weekly to explore new ways to express our faith in the new world in which we live. Some of us had studied the cultural/intellectual trend generally known as “Postmodernism,” and we wanted to learn more about how this developing mindset impacts what it means to live as a follower of Christ.

We began by reading and discussing Brian McLaren’s book, A New Kind of Christian. McLaren convinced us that we live in a new world, which calls for a new way of doing and being church.
Over a period of time, we put words to our core values and talked about the kind of faith community we hoped to develop.

In the fall of 2003, we officially chartered as “HomeStar Fellowship,” with eight charter members. We first met in the boardroom of the Biblical Recorder, a newspaper for the Baptist State Convention, then moved for a while to the fellowship hall of St. John’s Baptist Church. We currently meet at “The Ministry Incubator” at 206 New Bern Place, a restored home that serves small non-profits in downtown, Raleigh, N.C.

We have chosen to relate denominationally to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and to the Baptist World Alliance. We also relate financially or supportively to other organizations, as we feel led.

OUR CORE VALUES

Our core identity grows from the basic belief that God desires a community of people on a journey of faith who love God supremely and who love one another as Christ loves them.

Because of this:

• We strive to be an authentic and loving community where “masks” are not required for acceptance and inclusion.
• We embrace diversity as we embrace each other, honoring the richness of God’s creation and human experience.
• We recognize the need for ongoing change in a dynamic community, seeking innovative ways to connect with each other and with our culture.
• We express our love for God and others through personal service and faithful sharing of our resources for the benefit of others both locally and globally.
• We trust each other as gifted and responsible members of Christ’s body who share in the ministry, worship and decision-making of the community of faith.
• We value mystery and questioning as we seek meaning through lifelong learning.

WHO WE ARE

HomeStar Fellowship is a small group of spiritual seekers who find our hope in following Jesus Christ.

We’re experimenting - Most of us have been longtime church members, and continue to have great respect for the traditional church – but we’ve also wondered if there might be other ways of “doing church” that are more appealing, especially to those who have no interest in sitting in the pew. Admittedly, we’re feeling our way along, looking for others to help us along the way.

We take personal involvement seriously - While we have a part-time pastor (Rev. Jan Cartledge), we encourage all members to take leadership in areas of special interest and ministry, as well as in worship leadership.

We like questions – Many people are drawn to God by a desire to find answers, and they seek churches (or pastors) that offer firm answers to their questions. Other people are more likely to be drawn to God by questions.

At HomeStar, we honor those questions. We don’t claim to have a corner on the truth. While we believe God has revealed many eternal truths in the Bible, we don’t assume that the Bible has a black-and-white answer for every issue that faces us. Our membership includes several people who have theological training and considerable ministry experience, but none of us claim to have all the answers.

We’re on a journey – We believe our faith is not a goal to attain or a prize to possess, but a pilgrimage through life. None of us has “arrived,” but we like the idea of traveling together on a journey of faith, encouraging each other as we go.

Welcome

Welcome to the new blog for HomeStar Fellowship. We are a community of Christ followers, seeking to love God and our neighbors. We meet on Sundays at 5:00pm at 206 New Bern Place in downtown Raleigh. Come join us!

More info will be added to this page in the coming week. Please check back soon.