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Lantern · nine houses in Portland

Church in a living room, ten minutes from yours.

Each Lantern house is twelve to twenty people, a meal, the Bible open on the coffee table and an evening that ends by nine. Pick a neighborhood and a night, and the host will text you the address.

  1. St. Johns house

    Tue 6:30 PM

    Near N Lombard & Philadelphia

  2. Kenton house

    Thu 6:30 PM

    Near N Denver & Kilpatrick

  3. Cully house

    Sun 5:00 PM

    Near NE 57th & Killingsworth

  4. Alberta house

    Wed 6:30 PM

    Near NE 22nd & Alberta

  5. Hillsdale house

    Sun 5:00 PM

    Near SW Capitol Hwy & Sunset

  6. Montavilla house

    Tue 6:30 PM

    Near SE 80th & Stark

  7. Foster-Powell house

    Thu 6:30 PM

    Near SE 67th & Foster

  8. Sellwood house

    Mon 6:30 PM

    Near SE 13th & Tacoma

  9. Lents house

    Fri 6:00 PM

    Near SE 92nd & Woodstock

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What Lantern is

One church that meets in nine kitchens

Lantern started in 2013 in a two-bedroom rental in Kenton, with eleven people and a pot of chili. When the living room got too full, two couples took half the group and started again across the river. That has happened eight times since.

Every house shares the same rhythm: supper, a reading, a long conversation, prayer, and dishes. Once a quarter all nine houses rent the Kenton Grange hall and worship together, about a hundred and forty of us with a borrowed piano.

What an evening is like

A few of the houses

Every house has its own flavour

Same rhythm, different rooms. These four have space this autumn.

Friends worshipping on sofas with an acoustic guitar

Tuesdays · 6:30 PM

St. Johns

A bungalow near the bridge. Lots of young kids, a very old dog and soup most weeks.

Friends gathered at a long outdoor dinner table

Tuesdays · 6:30 PM

Montavilla

Grad students and retirees around a table that seats fourteen if nobody minds elbows.

Family barbecue in a sunny backyard with guests at a long table

Sundays · 5:00 PM

Cully

The newest house. A small group, a fire pit in the yard and a lot of hand-me-down chairs.

Brick archway entrance with an accessible ramp and blue wheelchair symbol

Mondays · 6:30 PM

Sellwood

Step-free, no pets, and close to the Orange Line. Good for anyone who needs an easy door.

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Family with candles and sparklers at a festive table

Why houses

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.
Acts 2:46King James Version

From the living rooms

What people say after a few months

Kendra P.
I tried three big churches when I moved here. Lantern was the first place anyone noticed when I didn't come.
Kendra P.Kenton house, since 2024
Rafael M.
My kids think church is a dinner party where everyone prays. Honestly, they're right.
Rafael M.Montavilla house
Odette L.
Hosting scared me. Then I realized I only had to open the door and make rice. Everyone else brings the rest.
Odette L.Host, Foster-Powell

The network this year

Small on purpose

We split a house when it passes twenty people, so nobody disappears at the far end of the table.

Autumn 2026

9

Houses meeting each week

161

People in a typical living room

382

Shared suppers this year

90%2

Given to neighbors, not buildings

  1. 1Counting children.
  2. 2Rent assistance, Lents tenant fund and the Cully tool library.

Figures from the hosts' monthly check-in, September 2026.

There is probably a house near you

Tell us your neighborhood and which nights work. A host will text you their address and what is for supper.

Ask for an address See all nine houses