ABOUT US

Located in SE Portland, The Lantern is a place for all of us to come together, to be held in grief, uncertainty, and the deep questions of what it means to be human.

Life is unpredictable. Things fall apart. Transitions arrive. People plateau. We lean in—to the luminous, the questions, the messy, and the marvelous. To explore within, and what it means to be without. Life is a tango with death we dance daily. Let’s dance. Let’s be attentive. To the music, the dissonance, the unhurried. The Lantern is our place to gather. A place to create, find personal context, and connect with each other. To the good, the bad, mad, sad, ugly, and the small joys. We’re here for the texture and mending of life. As neighbors and ancestors in the making. Among the trees and the stained glass. We’re here to witness, grieve, and feel a little less like a stranger in this world.

Our Story

The Lantern was born from a place of longing. In 2024, after losing their mother too soon, a family came together to save a mid-century church and renovate it into a community space for connection and grief support. It was an ambitious vision made possible by grants, donated time, talent and skills, and many community members who offered love and support. And this is just the beginning. 

OUR MISSION

The Lantern provides connection and grief support.

Our Offerings:

  • Nourish deep connections

  • Expand access to care for grief and healing

  • Advance grief literacy

  • Reawaken our capacity to grieve, love and connect

Our Values

  • We embrace the messy and the marvelous

    We believe the most authentic and meaningful connections happen when we are free to fully express ourselves as the beautiful, messy, ever-evolving humans we are. Together we are nurturing a culture of belonging; where you do not need to abide by a strict set of rules or requirements to feel accepted, where you are truly seen, heard and understood as your true self. No tidy frameworks or fixed answers. We aim to provoke wonder and re-enchantment of our world, allowing hearts to break free of reductive frameworks.

  • We seek and amplify diverse perspectives 

    We celebrate the beauty and strength in our diversity and lived experience. We respectfully discuss, challenge, and imagine what is and what could be. There is no one perfect way here. We may not always agree, but we listen, and we respect. We come together with open hearts and open minds to draw wisdom from multiple sources and teachers. We encourage exploration, questioning, and ongoing discovery. We celebrate the full human experience and embrace a mindset of curiosity, compassion, and wonder.

  • We are humble stewards of safety and belonging 

    We offer a safe space when the world feels too big.Support when the silence feels too loud. Here, we are creating space for growth, transformation, and emotional well-being. We are coming together to support each other in times of joy and sorrow, in times of light and dark. We are holding space for all of us who have something to grieve, something to heal, and something to express. The Lantern invites you to encounter yourself, fully and without pretense. We are here for the unsparing and radiant beauty of living a wholehearted life. We tend to one another with care, inviting every person to rest, express, and be real. We build trust through presence, inclusion, and the quiet courage to hold space for difference.

  • We are lifelong students – curious, creative and ever-becoming.

    This is a place to move through life’s transitions – to show up with questions, or to simply show up. We approach life as both students and makers — learning, experimenting, and sharing our light through what we create and how we act in the world. We express what we discover and allow each experience to shape us toward deeper understanding and connection. Each of us is a work in progress, showing up every day to learn and grow with each other.

  • We practice abundance and generosity 

    We approach every interaction with a spirit of appreciation — for people, ideas, and the opportunity to create together. We believe in the power of generosity, knowing that what we nurture in others enriches us all. We give thanks, share freely, and trust that what we offer comes back multiplied. We strive to embrace the present moment with gratitude and awareness. In a world overwhelmed with distractions, fear, and challenges we invite each other to lean into what is here, right now. We give our time and energy generously and mindfully.

OUR PLACE

Before we speak of
The Lantern, we must acknowledge the land
that holds it.

The land beneath and around us is beloved. It is a place of care, memory, relationship, and belonging. Yet the love we feel here is not new—it is a continuation of a love that has lived on this land for thousands of years. This ground has long been tended, honored, and known by the Multnomah, Chinook, Clackamas, Wasco, Tualatin, Cowlitz, Molalla, Kalapuya, Kathlamet, and many other named and unnamed Indigenous peoples.

We acknowledge that this land carries both profound love and profound grief. It holds the wisdom, presence, and resilience of Indigenous communities, as well as the pain of displacement, violence, and erasure. These truths are inseparable. To love this place honestly is to hold both

As a space devoted to grief, healing, and deep connection, The Lantern commits to remembering that we gather on land that has always been sacred. We offer this acknowledgment with humility and gratitude, recognizing our responsibility to listen, to learn, and to act in ways that honor the past, support Indigenous communities in the present, and care for this land in the future.

Support the Vision

With your contribution, The Lantern can be a true pillar of the community and can provide the much-needed infrastructure for grief support, healing and connection.

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