The Builders of Bloom

Bloom was founded by Pastora Tori Matthews, a trans and disabled pastor, visionary, and advocate for radical inclusion. Together with a growing team of collaborators, artists, ministers, and justice partners, Tori leads Bloom with compassion and courage — ensuring that every part of this ministry reflects the lives of those it serves.

Our leadership reflects the heart of our community:

  • Trans and Disabled-Led: Representation is not symbolic; it’s structural.

  • Faith-Grounded: We draw from Christian tradition through a liberationist, affirming lens.

  • Community-Focused: Our team includes volunteers, theologians, and creators across Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

The Wound That Became a Calling

Bloom was born out of grief — and holy defiance.

For too long, trans and disabled people were told there was no place for them in the church. We were excluded, erased, or used as tokens in institutions that preached love but practiced harm.

Pastora Tori and the early Bloom community decided to rewrite that story. In 2025, Bloom Ministries was founded and registered as a nonprofit church in Oregon — a home for the exiled and the faithful alike.

We started because we couldn’t wait for permission to belong.
We began because sacredness demanded a new home.

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What We’re Building Together

Bloom Ministries exists to heal the breach between faith and the marginalized — to prove that holiness belongs to everyone.

We do this through three core expressions of ministry:

  1. Faith: A church that gathers both in-person and online for affirming worship, teaching, and community.

  2. Care: Mutual-aid and resource programs supporting trans and disabled individuals across Oregon.

  3. Creation: Advocacy, art, and storytelling that reclaim beauty as a force for justice.

Our difference lies in how we build: accessibility is not an afterthought, but our foundation. Everything we design — from sanctuaries to systems — embodies care.

Our Vision: Love That Outlives Us

The future Bloom imagines is not a distant dream — it’s already under construction.

We see a world where faith is not defined by walls, but by care. Where accessibility is not an accommodation, but the foundation. Where faith, art, and activism weave together to form a culture of grace.

Our next chapters include:

  • Bloom Faith: Expanding affirming worship and accessible theological education across Oregon.

  • Bloom Care: Building community partnerships for disability justice and mutual aid.

  • Bloom Collective: Creating spaces for artists, writers, and advocates to shape the new moral imagination.

We believe the future of faith belongs to those who love courageously and build inclusively. And we’re not waiting for it — we’re living it, now.

Our Voice: Sacred, Honest, Human

When Bloom speaks, we speak like a pastor and a poet in the same breath — language shaped by tenderness, grounded in truth, and alive with hope.

We don’t use fear to preach; we use love to teach.
Our dialogue sounds like:

  • Theology with a heartbeat: sermons that feel like conversations.

  • Truth-telling through storytelling: lived experiences that reveal true compassion.

  • Presence in the public square: from social media to gatherings, our voice invites, never excludes.

Join the Bloom Team

You’ve read our story — now become part of it.

Whether you’re looking for a faith home, a justice partnership, or a place to offer your gifts, Bloom welcomes you. Your presence helps us sustain the work of building communities where no one is left outside grace.

DONATE TO THE CAUSE
A minimalist pastel icon of balanced scales blooming into gentle flowers, created in Bloom Ministries’ colors of blush pink, peach, rose, and trans-flag blue. The design represents justice rooted in love, advocacy as worship, and the sacred balance of grace and action.

Join Our Justice Work

Help us make equity tangible. From community aid to policy advocacy, Bloom’s justice initiatives put compassion into motion — transforming systems through collective action and care.

A minimalist pastel icon of two open hands lifting a small glowing light in Bloom Ministries’ colors of blush pink, peach, rose, and trans-flag blue. The design symbolizes faith, tenderness, and divine healing through grace.

Join Our Faith Work

Support the spiritual heart of Bloom. Join our worship, creative, and pastoral care teams as we craft services, devotionals, and gatherings that heal, affirm, and empower.

A minimalist pastel icon of two open hands forming a blooming flower with a small heart in the center, surrounded by a soft circular outline in trans-flag blue. The design represents radical belonging and unconditional love.

Join Our Advocacy Team

Amplify voices that deserve to be heard. Work with us to build campaigns, write stories, and organize for trans, disabled, and marginalized communities across Oregon and beyond.