Start here
Tell me your story.
What brought you here? What did you walk away from, and what are you still carrying? I read every one. I'll write back.
Prayer · Every week · Free
A cascade of prayer
Five gatherings each week — online prayer, outdoor worship, and a monthly trail walk. Come to one. Come to all.
What this is
Trail walks
Monthly walks in Northeast Alabama. No sermon. No agenda. Just pilgrims moving together. The walking is the practice.
Formation Circle
A small cohort doing structured formation work — reading, practicing, returning. Starts when we have 12 committed members.
One-on-one
For when you need more than a walk. Spiritual direction from someone who has sat in the wreckage and kept going.
I am the founding pastor of Ecclesia Community. I was ordained. I was hospitalized twice for bipolar disorder. I am a flower farmer, a builder, and a pastor who walks beside the wreckage instead of above it.
The credential is not the podium. The credential is the wreckage. I walk with a limp. That is why I can walk with you.
Matt Headley
Founding Pastor, Ecclesia Community
Coming up
Next Trail Walk
Sunday, August 3 · 8:00 am
Cheaha State Park · 3-mile trail · Free
We walk together — in silence or conversation. No agenda. No sermon. Just pilgrims moving.
Forming now
The Formation Circle
A small cohort — 12 people committed to formation work over six months. Reading, practicing, returning. It starts when we have 12. If you want to be one of them, tell me.
One-on-one
Spiritual Direction
For when you need more than a walk. 60 minutes, by video or in person. I don't have the answers. I know the terrain.
Schedule a sessionMusic + worship
The Ecclesia Collective
Choir. Band. Sacred music for people who aren't sure they belong in a sanctuary. If you sing or play — or used to — there may be a place for you here.
I'm interestedTeaching
Reflections, voices, and the occasional honest laugh.
Pastoral pieces for the burned-out and still aching. Writers who shaped how we got here. And affectionate dispatches from inside the institution.
When You Show Up AnywayReflection →The Wound Is the CredentialReflection →The Casserole HierarchySatire →
Browse the teaching library →Listen — music & voices →Attune — the practice →Free · No commitment
Start in the group.
We gather online before we gather on a trail. Morning prayers, honest conversation, no performance required.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10
Newsletter · Free
Stay in the loop.
When we gather, you hear about it first. Trail walks, Tuesday mornings, honest dispatches from the limping guide. No cost. No commitment.
Disclosed AI built this site. Gather Studio by Matt Headley — built in the open.
Help us keep walking
This community is free to join.
It costs something to build.
Morning Prayer walks, formation gatherings, and the tools that hold it together — none of it runs on air.
Support this work →