FAQs
Q: What are your Sunday gathering times?
A: Our Sunday chapel gathering is at 9:30 am and our sanctuary gathering is at 11:00 am. Our 11:00 gathering is live streamed on YouTube. You can access it here.
Q: What is available for children and youth on Sundays?
A: Childcare and children’s programming are available on the 2nd floor. The nursery is located in room 206 and is open beginning at 9:15 on Sundays. Programming for 3-year-olds through 6th graders, also on the 2nd floor, begins at 10:55 am. Fountain Club, for 7th-12th graders, meets from 12:30 to 2:00 in the Fountain Club Room on the 2nd floor. Please reach out to jpuscas@fountainstreet.org with any questions.
Q: Where can I park?
A: Parking meters around the church are enforced Monday through Friday. If you have business at the church during the week, you may request access to the small parking lot across from our main entrance at 24 Fountain St NE. On Sunday mornings, the GRCC parking ramp on Fountain Street and Ransom Avenue is free for use, and our small lot is available for elderly and disabled guests. Please do not park in the bus stop area or loading area in front of the building, and do not stop your vehicle on the crosswalk.
Q: Is your building accessible?
A: We have a ramp at our entrance on Fountain Street, directly across from the parking lot. This, combined with a lift and elevator inside make most areas of the building accessible to all, with the exception of the balcony in the sanctuary. We offer accessible restrooms on all floors and gender inclusive restrooms on the main floor and second floor.
Q: How do I become a member?
A: Please contact our office at 616-459-8386 or office@fountainstreet.org. Official membership requires your signature in our official membership book and an annual monetary contribution of any amount.
Q: Why do we hear people's pronouns all the time?
A: FSC affirms all gender expressions. Our work involves "bringing everyone to the table" - so we normalize the expression of individual pronouns (he, him, she, her, they, them, and others) by often including them when we introduce ourselves. Here's a great explanation of why pronouns are important.
Q: What denomination is the church?
A: Though it was called Fountain Street Baptist Church through the early 1960s, the church today is an independent non-profit organization, unaffiliated with any denomination. Many of our ministers have come from the Unitarian Universalist tradition. Members and congregants represent a wide variety of faiths.
Q: What are the round things under the seats?
A: Those are air vents. They allowed air heated by steam pipes under the Sanctuary to rise and warm the room. The building now has a modern heating system, but those vents remain. Technicians still use the crawlspace to perform maintenance or install equipment, and sometimes they find old concert tickets or coins.
Q: Where and when can I drop off a delivery?
A: The office is open for deliveries Monday through Thursday, from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Please note that Fountain Street is a one-way street heading east from Division Avenue. The church is the second building on the right side. A loading zone is located just past the bus top and crosswalk. Enter through the doors under the "24" near the ramp.
Q: What is the church's current Covid prevention policy?
A: Masks are optional at Fountain Street Church but are available if you would like to wear one.