Our Mission

We are a church for all people. We share in the worship of God, in the Christian tradition, making God’s grace and love known as we work towards peace and justice.

It all started when…

In 1993, with no safe place for LGBTQ+ Christians to worship, a few friends began gathering above a garage. By 1998 this group had grown to 35 people and they began renting a church building in Fort Worth, thus Celebration Community Church was born.

Reverend Carol A. West became the church’s first full-time Senior Pastor in 1998, and in 2001 this brave group stepped out in faith and bought the church building they had been renting. The congregation continued to grow with individuals from 30+ different religious backgrounds, as well as their families, friends and allies. Celebration had truly become “A Church for All People”.

After 20 years of leadership and service to Celebration Community Church and the Fort Worth community, Reverend Carol A. West retired in 2018 to spend more time with her wife, Angela King, with friends, and going fishing.

Reverend Dr. Jorene Taylor Swift was called as Senior Pastor in early 2019. Reverend Swift began building on Celebration’s existing visibility in the Fort Worth area as Celebration hosted significant community events including a Trans Day of Visibility Educational Panel and a World AIDS Day Remembrance Service.

Celebration is an inclusive and affirming center of worship and a vibrant part of the Fort Worth community.

Jorene Taylor Swift, D.Min.

I grew up in a military family and lived in a variety of places. I was born in Fukuoka, Japan and returned to the states at 6 months of age and lived there again from 5-7 years of age.

Florida is my home state. I enjoy reading for pleasure, travel, history and spending time with family. I am particularly fond of family beach vacations, probably caused by that white Gulf Coast beach sand in my shoes.

I have eclectic taste in music and art.

Listening to people tell their stories fascinates me.

I am a calligrapher.

I am married to Terry Swift who is a native of Virginia. We have two adult children: Sara and Stuart and six grandchildren.

One interesting thing I have done: For one year Terry was on sabbatical and we lived in Washington D.C. For that year I worked at the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty (this group focuses on issues related to separation of church and state) and the office is on Capitol Hill, across the street from the Supreme Court. While working there that year I met Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun and was in a briefing at the White House in the Roosevelt Room with President George H.W. Bush.

I have a heart for creating a space for ministry and worship that is authentic and inclusive, helping others discern their call to walk in the way of Jesus.

And yes, Jorene Taylor Swift is my “real” name.