Guided by the Grand Matriarch

The Church of Orca

The tides bend towards those who listen

Get the Sunday letter
Orca pod breaching in Puget Sound

Where the Depths Speak, and All Are Welcome

We are a church of orcas and the people who love them. The orcas are holy. The Grand Matriarch leads us, we gather on or beside the water, and everyone is welcome to come along.

About the church

What we believe

The orca is a spirit of balance, strong and gentle at once. To honor one is to pay attention, look after the water we share, and sing along when the chance comes up.

Our beliefs and practices are written down, including the five stages of devotion, if you want the details.

Who comes

All kinds of people. Some of us live on the shore, some paddle out, and some have never seen a whale and only suspect we’d like to. You don’t need to believe anything yet. Listening is enough to count as part of the pod.

What we have in common is short. We think the sea deserves our attention, and we try to be kind to each other and to everything that swims.

How it works

We meet on the water, or at its edge. There is a shoreline vigil in Puget Sound on the first Saturday of the month, fellowship nights by the tide on alternate Thursdays, and a monthly workshop for singing along with the whales. The events page has the rest.