New Book Study Group w/ Erica Parsons

CRINGE. You know the feeling. It comes out of nowhere when you hear a phrase or a song that is familiar and not in a pleasant way. The cringe comes first followed by a wave of memories—some good, a lot bad—and all the feelings and thoughts start swirling around in your mind and body. You're suddenly transported back to your childhood church experiences and the panic sets in—how do I get out? And then you take a deep breath, open your eyes and see that you are safe, you are welcome, you are seen, you are loved. You are an adult now and you've left your childhood church experiences behind you.

But every now and again those old fears come up to the surface and another layer of faith deconstruction happens. Yet something still feels like it's missing. Like you've opened an old wound that just won't heal. You've tried to fill the space with all kinds of things over the years, but your soul is longing for something... something familiar and yet new. Is it even possible, you wonder, to experience a relationship with the divine? To know the spiritual parts of ourselves? To find rest for our souls? If you've been wandering in the wilderness of deconstruction for a while, you may have felt alone, in the dark, aimless. You've heard reconstruction is possible but you have no idea where to start... or even if you want to.

Dear one, you are not alone.

There are others, here in this community, who are on this path with you. They may be sitting right next to you on that pew. Or they are listening to the sermon online because, like you, some days they just can't muster the courage to walk through the door. And we are not alone—there are those who have walked this path before us, and there will be those who walk after us. Generations of people searching, wondering, wandering, seeking, hoping, stumbling, serving. Yes, that's me. You've read this far, so maybe it's you too?

Once a month for an hour, let us gather and share what we know, what we are questioning, our resources and knowledge, our griefs and our joys, our hopes and our worries. We have a book or two that we'll read along the way, to guide our paths. Though deconstruction of your faith may have happened alone, reconstruction can happen together. Please consider joining me on the 3rd Sunday of the month (starting May 18th) from 9-10am in Room 207. If you would like to purchase the books we'll be reading together (starting with Searching For Sunday by Rachel Held Evans) please inquire with the church office by April 23rd. I'm so looking forward to sitting with you, hearing your stories, and reading together!