Going Deeper

a year-long exploration of faith, life, and community

 
 

What’s It All About?

Drawing on wisdom from a wide range of Christian traditions, Going Deeper is about developing a sort of faith that is resilient and strong in complex times. There has never been a more vital time for Christians to reexamine how they read the Bible, what forms their beliefs, and how vital, flourishing Christian community can be formed. Going Deeper will help us do that!

 

The Details

Going Deeper will take place in six sessions spread out over the course of a year. Each session will be anchored by a book on a particular topic, and will include several weeks of large-group discussion, small-group meetings, time for personal reflection, and a final large-group discussion. Large-group discussions will take on general topics of each book, while the small-group meetings will focus on details and more specific themes. Each session will typically last 5-6 weeks, and are scheduled in consideration of major holidays and seasons. While each session is beneficial on its own, participants are encouraged to attend as many sessions as possible. Physical copies of each book or credits for e-readers will be available several weeks before each new session; participants are encouraged to read the entire book before the session begins.

  • Large-Group discussions will be held starting at 12pm on Sundays during each session, and will generally last one hour in Room #6.

  • Small-Group meetings will take place at a time and place convenient to those in the group.

  • Childcare will be available during all large-group discussions.

  • To accommodate those who may have travel plans or medical concerns, each large-group discussion will also be hosted on Zoom. Accommodations for digital attendance at small-group meetings will be made as best as possible.

 

Sample Schedule: Session #1

September 11, 18: Large-group discussions

Week of September 25: Small-group meeting

Week of October 2: personal reflection

October 9: Final large-group discussion

 

Please RSVP to the church office by August 24 for Session #1.

 
 

Session 1

New York Times bestselling author Rob Bell, does for the concept of God what he did for heaven and hell in his book Love Wins: He shows how traditional ideas have grown stale and dysfunctional and how to return vitality and vibrancy to lives of faith today.

September 11- October 9, 2022

Session 2

Peter Enns recounts his transformative spiritual journey in which he discovered a new, more honest way to love and appreciate God's Word. As he explores questions readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider.

October 30- December 4, 2022

Session 3

In this 1939 novel based on the familiar story of the Exodus, Zora Neale Hurston blends the Moses of the Old Testament with the Moses of black folklore and song to create a compelling allegory of power, redemption, and faith. This very human story is told with great humor, passion, and psychological insight.

January 8- February 5, 2023

Session 4

From the New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor’s Learning to Walk in the Dark provides a way to find spirituality in those times when we don’t have all the answers. Often, it is while we are in the dark that we grow the most.

March 5-April 16, 2023

Session 5

Marjorie J. Thompson, a Presbyterian minister, defines spirituality as "the universal capacity to receive, reflect, and respond to the Spirit of God.” Soul Feast teaches about spiritual reading, prayer, common worship, fasting and self-examination, hospitality, and developing a rule for life.

May 7-June 25, 2023

Session 6

The role of personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service is treated in simple, almost biblical, words in Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This text serves as bread to all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.

July 16-August 13, 2023