One Heart, One Soul
Having spent time in the gospel of Matthew, finding our identity as we learn from Wisdom, we move into this season leading up to Pentecost considering what it looks like to be in community - of one heart, one soul - in rhythm. It’s the time in the Church year when we celebrate the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus. So, walking through the lectionary texts from the book of Acts, we pay attention to the ways in which the Spirit invites us to be known by one another. The spiritual practice of being known frames our sense of community life, in the Spirit. The practice itself is one that postures us to rest and receive, in rhythm with those practices that feel more contributory.
Week by Week:
April 7: Acts 4.32-35 - One Heart, One Soul and the Needy
April 14: Acts 3.12-19 - Being Known through Accountability
April 21: Acts 4.5-12 - By Jesus
April 28 : Acts 8.26-40 - Be Known
May 5: Acts 10.44-48 - Nothing Withheld
May 12: Acts 1.15-17, 21-26 - Everyone’s Heart Known
Pentecost Sunday May 19: Acts 2.1-21 - All Together, Not Drunk
May 26th: Memorial Day weekend Brunch
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June 2: Baptism and Family Covenants Sunday
Discussion Prompts:
-What stands out to you in this week’s text? What’s new, fresh, challenging?
-With whom do you experience a profound sense of mutuality and togetherness?
-What invitation to being known do you sense the Spirit inviting you to in this season?
-Where might you need to be stretched (dare say, vulnerable) as we grow in community - being of one heart, one soul?
-What Wisdom is the Spirit revealing to you? How might that Wisdom bring healing? Create a breath prayer to continue the conversation with God in the day-to-day.
-What is your posture towards rest and receiving as spiritual practices? What are you noticing about yourself as you pay attention to these ways of being in the world?
–In what ways may rest & receiving bring up grief? What is your own relationship to grief? How do you relate to the Divine in grief?
Parent Cue:
Table Topics (Family version)
or
Mindfulness Cards for the Family
Resources:
Table Topics
Books & Articles:
How Ableism Fuels Racism: Dismantling the Hierarchy of Bodies in the Church - Lamar Hardwick
Black Liturgies - Cole Arthur Riley
The One Inside - Tammy Sollenberger
To Be Told: God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future - Dan Allender
Legacy: Trauma, Story, and Indigenous Healing - Suzanne Methot
The Path Between Us - Suzanne Stabile
Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul - Dorcus Cheng - Tozun
Buried Seeds - Alexia Salvatierra and Brandon Wrencher
Podcasts & MUSIC:
The One Inside
Between Us
We Can Do Hard Things
If You’ve Got a Problem and Somebody Like Me (songs) by Joy Oladokun
Visual Arts:
Daughter/Mother/Ancestor: Threads of Connections (through June 30)
https://discovernewfields.org/exhibitions/daughter-mother-ancestor-threads-connection
People’s Choice (through August 24)
https://discovernewfields.org/exhibitions/peoples-choice
Image credit: emmanuel ikwuegbu