image credit: Mortiz Knoringer
The Spring 2023 Calendar is here!
Coming up soon, we have some new events, some classic events; all worthwhile events!
Please check out our spring lineup and join us!!
Click HERE to find events. Save the dates in your 2023 calendars!
Some important things to know about TCL's spring dialogue work:
The last few years, during pandemic lockdown and initial emergence from it, we have emphasized nurturing our existing dialogue community. We have tackled nuanced topics, to be sure, with emphasis on lifting up our common spirit most often. It has been a special season for us as dialoguers.
Going into the spring of 2023, we are sensing it is time to seek evolving our experiments in a couple of key ways:
We seek to be more invitational to new dialoguers once again. If you haven't been to dialogue in a while, or you have thought about it but never tried, this spring is a GREAT time to come observe or try participating!! Email carrie@thechurchlab.org for more info.
We seek to stretch ourselves into dialogues of both a common spirit and in exploring loving our neighbor in distinctions. Both are important aspects to building bridges and wholeheartedly loving our neighbors. Especially as our culture loses hope in the possibility of fruitful bridge building in scenarios of difference, we are here to engage the work that can provide that much-needed hope, not to mention a unique form of spiritual growth for all involved.
In order to do these two things, we are
keeping all dialogues open to digital access and in-person access alike, yet with 3 dialogues in the spring asking those who are within driving distance to come on over for an in-person session if at all possible. This will help give us a space to invite newcomers to connect with us IRL, as we find ourselves in a season where few people are looking to join new efforts which call for more Zoom meetings. It also helps us engage more sensitive dialoguers, or more relationally-enriching dialogues, that are trickier when 100% digital. That said, those of us who zoom in from other locales are already doing above-and-beyond work to be fully present, and we are honored for their presence in any and every dialogue.
keeping a couple of session topics open until we get closer to the day, so we can discern as a group if there is a dialogue we have not been able to pursue in recent years that we might collectively be interested in and ready for when that given spring session arrives. This allows us to grow and stretch in the ways our group deems fitting for the moment, rather than creating a pressurized situation to be engaged with a topic that we may not desire or be ready for quite yet. We can feel that out as we move forward together.
What will stay the same? Because of the wonderful people involved, this will continue to be fun. This will continue to be enriching and enlightening. This process will continue to connect us deeply. I am so looking forward to dialogues with you all!
I hope you will check out calendar today, save the dates of dialogues and all other events which pique your interest.!
Here's to learning and growing together as we kick off TCL's 10th year of service in 2023!
With heaps of gratitude,
Rev. Carrie Graham
founding pastor, The Church Lab