Listening and Sharing

Clip of Toni Morrison at the Connecticut Forum (May 4, 2001), as shared by Black Liturgies (and in this gathering)

Full clip of Toni Morrison on Trauma, Survival, and Finding Meaning

Plowshare Prayer live by Spencer LaJoye with Sammie Herchock and Kyle Joe

The 23rd Psalm (dedicated to my mother) by Bobby McFerrin

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Listening to each other, as well as sharing our own experiences, are vital parts of creating beloved community and healing together.

Join us as we focus on Listening and Sharing, which will include centering, framing, practicing in small groups, and communicating our experiences and learnings.

ELCA Coaching is collaborating with Rev. Brenda Smith (ELCA), Deacon Tammy Devine (ELCA), and Rev. Candy Holmes (MCC) as we discern where Spirit might be collectively leading us as people of faith. We began gathering online with faith leaders in March of 2020 to wrestle together with Being Church in a global pandemic, which transitioned over the summer of 2021 to Courageous Leadership, as COVID revealed our perceptions and misconceptions about most things in life. Jesus is our primary model as we move toward Creating Beloved Community: Healing Together, gathering the first Wednesday of each month (with additional bonus Wednesdays) for the next year as we learn together and experiment in community with a variety of spiritual practices and focus areas, while also creating a template for faith communities to use in their own contexts.

We believe this is in attunement with our call as Christians from:

Scripture and our expanding understanding and expression of love for ALL of our neighbors
MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail and Vision of the Beloved Community
What Is the Beloved Community and Why Is It Important?
The Idea of the Beloved Community: The creative friendship of Martin Luther King Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh
ELCA Teaching, and especially our "connection to all of life"
ELCA Living Our Baptismal Covenant
ELCA Truth and Healing Movement (as facilitated by Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations)
ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations
Dr. Shawn Ginwright's The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves
And so many other diverse voices and sacred ways we engage with each other and with the world.

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To answer some commonly asked questions about these regular gatherings:

"Why are you still meeting?" "Don't become too familiar with loneliness. Community is a risk, but liberation depends on the collective. Who can you trust to hold you?" -- Cole Arthur Riley, author of Black Liturgies

"How can I prepare?" Beloved Community members pay attention and listen actively. We invite you to bring a spirit of curiosity and openness to these gatherings and to all aspects of your life. What are you noticing? Where is Spirit moving? How are you being invited to participate in the work God is already doing, especially outside the walls of the building where the church often gathers?

"What if I'm not a group person?" Beloved Community members take calculated risks. We invite you to take a small step outside your comfort zone and allow yourself to be seen and witnessed. We can almost guarantee that you will be pleasantly surprised by the loving, caring, and nurturing nature of community in this time together.