Leading up to Pentecost - the time in the Church year when we celebrate the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus - we gather to discover and embody the love of Jesus as we grow in attunement (a fancy word referring to prayer) with the Spirit as we walk Creator’s Good Road. As a faith community, we are a collective of people who live in various geographical areas we call parishes. We are the Trinity Collective. In our everyday lives, we serve as “chaplains” offering spiritual care to our neighbors - care that is rooted in, motivated and shaped by our faith. In this season, we learn and listen to the Spirit and our neighbors through extending hospitality and belonging through acts of service and participation.*
*These are our practices at Trinity.
WEEK BY WEEK
April 24: Intro and See No Stranger - John 20:19-31
May 1: On the Move - Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)
May 8: On Call - Acts 9:36-43
May 15: Listening Presence - Acts 11:1-18
May 22: Lifting and Dispersing the Weight - John 5:1-9
May 29th: Memorial Day Weekend Brunch
June 5 (Pentecost): Sacred Spaces - Romans 8:14-17; Acts 2:1-21
June 12 - Baptism Sunday + Brunch
DISCUSSION PROMPTS
-What is your favorite form of connecting with God - putting yourself in an attentive, prayerful position?
-Evaluate your regular practices and the rhythms of your week. Where might you build in margin to allow more attentiveness to your neighbors?
-Find a sacred space this week to be refreshed (this could be with or without companions).
-In what ways have you noticed following Jesus on the Good Road and sharing the good news costing you this week? Discipleship is costly. Allow the Spirit to speak and prompt you to action.
-What practices are helpful for dispersing the weight of suffering you shoulder? Pick one to engage or try this week.
-Spend some time with your neighbors. Where do you notice the Spirit at work? How might you join in?
-What is the Spirit revealing to you in our collective body as the church as you engage in our neighborhoods/parishes? Where might there be healing needed or occuring?
-Read the passage for this week again. What sticks out to you that you’ve not noticed before? Talk about it with someone else.
RESOURCES
See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur
In the Company of the Poor by Gutierrez and Farmer
Incarnate by Michael Frost
Base Communities by Margaret Hebblethwaite
Divergent Church by Shapiro/Faris
*Image credit: Brooke Lark