Join us Thursdays at 7:00pm
June 17 – August 5
Last fall, a group of us gathered to discuss Scott Gunn’s latest book, The Way of Love: A Practical Guide to Following Jesus. We are running the book group again, to coincide with Lisa’s summer sermon series on the Way of Love. We will be meeting Thursday from 7:00-8:30 pm, June 17 – August 5 on Zoom. Each Sunday, Lisa will preach on one of the facets of the Way of Love, and we will discuss the corresponding chapter the following Thursday.
All are welcome to participate, even if you participated last fall. Register below to join us!
The Way of Love is the Episcopal Church’s
guide for living a more committed life of following Jesus. It’s simple – turn, learn, pray, bless, go, rest – but it can be hard to figure out what that might look like in our lives. This fall, we will gather online for a small book group to discuss The Way of Love: A Practical Guide to Following Jesus by Scott Gunn. In small group, we will explore the Way of Love as we get to know one another better.
Need a book?
The church office has copies of the book, so please email Lynzi before you purchase a copy. If you plan to buy a copy of the book online, click the image below for a direct link to Amazon!
No Bible? No Problem! Online Scripture Resources
Oremus Bible Browser (New Revised Standard Version): https://bible.oremus.org/
Bible Gateway (lots of versions, including the Message): https://www.biblegateway.com/
PS – If you need a physical Bible, let Jolene know. She’ll arrange to get one for you!
Book of Common Prayer (BCP)
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include a link to the BCP. While we didn’t use the physical books during pre-COVID-19 worship, we use the words, forms, and instructions from it. It is a beautiful gift that the Episcopal Church offers to us not only for worship, but also for our personal study and prayer.
The Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer: https://www.bcponline.org/
PS – If you need a physical copy of the Book of Common Prayer, let Jolene know. She’ll arrange to get one to you.
We will adopt the following small group norms, which are based around the respectful communications guidelines from the Kaleidoscope Institute:
R – take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others.
E – use EMPATHETIC listening.
S – be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles.
P – PONDER what you hear and feel before you speak.
E – EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions.
C – keep CONFIDENTIALITY.
T – TRUST ambiguity because we are not here to debate who is right or wrong.
General Way of Love Resources
-Presiding Bishop Curry’s invitation to the Way of Love: https://youtu.be/XzIx0nM5OEk
-Presiding Bishop Curry’s Way of Love podcast: https://wayoflove.episcopalchurch.org/ (season 1 focuses on the Way of Love; other seasons focus on the Way of Love Beyond the Walls of the Church and interviews with important)
-Traveling the Way of Love Video Series (to see the full list of videos, click on Catch Up): https://episcopalchurch.org/twol/special-episode-go
-Way of Love blog: https://episcopalchurch.org/blog-category/Way%20of%20Love/Evangelism
-General Way of Love Resources: https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love
Resources for the Components of the Way of Love
TURN – Pause, listen, and choose to follow Jesus. https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/practice/turn
LEARN – Reflect on Scripture each day, especially on Jesus’ life and teachings. https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/practice/learn
WORSHIP – Gather in community weekly to thank, praise, and dwell with God. https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/practice/worship
BLESS – Share faith and unselfishly give and serve. https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/practice/bless
GO – Cross boundaries, listen deeply and live like Jesus. https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/practice/go
REST – Receive the gift of God’s grace, peace, and restoration. https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/practice/rest
Creating a Rule of Life
-Rules of life resource list: https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/about-rules-of-life
-The Society of St. John the Evangelist, one of the monastic orders of the Episcopal Church, provides excellent resources on developing rules of life
-Living Intentionally: Creating a Personal Rule of Life workbook: https://episcopalchurch.org/files/living-intentionally.pdf
-As far as monastic rules go, theirs has a lot of relevance for lay folks like us (read the section on “The Rule as a Guide to Personal Reflection”): https://www.ssje.org/worship/rule-of-life-resources/
