Words of Welcome
Prayer
Dear God, we thank you for this meal and the joy of sharing it with friends. We ask that you bless this food to nourish our bodies and conversations to uplift our spirits. May our time together be filled with laughter, love, and meaningful connection. We are grateful for your presence in our lives and for the gift of community. Amen.
GRAB FOOD AND START TO EAT
If there is someone you don’t recognize at your table Introduce yourself:
Name and Pronouns
What do you do full time? Work, school, etc. and what do you do/study?
If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?
Into The Gray: Substack
Rev. Ben Cremer
Growing up, I always heard my pastors say,
“liberalism is a slippery slope into relativism.”
Never once did they say, “conservatism is a slippery slope into authoritarianism.”
Perhaps this is why some Christians confuse becoming more and more conservative as moving closer and closer to God.
Growing up, my church told me, "the older you get, the more conservative you become."
I'm finding that the older I get, the more I lament that my church didn’t tell me, “the older you get, our hope is that you become more like Jesus.”
I’m finding that the older I get and the more I learn, the more I realize how little I actually understand and how humility is so much more important than certainty and control.
Im finding that the older I get, the more I realize how messy life is and how harmful it can be to assume to understand the lived experiences of others who are so different from me.
I’m finding that the older I get, the more I value the fruits of the spirit and want them to become more evident in my life and in the world around me.
I’m finding that the older I get, the more I wish the reputation of Christianity in our culture was more known for its love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control than it was by anything else.
I’m finding that the older I get, the more I just want our world to become more tolerant, just, charitable, kind, peaceable, welcoming, and ensure that everyone has what they need to survive and thrive.
I’m finding that the older I get, the more I want love to be our goal and reputation in the world.
Loving God’s law is not fulfillment. Love itself is the fulfillment of God’s law.
“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” -Romans 13:10
Questions:
What are some of the things you heard from religious leaders growing up that stood out to you which you have found to be true or false in your life today?
Liberals as well as conservatives wrestle with fear crowding out love. That's simply human nature. Speaking of people as liberals or conservatives instead of simply seeing that they are people trying to make sense of, and navigate life makes it easier to fear those we label as “the other”. What are some things we could do to help EVERYONE feel safe connecting with love across our differences?
In every political election there is someone who wins and someone who does not. Jesus calls us to a life of Grace and Love. What are some ways you could show grace and love to those who are angry, hurt and afraid in the wake of the recent election results?
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV)
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