Here are the groups you can join:
You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, by James K.A. Smith
Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart, by Christina Cleveland
Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life by Henri Nouwen
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Five Views on the Church and Politics , by various authors
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Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, by Marva Dawn
Race and Place, by David Leong
Silence, by Shusaku Endo
Liturgy of the Ordinary, by Tish Harrison Warren
Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church
Beyond the Modern Age, by Bob Goudzwaard and Craig Bartholomew
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Women of GCF, you’re invited to join us for a lovely brunch and time of learning and reflection lead by Cherie Katt, a local counselor. We’ll meet from 10 until 12 on Saturday, May 27th. We trust that this time will be meaningful for all.
Special note from our speaker:
Through some teaching, some discussion and experiential learning, we will look through the lenses of the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental aspects of self care that are life giving and places that are hindrances to your wellness. Please come prepared with two objects. As you see yourself as student, please bring one object that represents a part of self care/wellness that you want to hold on to, that is life giving to you, that you want to keep. As you see yourself as a student, please also bring one object that represents what hinders you from self care/wellness, an object that represents the story/narrative around self care that you want to let go of, or be free from.
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Whether you’re a new student or a returning student, we invite you to join us for dinner on Thursday, September 29 at Chapel on the Ave. at 6 P.M.
Stick around to hear about GCF’s fall quarter offerings (small groups, discussions, prayer gatherings) and to meet this year’s leadership team, our pastors and all the rest of the students who make up this wonderful student community.
]]>Meeting times are still being worked out, so stay tuned. But do go ahead and plan to join a book group and purchase the book you want to read. Also, we’ve tried to note the level of commitment that is required to be a part of book group. Please pay attention to that. If you’re thinking: Eek, I don’t have time to read a book this summer, then check out what we’re doing Thursday nights or join us for Morning Prayer.
Where did the Bible come from? Who wrote it? Can we really trust what it says? Can we approach it as critical, thinking people or must it be taken in faith? Where’s the balance? If you’ve wondered some of these questions and you’re up for a dense read and a hearty academic discussion about the book we love (the Bible), this is a summer group for you. It will meet every other week on Monday nights. To really participate in this group, you will need to buy and, yes, actually read this scholarly work on the Bible. You’ll be blessed. Join us!
Because we care about reconciliation and, ultimately, unity in God’s body and the world, let’s learn a little more about how we might go about getting ourselves there. And let’s do this together. Reading a book is never enough. And on issues of race and reconciliation, we really feel this tension. YET, we’ve got learning to do. And our hope is that our learning might really spur us toward action. Some of you have been reading this book. Others of you might still want to buy it. We’ll start meeting soon over lunch to discuss and pray and work our way through this journey of reconciliation. Join us!
If you’re interested in reading a book that will challenge your heart as well as your mind, take a look at this Henri Nouwen book. It’s for those of us who want to go a little deeper in our spiritual (and actual) walk with God. We’ll discuss the themes of hospitality and authenticity and others that are raised in this book over three lunch meetings in the second have of the summer. Buy the book, read the book. And we’ll get the lunch dates to you. It’s not a hard read, but it’s worth a slow read…There’s stuff here to really ponder and apply to life. Join us!
The Grad and Faculty Lunch group is still in the process of selecting what book they’re going to read Christ and Culture Revisited by D.A. Carson. In our conversations, we’ll focus on how we, as Christians, relate to the broader culture. This group will meet bi-weekly over lunch on campus, as it does throughout the school year.
AND because not all reading over the summer needs to be academic and non-fiction, we invite everyone to read for the first time or re-read for the sixth time, Madeleine L’Engle’s, A Wrinkle In Time. We’re reading it and you should too. We’ll meet for ONE evening discussion of this book toward the end of the summer. And there’s rumblings on the interwebs that a new movie adaptation is in the works, so when/if this comes to be, we’ll go see it together. FUN.
HAPPY SUMMER READING TO YOU!
]]>We’ll take a break and retreat into the things that matter most.
And we’ll be on an island. And there won’t be interwebs to distract us. And there will be good food to nourish us.
For a portion of our time, we’ll be discussing C.S. Lewis’ Learning in War-Time.
You can download the essay here.
Don’t forget to let us know you’re coming.
]]>This Fall Quarter, we’ll go together as intercessors, addressing God for each other, ourselves, and the world.
If you need some encouragement, some words to pray, some coffee, some time with people you love before you really get into the day, join us
for twenty minutes
on Monday mornings at 9:00
We’ll go before God in the hope and knowledge that God does act in this world.
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It’s the beginning of another school year.
For us at GCF, that means it’s BBQ time. So join us Thursday, October 1 at 6 P.M. at Chapel on the Ave. We’ll eat. Catch up. Make new friends. And we’ll talk about what’s on tap with GCF this quarter. If you’re interested in joining a small group, studying the Bible with other thoughtful people, or thinking well about integrating your faith with what you’re learning, GCF has a group for you.
All are welcome.
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There seem to be a lot of different ways.
We’ve seen the people with signs in red square whose passion for witness seems a little misdirected. We’ve tailored our paths to bypass those fellow students with the oversimplified tracts. We’ve noticed those four students praying rather boldy off in the corner of the library. But does any of this actually communicate the gospel?
And does it communicate in our particular context? The northwest. In Seattle. On campus.
We’ve wondered:
How do we communicate well about the good and beautiful God we love with those around us?
Is there a better way? A best way? Something more genuine? Less weird?
This summer we’re going to talk about it. Missions. Witness. Evangelism. That thing we do or are supposed to do but aren’t doing or just really have no clue how to do or are too terrified to do that Jesus calls us to do…and that our hearts are strangely inclined to do.
Join us for three lunch-time round tables in which we’ll ask more questions, share our thoughts and experiences, and hopefully we’ll come away with a better understanding of mission in the context of the university.
Wednesday, July 1, 12-1 P.M. What are we so afraid of?
Wednesday, July 8, 12-1 P.M. Is conversion all it’s cracked up to be?
Wednesday, July 15, 12-1 P.M. How should we do this thing of missions on campus?
All roundtable discussions will take place at Chapel on the Ave in the downstairs meeting room.
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But we aren’t going to end with lament.
As we heard last night from Gordon Brander, there is a pressing need for more durable shelter than what tarps are currently providing. This is especially true in light of the fact that monsoon season is approaching.
Through Gordon, we have a connection to a small nonprofit organization (Portal) in Nepal that is building sustainable, safe, cost effective shelters. You can read their story, see pictures of the shelters and connect by visiting their website: http://www.portalbikes.org/shelters/.
Through Portal, one shelter costs roughy $100. We set the goal to, as a community, raise the funds for two shelters. We hope to do this By Next Thursday, May 21.
So, check out what Portal is up to. Ask Gordon your questions. Pray for Nepal and the rescue and rebuilding efforts of Portal and other organizations on the ground. Consider what you might give. And then bring your donation on Thursday.
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