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Thursday Nights in Summertime

quad at university of washington
                                                                                   Drawing by Natalie Weirsma, Friend of GCF

What are you called to? Why?

Do you love what you study? Why?

Where do you see God in what you research, write, teach? Why?

These and more are are the questions we’ll be asking and seeking to answer this summer.

Some of the questions are related to this thing of vocation or “calling.” This is the idea we have that we’re actually made, gifted, equipped for and even invited into a particular career by God. How do we discern this?And what’s the theological and biblical basis behind it all?

Some of the questions are deeply personal. When we ask: where do you see God in what you research, the emphasis is on the you. Where do you see God in your research? Have you even thought about this question?

We’ll meet every other Thursday night. All of our gatherings will start with food. Some of our gatherings will include teaching on vocation. Others will include sharing by you. All will be meaningful.

Join us.

Thursday nights in the summer begin with a kickoff BBQ at Geoff and Ashley’s at 6 P.M. on July 23rd.

 

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Church…What is it and why does it matter?

We, in GCF, spend a good deal of time thinking about how to live the Christian life.

We care a lot about our individual spirituality. We wonder together about how we, personally and in light of our faith, should respond to the many injustices in the world. Recently, we talked about how we see God acting and showing grace in our individual lives.

And all of this matters, because we’re all individuals. But we’re also a community. And we’re connected to an even wider community. We call this the Church.

But sometimes the Church can feel like an altogether slow-moving, irrelevant, kind of frumpy behemoth.

In theory, Church people are our people, but how connected to them are we really?

This quarter we’re going to take time to think a little more communally. And we’re going think well about the Church proper—all of us and the all the rest—engaging with the world.

Because Christ died for the Church. And we all get the sense that, while we can do some things on our own, the church communal and worldwide is actually a force to be reckoned with.

And so we’re going to ask some questions..

What even is the Church?

How is the Church supposed to engage in the world?

What makes the Church distinct from any other social organization?

Why does the Church look so different in different places when we all hold to the same fundamental beliefs?

What actually unites us?

Thankfully, we won’t be making up answers to these questions. The Bible actually has lots to say to these questions and more. Let’s learn together.

This Spring Quarter. Thursday night. Chapel on the Ave. Be there.church in the world

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Stories to the Cross

During this season of Lent we’ll consider the stories that occur just before Christ’s death on the cross: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, before the court of the Sanhedrin, denied by his disciples, handed over to be crucified. They’re mysterious and dark stories. They’re the stories that leave us with lumps in our throats. They’re the ones we only want to hear once a year. Because we see much of ourselves in them.

Join us for the stories that lead into the story of God’s greatest grace of all.

Dinner is at 6.

Short stories from Scripture and small groups start at 7 in the Sanctuary of Chapel on the Ave.

banner for lent 2016

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It’s Story Time!

Geoff with students winter quarter2

For the first five weeks in winter quarter, we’re sharing our stories of God’s grace.

You might be wondering why we’re doing this.

For one, we believe it’s a great way for us to get to know one another better. Given that we’re only together for a few hours each week, we don’t get the chance to go deep with one another all that often. We see this as an opportunity to grow closer as a community as we hear about how God has worked and continues to work in the lives of fellow students.

Secondly, since we desire to be an intentional Christian community on campus, it’s good for us to be in the habit of talking about where we’ve seen God at work. As Christians, we are supposed to be ready to give an account for the hope we have, and so it’s good to practice telling our stories of hope.

 And finally, we want to hear these stories because grad school (and life in general) is hard. And we need to hear about the ways in which God has been faithful and generous and present in one another’s lives. We need to hear the good news as it has played out in our lives so that we can keep on keeping on.

 So, to sum up:

We’re sharing stories of grace for the next five weeks.

Same time and place as always, Chapel on the Ave from 6 to 8 pm.

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Fall Small Groups

In the Evangelical world, we like the word “blessed.” It means a lot of things to a lot of people. But often it’s used to talk about the good things in our lives. A good job, a great education, a decent house, a hypoallergenic pet, that cashmere sweater you got for your birthday. #Blessed. It’s the humble brag for the pious.

And it’s ridiculous.

Because there’s nothing all that sacrosanct about your cool vacation or brand new gadgety thingamabob or the fact that you can do or have what others can’t or don’t.

And so we wonder: what does it mean to be blessed? To live a blessed life? And who is blessed?

Jesus told us.

He blessed the ones who seemed cursed. The poor. The down-and-out. The least. The ones who cry all the time. And he wasn’t being ironic.

But what did he mean?

And then there’s all of us, studying at an elite university. Many of us being paid to think. And when we go home, it’s to cozy apartments and comfortable people and it’s always enough. Maybe more than enough. Right?

And so when Jesus blesses the down and out, what does that mean for us? Are we blessed too? Are we meant to be part of the blessing for others?

Another academic year is upon us. We can burrow into our academic cocoons. Or we can remember that there’s a great big hurting world out there. And maybe God put us where we are, blessed us, you might say, to do something about it. Maybe our graduate degrees aren’t for ourselves, but for others and to serve and to love and to bless.

And maybe it’s not as cliche as it sounds but instead real and meaningful.

And so join us as we learn about what it looks like to be blessed and to bless. Every Thursday at Chapel on the Ave. Dinner’s at 6. Small groups start at 7.

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Spring Quarter Small Groups: Pray Without Ceasing!

prayers from uw“I’ll pray for you” is often Christian lingo for a lot of things that don’t actually mean “I’ll pray for you.”

We say “I’ll pray for you” and leave out “when I remember, and I probably won’t.” Or “I’ll pray for you” and it’s our cue that we want the conversation to end. Or “I’ll pray for you” because we want it known that we have our stuff together more than everyone else.

But you know how you feel when you meet that person who says “I’ll pray for you” and they really mean it? It’s like you’ve just met a person who actually cares about you, loves you even. You feel a little lighter because someone is willing to carry your cares along with you to the One who cares the most. In a lot of ways, when we meet these people, we feel a little like we’ve met Jesus in the flesh.

And in a way we have.

Throughout the Bible, we are encouraged to pray. We’re told to pray without ceasing, even.

What if we did?

What if we genuinely prayed for each other?

What if we took time to know what to pray for?

What if we learned anew how to pray?

What if we did this for a whole quarter, in small groups, following dinner together?

Maybe we’d all feel a little more loved and a little more like Jesus is with us because we’d be like Jesus to each other. So this quarter let’s pray.

Join us. Every Thursday. Dinner is at 6. Small groups start at 7. At the Chapel on the AVE. 

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Fall 2014 Small Groups

book_of_daniel_study-fall

Join us this Fall as we learn about exile and God’s faithfulness from the life (and book) of Daniel. GCF’s Fall Bible studies will take a look at this sometimes bizarre, prophetic book and see what it has to say to us today.

Email us to get involved!