How do we tell the deep stories of what changed us, over time? How can we honor transitions and celebrate growth?
Come share a transformational tale, as a way to meet others, and find a gem of change in your own life.
We will dialogue, write, and create prose poems together. Come with a story in mind that you are willing to share with others.
Transformational stories are how we make meaning, and making it with others is a gift.

Church buildings are the albatrosses around the necks of many congregations of all faiths and denominations; but they don’t have to be. Church buildings can also be used to provide income, and, even more importantly, service to the larger community. Come hear how one congregation is transforming their aging building into a place of ministry and outreach providing a home for other organizations serving the community while offsetting the cost of heat, light and maintenance. And bring your stories of how this is happening in your community so we can broaden our perspectives and share new ways to convert our buildings into mission centers.

You know that involuntary start when a stranger utters your name in the grocery store? It’s a coincidence, but it feels like a connection.
Throughout the Bible, names have significance. They change, by relationship, and by the will of God and people. Some names stick. Some we shake off. Some we choose, and some are chosen for us. (I’ve had a few names, by chance and by choice.) But what is the name by which God knows you?
During this session, storytelling and conversation will lead to a guided meditation on the names by which God knows each of us (and maybe the names by which we know God).

In Wimauma, Florida, generational migrant farm workers are being replaced by H2A workers who are housed in barracks -style buildings secured with a tall, barbed wire fence. The ramifications are deep and wide for the H2A workers treated as prisoners/property, the local displaced workers, the luxury community expanding nearby, and the produce counter at the local supermarket. In this conversation, we will discuss how Wimauma is an example of the way Empire deals shrewdly in order to tie workers to the land (Exodus 1:8-14). How might a faithful witness expand the program in a more life-giving way?

As Christians, we should be leading environmental stewardship and ecological equality because we have been entrusted to care for the land and to love our neighbors. Social and environmental justice are interconnected, we must pursue both to impact either. To love our neighbors means living a just lifestyle that does not oppress or discriminate those we impact, yet many Christian Americans do this daily as we make environmental choices that limit the well-being of others. To be effective stewards and neighbors we must be aware of the impact our decisions have and make changes to our lifestyles that cease unjust and oppressive practices. We must educate ourselves and others and hold one another accountable. This presentation will address creation care through a justice perspective, several pressing ecological issues and their social/environmental consequences, and finish by highlighting key action steps for moving forward.

Abby Norman, an educator and someone who has long advocated for clear and concise communication with children, and Christian Norman a PhD in rhetoric and communication share their path of deconstruction and reconstruction of faith, sexuality, gender, and race while also parenting. As people who were not raised to believe the same things they do now, and often raised to not talk about tricky subjects Abby and Christian have pretty much been making it up as they go along while also parenting some extremely verbal children. They walk through the academic and educational theory that they use to talk to their kids, and also why it is important to tell your kids when you don’t know, or when we are just making your best guess. If you are wondering what the heck to tell your kid about….then this is the place for you. We will figure it out together.

There is much transition going on as it relates to Christianity. The old church model is that folks come to a gathered space to worship. This model is no longer an effective model. I would look at the history of the church which has gone through four stages and is trying to transition to a fifth. Living outside of this fourth model means that we must not move into our world but it is hard changing paradigms and often the church comes up with new ideas but uses this same model. The church must find ways to be present in our world. Jesus last words were one of commissioning the disciples to go into the world and respond to real hunger. This class would involve reflecting on how we can transition from an old ineffective model of church to living outside that box. The church is still very much needed it’s just how we live out that need.

Being present in one’s neighbourhood can seem difficult. How can we be intentional about the practice and posture of love with those around us? How can we best love across differences… especially when our neighbour can seem like our enemy? In this session… we will talk about the the work that needs to take place in our neighbourhoods and how it can improve not just our spaces but also our own lives.

Using the Godly Play method as a foundation, we’ll sing, share stories from Scripture (told BIG with objects), wonder together about what they mean for us, and have a time of free art response. While each session is self-contained, the stories do speak to each other. This year, we are focusing on what binds us as children of God, what we owe one another, and how we might reach across our differences. This is an opportunity for kids to build community with other kids, teens and adults at the Goose while creating and discovering meaning together.