Someone New, Something New ✨

Hello, Friends!

Praying you and those you love are well.

September seems to be flying by. We are more than halfway through the month and on the cusp of a new season. (I, for one, am excited that fall is almost here!) Speaking of new things, the focus of this communication will be sharing with you someone new and something new!

Hope to hear from you and see you soon.

- JB

Someone New: We introduce to some and present to others

Luca Angelo Whitcher White!

Keith and Jenny welcomed Luca at the beginning of July.

Jenny shares that they are grateful to family, friends, neighbors, and their community for their support after a rough first couple of weeks and an emergency cesarean. They are all healthy, cuddly, tired, and joy-filled!

Join us in continuing to pray for and send love/positive energy/well wishes to Luca, Jenny, Keith!

Something New: This month we will only host one Gathering! We will combine our focus on sharing a communion meal and ministering to one another through prayer, ritual, and blessing with our focus on relational engagement with scripture. Together we will ritually embody our faith life and community as ministers to and with one another. We also to reimagine and liberate scripture in ways that help us embody our faith so that our diverse selves and contexts become a living part of the radical love and justice of the Gospel. Our time together will include: Gathering Music: Music to gather and center us into our time and purpose together. Opening Ritual: A time for community-building guided reflection and sharing. Divine Reading (Lectio Divina): A Spirit-led, meditative scripture reading using multiple different interpretations and/or Gospel versions of the day’s scripture to deepen our living understanding of the scripture, its interpretations, and meaning for us today. One-to-one Relational Reflection: We’ll use Zoom Breakout rooms to pair off for time to reflect on the day’s scripture together and engage provided reflection questions as a way of integrating the living scripture into our lives, relationships, contexts, and faith community. We will also use this time to pray together using prayer prompts and a blessing that will be provided. We also invite you to share prayers that are on your heart and mind in the moment. Communion: A time to commune over a small meal with one another, with music, and sharing in the Our Creator’s Prayer (Juniper Formation's version). Integrative Reflection: We will gather back as a large group to share reflections from our one-to-ones, which will be facilitated and framed by a brief wrap-up message from the day’s Integrative reflection leader. Sending Music: Music to send us forth and bless us in our ministries of lived faith. If you have any questions or want more information about the Gathering (in general or the combined format this month), please don’t hesitate to reach out!