A special water play edition of Eat, Play, Love is happening Sunday, August 11th! This EPL will take place AFTER church because the kiddos will get wet! Have them wear water clothes/swimsuits. There will be a light lunch as well 

On July 28th at 5pm, we will meet up for a 5pm, Brene’ Brown program and discussion. Pizza and appetizers before the Youtube presentation and discussion after. Will need volunteers for appetizers and clean up! Contact Anissa or Galen if you can help!

Beginning Sunday, July 21st, the New Sermon Series will be “Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others” based on the book by Barbara Brown Taylor.

Over the summer, in addition to our books for Spiritual Formation we will have a few extra reading opportunities! Watch for dates and time to discuss these upcoming books.  Read one or read them all! We have several copies of Over the Rainbow in the gallery and office. There will be copies of Parenting Forward, The Road Back to You, and The Path Between Us available in the office to borrow!

Over the Rainbow by Linda Leicht
Building a program like Rainbow Network takes time as workable solutions are found and needs are resolved. As Nicaragua was struggling to find its own solutions, Rainbow Network was responding to immediate and longterm needs in its communities. Rainbow Network recognizes that working one’s way out of poverty can be an impossibility when hunger, illness, illiteracy, fear and hopelessness greet Nicaraguan families every day. Giving those families the tools they need to change their lives has not only impacted the families in the programs, but it has changed the lives around them as they spread their knowledge and their success. Americans like to think that true success is pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. Rainbow Network is simply providing the bootstraps.

Parenting Forward: How to Raise Children with Justice, Mercy, and Kindness by Cindy  Wanday Brandt
How do we build a better world? One key way, says Cindy Wang Brandt, is by learning to raise our children with justice, mercy, and kindness. In Parenting Forward Brandt equips Christian parents to model a way of following Jesus that has an outward focus, putting priority on loving others, avoiding judgment, and helping those in need. She shows how parents must work on dismantling their own racial, cultural, gender, economic, and religious biases in order to avoid passing them on to their children. “By becoming aware of the complex ways we participate in systems of inequal¬ity or hierarchy,” she says, “we begin to resist systemic injustice ourselves, empower our children, and change our communities.”

The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stable and Ian Cron
What you don’t know about yourself can hurt you and your relationships―and maybe even how you make your way in the world. It can also keep you in the shallows with God. Do you want help figuring out who you are and why you’re stuck in the same ruts? The Enneagram is an ancient personality type system with an uncanny accuracy in describing how human beings are wired, both positively and negatively. In The Road Back to You Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile forge a unique approach―a practical, comprehensive way of accessing Enneagram wisdom and exploring its connections with Christian spirituality for a deeper knowledge of God and of ourselves. Funny and filled with stories, this book allows you to understand more about each of the Enneagram types, keeping you turning the pages long after you have read the chapter about yourself. Beginning with changes you can start making today, the wisdom of the Enneagram can help you get on the road that will take you further along into who you really are―leading you into places of spiritual discovery you would never have found on your own, and paving the way to the wiser, more compassionate person you want to become.

The Path Between Us by Suzanne Stable
Most of us have no idea how others see or process their experiences. And that can make relationships hard, whether with intimate partners, with friends, or in our professional lives. Understanding the motivations and dynamics of these different personality types can be the key that unlocks sometimes mystifying behavior in others―and in ourselves. This book from Suzanne Stabile on the nine Enneagram types and how they behave and experience relationships will guide readers into deeper insights about themselves, their types, and others’ personalities so that they can have healthier, more life-giving relationships.

Remember the olden days when folks didn’t work on Sunday mornings? In our modern times many people do work on Sundays! National Avenue Christian Church is now offering a Sunday evening worship service for those folks. Worship will  include communion and is every week at 5:00pm. This will be a brief  worship opportunity led by Mary Sandwell.

Join is for a “Mighty Wind” themed Eat, Play, Love on Sunday, June 9th! Don’t forget, before Eat, Play, Love there is a breakfast for all in The Gallery at 8:30, so come and enjoy some yummy food!

Eat, Play, Love will be Sunday, May 12th!!! Everyone is welcome to a delicious breakfast served in the Gallery at 8:30 am! At 9, families with kiddos can stay in the Gallery for fun spiritual formation and play. Not a family with kiddo’s? That’s OK! Stick around for one of our other spiritual formation groups that meet also meet at 9. We look forward to seeing you!