I love all the ideas suggested. Particularly interested in thoughts around aging well and navigating faith changes. One thing I have really valued about your voice Lore is the way you can consider different views graciously. I would love to hear how you have developed your own voice, opinions, stance while still holding that gracious position. I seesaw between being compliant or angry!
I love that you are doing this and I love all the ideas presented. I would like to talk about finding/having adult friends/friendships. Another topic is boundaries. Do I need to download a certain app to be able to join in this conversation? Sorry I’m older and not exposed to some of these things but I am willing to learn!
You shouldn't need to download any additional apps. When you get the email with the link that I'll send out before, you should just be able to click on it and get in. I hope!
Well this is exciting, and I throw in my vote in for all the above! But for those of us who work during the day, will these be recorded for replay? Or is it live attendance or nothing? 😬
That's a good question, Amber. I wasn't planning on recording, that's part of why I planned it for noontime (at least in eastern time zone). But I wonder if an evening call would be easier for more folks. I'm not opposed to it, if there was a higher preference.
Might be a good question for the first zoom call discussion 😂 But ultimately, you gotta do what works for you, and I get that. If it doesn’t work out for me to attend, then it must not be what is good and right for me to be part of at this moment in time, and that’s okay. It’s a great idea thought, and regardless if my ability to attend, I hope you find it to be productive AND refreshing AND energizing on some level!
At the moment, I am most impacted by the posting of the picture of the Durer watercolor of the amputated wing of the European or Blue Roller. There is such beauty in the painting, and yet the fact it is an amputated wing from a dead bird is sobering. Amputated parts, dead birds and dead bodies are eventually buried. Maggots and worms and bacteria will come to feed and decompose. The image has haunted me throughout this day. Such life and beauty exist at this intersection between life and death. I am a retired inpatient hospice nurse, so I may perhaps contemplate this reality more easily. In a way, you might say that the bird was deconstructed for an artist's study. In a cursory search of the internet, it seemed that art historians believe the work was not just a study for later work, but a work for a larger audience. I once heard a minister say that Faith is the hand that holds one, while looking into the abyss of self. God has said that He makes all things new. I would hope, and my prayer is that all of those going through a deconstruction process could be held by the Hand of Faith to examine themselves and be made new in the process. Recreation, reconstruction and transformation await.
All of the above plus - We know art and literature and poetry is important to you, let’s talk about that. How do you/we cultivate beauty in our life and faith when so much feels like ashes right now?
Midlife (over the hill?) faith feels very different to faith in our teens or twenties. How do we persevere when there is vacuuming to be done? Where do we find the joy and excitement?
Adult friendships, yes! Especially if you don’t have a spouse or partner or children. How do you and Nate offer hospitality?
Also happy to talk about Harper and swap recipes for pies. :)
Thank you for this! You seem to have such a tender and grace-filled heart. I would love to talk about how to have these thins for others, but also for ourselves. Too often I have little or no grace for myself. Thank you again!
Debated on if I really actually want to talk about this but it is the first (although far from only) reason I followed you. So perhaps a conversation on the long and winding grief of infertility. And more on how to find the gift in it (like your piece on a gift of a childless Christmas) without “Jesus juking” the pain or inversely clinging to the pain and spiting the gift.
I’d love to talk about anxiety, marriage, how to navigate these anxious times with curiosity rather than reactive anxiety. And how shame plays into all this.
I’m so excited for this! Love some of the ideas already shared.
I’d love a conversation on inviting others into the questions and/or creating (or finding) spaces for mystery and wonder. For so many, church hasn’t been that space - so what does/can that look like?
Also, walking with others through deconstruction/renovation. I myself haven’t really gone through that process as Ive always been a question asker (So maybe my entire faith life has been a constant cycle of de- and re- construction!). Anyway, would love to talk about how to be a good friend and there for people who are going through that process in a helpful/healthy way.
I would love to chat about your faith changes and leaving denominations and churches to find new ones that fit better now. I don't know many people in person who are shifting and finding they are no longer at home in conservative spaces, and I'd love some company for the journey and I'm hungry for the wisdom of others along the same path.
I would also love to talk about this. We recently left our church, and a denomination that I was raised to believe was the ONLY correct belief system. My dad was very adamant about that. I know that I am not in agreement with some of the things that church teaches. We have visited a different church/denomination and while I feel that it is a good fit for our family, there is a little voice in the back of my head saying, "But you can't trust your feelings. You can't trust your heart." How do I navigate finding a new church home and fellowship when I have been shackled with this idea that there is only one "correct" type of church? I feel like if we choose the wrong place, then we are making a devastating spiritual mistake. Which is ironic, because I am starting to believe that I was already making a big mistake being in the type of church that I was in for many years, even though I was told they were "right."
What’s the time zone that these chats will be in? It might be a watching later conversation if it’s 5am!
Hi Jemima. Time zone is Eastern Time (US and Canada). It will be 4am for me, so I’ll probably watch later too.
I love all the ideas suggested. Particularly interested in thoughts around aging well and navigating faith changes. One thing I have really valued about your voice Lore is the way you can consider different views graciously. I would love to hear how you have developed your own voice, opinions, stance while still holding that gracious position. I seesaw between being compliant or angry!
I love that you are doing this and I love all the ideas presented. I would like to talk about finding/having adult friends/friendships. Another topic is boundaries. Do I need to download a certain app to be able to join in this conversation? Sorry I’m older and not exposed to some of these things but I am willing to learn!
You shouldn't need to download any additional apps. When you get the email with the link that I'll send out before, you should just be able to click on it and get in. I hope!
Exciting! I would love to talk about desires. Naming them, voicing them to God, and living into them.
Well this is exciting, and I throw in my vote in for all the above! But for those of us who work during the day, will these be recorded for replay? Or is it live attendance or nothing? 😬
That's a good question, Amber. I wasn't planning on recording, that's part of why I planned it for noontime (at least in eastern time zone). But I wonder if an evening call would be easier for more folks. I'm not opposed to it, if there was a higher preference.
Might be a good question for the first zoom call discussion 😂 But ultimately, you gotta do what works for you, and I get that. If it doesn’t work out for me to attend, then it must not be what is good and right for me to be part of at this moment in time, and that’s okay. It’s a great idea thought, and regardless if my ability to attend, I hope you find it to be productive AND refreshing AND energizing on some level!
At the moment, I am most impacted by the posting of the picture of the Durer watercolor of the amputated wing of the European or Blue Roller. There is such beauty in the painting, and yet the fact it is an amputated wing from a dead bird is sobering. Amputated parts, dead birds and dead bodies are eventually buried. Maggots and worms and bacteria will come to feed and decompose. The image has haunted me throughout this day. Such life and beauty exist at this intersection between life and death. I am a retired inpatient hospice nurse, so I may perhaps contemplate this reality more easily. In a way, you might say that the bird was deconstructed for an artist's study. In a cursory search of the internet, it seemed that art historians believe the work was not just a study for later work, but a work for a larger audience. I once heard a minister say that Faith is the hand that holds one, while looking into the abyss of self. God has said that He makes all things new. I would hope, and my prayer is that all of those going through a deconstruction process could be held by the Hand of Faith to examine themselves and be made new in the process. Recreation, reconstruction and transformation await.
All of the above plus - We know art and literature and poetry is important to you, let’s talk about that. How do you/we cultivate beauty in our life and faith when so much feels like ashes right now?
Midlife (over the hill?) faith feels very different to faith in our teens or twenties. How do we persevere when there is vacuuming to be done? Where do we find the joy and excitement?
Adult friendships, yes! Especially if you don’t have a spouse or partner or children. How do you and Nate offer hospitality?
Also happy to talk about Harper and swap recipes for pies. :)
YES to art and beauty conversations!!!
also, a second vote for midlife discussions, too!
Thank you for this! You seem to have such a tender and grace-filled heart. I would love to talk about how to have these thins for others, but also for ourselves. Too often I have little or no grace for myself. Thank you again!
Debated on if I really actually want to talk about this but it is the first (although far from only) reason I followed you. So perhaps a conversation on the long and winding grief of infertility. And more on how to find the gift in it (like your piece on a gift of a childless Christmas) without “Jesus juking” the pain or inversely clinging to the pain and spiting the gift.
I’d love to talk about anxiety, marriage, how to navigate these anxious times with curiosity rather than reactive anxiety. And how shame plays into all this.
I’m so excited for this! Love some of the ideas already shared.
I’d love a conversation on inviting others into the questions and/or creating (or finding) spaces for mystery and wonder. For so many, church hasn’t been that space - so what does/can that look like?
Also, walking with others through deconstruction/renovation. I myself haven’t really gone through that process as Ive always been a question asker (So maybe my entire faith life has been a constant cycle of de- and re- construction!). Anyway, would love to talk about how to be a good friend and there for people who are going through that process in a helpful/healthy way.
Other topic ideas:
Adult friendships
Anxiety
Well this is exciting!
I would love to chat about your faith changes and leaving denominations and churches to find new ones that fit better now. I don't know many people in person who are shifting and finding they are no longer at home in conservative spaces, and I'd love some company for the journey and I'm hungry for the wisdom of others along the same path.
I would also love to talk about this. We recently left our church, and a denomination that I was raised to believe was the ONLY correct belief system. My dad was very adamant about that. I know that I am not in agreement with some of the things that church teaches. We have visited a different church/denomination and while I feel that it is a good fit for our family, there is a little voice in the back of my head saying, "But you can't trust your feelings. You can't trust your heart." How do I navigate finding a new church home and fellowship when I have been shackled with this idea that there is only one "correct" type of church? I feel like if we choose the wrong place, then we are making a devastating spiritual mistake. Which is ironic, because I am starting to believe that I was already making a big mistake being in the type of church that I was in for many years, even though I was told they were "right."
I’d love to talk about finding a new church/denom home
I’d love a chat to hear more about your Israel trip!
Excited!
Thank you for this. I look forward to it. I would be interested in a conversation related to your piece “Loved, Assumed, Hated.”