Does Narrate Offer Small Groups?
Hi Narrate,
Is the world enchanted?
If so, what are the opportunities? What are the responsibilities?
If not, why does so much art speak as though it is? What does it mean that our best and brightest physicists insist there’s more to the cosmos than what our senses can access?
For four Sundays at Narrate we’re going to utilize C. S. Lewis’ classic book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as well as a lesser known book titled A Secular Age, along with the Scriptures, to engage the extent to which the world is, or is not, enchanted, and why it matters. We’d love for you to join us.
Additionally...
Does Narrate offer small groups?
The short answer is, “Yes!” The longer answer is, probably not the way you’ve come to expect. From day one we’ve said Narrate strives to exist in such a way that should we cease to exist, the most ardent critic of Christianity would be bummed. This means we’ve always invited Christians to live for the sake of others. In our recipe we have a statement which reads,
Connect via serving: Sunday teams and Scattering Opps. (“If we start with relationships we will never get to [serving]; if we start with [serving] we will get to relationships.”)
We value community. We’re well aware that even Jesus’ prayer starts with “Our Father”. Faith is a team sport, we firmly believe that. As a staff we take seriously our role in helping Narrate owners network and connect. But we don’t resonate with a culture that says “give us your name and we’ll give you 6 best friends in 6 weeks or your money back.” We think forming relationships takes a lot of time, a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of mutuality. This is why we value serving people together because it affords everyone the opportunity to meet people and network without the pressure of being lifelong best friends. Chemistry is real. Affinity is important. And faith is in fact a team sport. Making matters even more complicated is that not everyone who attends a Sunday gathering is in a place where they’re looking for community, or looking for more community. We also value Narrate being a safe place to hide for as long as that’s your need. Therefore, our way forward is to offer invitations and to create experiences that allow for networking. From there we like to encourage one another to do the hard work of forming relationships by extending and reciprocating invitations.
And yet, at least a couple times a year we offer “book groups”. Book groups allow strangers and friends alike to make a 4ish week commitment to meet together and discuss sermons, books and ideas in general. They’re about exploring the with-God life, while also meeting and interacting with others. They’re arranged to have a clear beginning and clear ending, which leaves open countless possibilities beyond the curated time together.
We’ve also found that the January and February period is an ideal time for these groups because the days are short, our recreational pursuits are quieter, and thus we have more bandwidth for nerdy gatherings over books. For the upcoming The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe series we’re offering at least three book groups.
Option 1: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe book group hosted by Shannin Preshinger at Ten Mile Creek Brewery from 5 to 6pm on Tuesdays. (January 14, 21, 28, and February 4th).
Option 2: How (Not) to be Secular book group hosted by Leslie and Jonathan Aldrich at their house on Wednesdays from 6 to 7pm (pizza provided).
Option 3: How (Not) to be Secular hosted by Hannah Drga at Headwaters Crafthouse on Fridays from 4 to 5pm. (January 17, 24, 31, and February 7th).
You can sign up by emailing hannah@narratechurch.org or on Sundays at the scattering table.
Holler if we can do more!
Adam