GROW Groups Registration - Fall 2024

GROW Groups begin after September 7, 2024! | Thanks for considering a GROW group with Neighborhood Church!

The GROW groups listed below are open to everyone! These groups aren’t about having the right answer to questions, or who looks the smartest or most holy. GROW groups are casual, conversational, and while the conversations are meaningful and focused, the emphasis is on building relationships among the group, and learning to practice spiritual disciplines together. Some groups meet weekly for a period of time; some meet once a month - and we also offer experiences that are stand-alone and don’t require any time commitment other than that day.

Once you sign up, your GROW group facilitator will be in contact with you closer to the first group meeting time to share important details that you might need to know about your particular group. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need to switch groups, contact Rev. Andi at andi@neighborhoodchurchatl.com for help!
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Find a GROW group!

The GROW groups listed below are open to everyone!

There are two kinds of GROW:groups for adults at Neighborhood Church. The first, Connect Groups, are a basic frame designed to help you know more people in our community, and to gather once a week for a meal, a conversation, and general fun and support. 

The second kind of GROW: group is focused on a spiritual topic - a book, a spiritual practice, or another aspect of Christian Faith. 

You are welcome to sign up for as many GROW:groups as you like, with the understanding that these groups will meet once a week for a window of time, after which your group will dissolve officially (although some groups continue to meet for more time).

In addition to these groups starting in September, there will be more groups that will begin meeting in October for another window of time, so look for those details in a few weeks! 

GROW: group options
Monthly Groups



Book Group - 3rd Sundays



Join fellow fiction lovers who enjoy exploring timeless human themes in great stories that link back to the most important issues in our individual and collective lives.  You may "drop in" any month when the title has piqued your interest.  Recent books that have sparked great discussion were James McBride's The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead and Luma Mufleh's From Here.



The Book Group meets the third Sunday of most months at 12:30pm at the church. The group suggests and agrees on the books to be discussed.  Fore more information, contact Lynn Peek (lynnpeek217@gmail.com)


The meetings and books currently scheduled are:

August 18  The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende

September 15  The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyun Kim

October 20  How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang

November 17 The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

January 26 Lady Tam's Circle of Women by Lisa See



Sign up for this group to be added to the email list for the group, so you can stay updated on the books and the conversation!
Pop-Up (One Time) Groups


Each of these groups are stand alone, one-time opportunities to explore a particular aspect of faith, and particularly a liberationist, queer-affirming, United Methodist expression of faith. Want to know how we make all that work? Join in the conversation. If a group is listed more than once, each session stands alone, but is repeated multiple times so additional people can attend. Each Pop-Up will be at 12:30pm after worship on a Sunday. For more info, contact Rev. Andi (andi@neighborhoodchurchatl.com)


Method in the Madness (Understanding United Methodist Theology)
- Sept 8, Nov 3
Queering Theology (An Introduction to Queer Christian understandings of God)
- Oct 27
Weekly GROW:groups


These groups are the core of how we grow our faith through conversation and relationships at Neighborhood Church. We encourage everyone at Neighborhood to try a GROW:group at least once, and to try and find a group each season as best fits your life and schedule. The groups below will begin meeting after Sept 7, and will in most cases conclude before Thanksgiving. For more info, contact Rev. Andi (andi@neighborhoodchurchatl.com)


Monday mornings


(Mondays at 10:15 am at Katie Paden's home in Decatur)

 

Things to know about this group: Our meetings will center around small-group conversation, and how weekly time together can guide us to grow deeper in connection and spiritual practices. We'll gather each week over coffee and tea, opening with time to check in with each other about our weeks and lives. To guide our discussion, we'll go through a book together, to engage in learning and reflection and to support each other in applying our insights and practices in our lives and in the world. 

 

Fall 2024 book pick -- Freeing Jesus (HarperCollins, 2021) by Diana Butler Bass. Diana's secular friends often ask her, “How can you still be a Christian?” In the book, she explains that her experience of Jesus has changed over the years, viewing him in different ways at different times. And that, though she is still a Christian, she isn’t the same kind of Christian she used to be, or that people think she is. Freeing Jesus explores the many images of Jesus we encounter and embrace through a lifetime—and how we make theology from the text of our lives in conversation with scripture and tradition. Freeing Jesus invites us to liberate Jesus and free ourselves when it comes to the ever-compelling and yet often-elusive figure at the center of Christian faith.



Monday Evenings
(Mondays at 7pm, at the church in Candler Park)

A conversation time, this season focused on understanding Scripture with a liberationist lens. Whether you have never read the Bible, or you have a Master of Divinity you will find this group engaging, because the facilitation is shared by the group based on our readings. Group also includes group check in time and prayer. 

Tuesday Evenings: Courageous Grief
(Tuesdays at Time TBD, at the church in Candler Park)
Join us for an 8-week small group dedicated to processing grief in a supportive and nurturing environment. This group will guide neighbors through a journey of understanding grief, exploring its various dimensions, and discovering ways to channel and express it creatively. Each week will alternate between exploring the theory behind grief, including its psychological, spiritual, and emotional aspects, and engaging in creative practices designed to help participants process their grief in meaningful ways. Whether you’re dealing with recent loss or lingering sorrow, this group offers a space for healing, connection, and transformation.

Thursday Connect Group
(Thursdays at 7pm, at local restaurants in east intown Atlanta)

This weekly group meets at a rotating location within 15 minutes of the church for dinner, check in, and conversation. There is always room for one more in this group, and the group flexes week to week based on who is available and interested that week - but the conversation is always good, and many good stories get shared! This group does not have a set of readings or topics, and is a great informal way to get to know more Neighborhood Church folks. 

October Mini Grow series 


(Sunday mornings at 9:30am on Oct. 13, Oct 20, Oct 27 located at the church)

Things to know about this group: Implicit Bias: What We Don’t Think We Think is a resource created by the The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) for United Methodist congregations-- like Neighborhood!-- who have committed to the work of having conversations that matter (Vital Conversations), honoring cultural differences (Intercultural Competency), and dismantling policies and practices that hinder an all-inclusive justice (Institutional Equity). 

 

During this "mini Grow Group", we will grow together in bridging the gap between what we proclaim and the realities of implicit bias that stand in the way. We'll gather before worship at 9:30am on Sunday, Oct. 13, 20, and 27, for a mix of conversation, scripture, learning, and reflection. The three sessions will center on "Seeing," "Asking", and "Doing"-- how we recognize, question, and transform what we don't think we think, as God calls us into deeper kin-dom work and beloved community.

Please select all that apply.
Please select all that apply.

Description

GROW Groups begin after September 7, 2024!
Thanks for considering a GROW group with Neighborhood Church!

The GROW groups listed below are open to everyone! These groups aren’t about having the right answer to questions, or who looks the smartest or most holy. GROW groups are casual, conversational, and while the conversations are meaningful and focused, the emphasis is on building relationships among the group, and learning to practice spiritual disciplines together. Some groups meet weekly for a period of time; some meet once a month - and we also offer experiences that are stand-alone and don’t require any time commitment other than that day.

Once you sign up, your GROW group facilitator will be in contact with you closer to the first group meeting time to share important details that you might need to know about your particular group. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need to switch groups, contact Rev. Andi at andi@neighborhoodchurchatl.com for help!