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).
Take a look at the list below - or keep scrolling for a full description of each group!
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)
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)
- March 23, 2025
Queering Theology (An Introduction to Queer Christian understandings of God)
- April 6. 2025
This Holy Mystery (Understanding Sacraments in the UMC)
- May 18, 2025
Lent Mini GROW series
One or two conversation sessions about "The Message" by Ta-Nehisi Coates - more details coming soon!
Weekly(ish) 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 Feb 24, 2025 and will meet through the end of April. 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.
2nd/4th Tuesdays with Charlie ConderFocus: Reading/Discussing Field Notes for the Wilderness by Sarah Bessey
Are you wounded? Are you curious? Are you lost? Are you miraculously hopeful? Let’s gathering in community to journey through a collection of spiritual practices for our evolving faith. We will be referencing this book. Everyone will need a copy of this journal.
Where: We will plan to meet at Bona Fide (1454 La France St. NE) to start - and the group will determine where it meets on a regular basis.
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.
Book Discussion Group forcused on Dietrich Bonhoeffer - more details coming soon!
