Most weeks, we build our conversation around a single overarching theme or topic. This week, we’re going to change things up a little and take on several different ideas. Think of it as the PubTheo version of a tasting menu! So here we go.
- I ran across an article from the web magazine mbird.com which got me thinking about the idea of turning points. Specifically, the unlooked-for moments in our lives which set us on a new or unexpected path, or shows us the working of grace in our lives. For the author of the article, the event was getting hit in the face with a baseball while playing catch with his father: “So yes, a missed pop fly did lead to grace — revealed in the instincts of a loving father, the kindness and generosity of a doctor, and a gift that kindled a lifetime of enriching interests.”
- This is a Leap Year, and last week we got to enjoy the benefits of that chronological oddity, Leap Day, February 29th. In other words, an extra day to do with what we will. So what did you do with it? I suspect, like me, it was nothing special. Just another Thursday in a winter season that is rapidly coming to a close. But what if we didn’t treat it as routine? But what if we could enjoy an extra day that wasn’t routine? An article at the website Patheos poses the question: “Many of us live our lives in a race against time. Our days are full of responsibilities and deadlines. We do what we can with the time we have. What could we do with just one extra day?” So imagine the idea of the gift of an extra day? What would you do with it? What would guide your decisions about how to use it? Would that one extra day make a difference in your life? And how would you invest in that day?
- Unfortunately, we’re back in the midst of another election season, so it’s worth thinking about what, if any, role God plays in the outcome of our political contests. Back in 2019, Donald Trump’s former press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (now governor of Arkansas) said: “I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times, and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president.” What do you think? Does God pick people for certain roles? Will whoever gets elected this November win because God wanted it that way? How do you feel about statements like this, or this line of thinking?
- Finally, what is your take on this quote from Julian of Norwich, born 1342: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well… for there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.” Does this hold up in the era of climate change, crumbling democracy, resurgent racism, and global conflict?
So that’s what our tasting menu of topics looks like for tonight’s conversation. And we’ll probably add some additional lite bites to boot. Join us at Casa Real in downtown Oxford for the discussion beginning at 7pm.