SouthPark Christian Church
Disciples of Christ
The Full Story
SPCC Book Study
The Christian Education Committee of SPCC offers four Study groups per year; we cover a variety of topics that range from social justice issues such as racism, to finding hope in difficult situations. While we sometimes have ‘difficult’ conversations around issues like racism and candid discussions about the Jim Crow era and the Great Migration, we are careful to create a safe space for all participates.
For those that need a little break from what some would call “heavy” subject matter we are a group that believes in balance and fun! For example even when we explored the topic of finding hope in difficult situations, we did so from the point of view of Ann Lamott, who sprinkles in her own brand of humor.
Since we began this group in the Fall of 2020, we have explored, learned about and discussed the Jim Crow Era and the Great Migration with the help of Isabel Wilkerson and her book, The Warmth of Other Suns, The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration; finding hope in difficult situations with the help of Anne Lamott and her book, Almost Everything, Notes on Hope, and dismantling racism with the help of Carol B. Helsel and her book, Anxious to Talk About It Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully about Racism.
SouthPark Christian is pleased to announce the subject of our next Book Study! Specifically, how to become a church that is welcoming and affirming of special needs children and their families.
A few years ago, we went through the process of becoming a church that is welcoming and affirming to the LGBTQI+ community. This program will help us to become more aware of the needs of special needs kids and their families. Additionally, the program allows us to live more fully into our Disciples of Christ Identity Statement that reads...
“We are disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all people to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us.”
For this study, we will begin with the youth group and hear from them about their experiences as they read the book pictured above, The Accessible Church: Making the Church a Welcoming Place for Children with Special Needs and from Traumatic Backgrounds by Kerri-Ann Hayes.
Shortly after engaging with our youth group in this book study, an adult book study will be organized. Look for more information in our newsletter, website and social media for updates!
Virtual Seeker's Class
Book Study
"Aggressively Happy" by Joy Marie Clarkson
Starting September 18th, Seeker’s Sunday School will begin a new book study! Join us for a study of "Aggressively Happy" by Joy Marie Clarkson - Sundays at 9:15 am via virtual class.
Feel free to reach out at officesouthparkchristian@gmail.com if you're interested in participating!
Disciples Sunday School
Book Study
"In Defense of Kindness: Why It Matters, How It Changes Our Lives, and How It Can Save the World" by Bruce Reyes-Chow
“A simple, yet staggering work that examines a precious and rare commodity in this present world.”–Jeff Yang, CNN & Wall St. Journal
These days we view kindness as an inert act based on the absence of being a jerk, or we see it as heroic and herculean, beyond the reach and capability of mere mortals. But what if kindness was a practice we could each choose, every day, as a way to experience community and wholeness in new, life-giving, world-changing ways?
Feel free to reach out at officesouthparkchristian@gmail.com if you're interested in participating!
Family of Origin Family of Choice Stories of Queer Christians
As an Open and Affirming Congregation of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), SouthPark Christian Church would like you to join us as we hear the real life experiences of members of the LGBTQ community with coming out as Gay and Christian. For this study we read the book, “Family of Origin Family of Choice Stories of Queer Christians” by Katie Hayes and Susan A. Chiasson.
Rev. Katie Hayes is a Disciples of Christ Minister and the founding pastor of Galileo Christian Church in Forth Worth Texas and Susan A. Chiasson is a social scientist.
For this book study we had the opportunity to be joined by author Katie Hayes for a discussion about the reading.
Disciples Sunday School Classroom
For more information contact: Kevin Baker-Rooks at revkevdoc@gmail.com
Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times
"As the descendant of slaves and the son of a civil rights activist, Bishop Michael Curry’s life illustrates massive changes in our times. Much of the world met Bishop Curry when he delivered his sermon on the redemptive power of love at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle. Here, he expands on his message of hope in an inspirational road map for living the way of love, illuminated with moving lessons from his own life. Through the prism of his faith, ancestry, and personal journey, Love Is the Way shows us how America came this far and, more important, how to go a whole lot further."
Anxious to Talk About It
"If talking about racism makes you anxious, afraid, or even angry, you're not alone. In Anxious to Talk about It, pastor and professor Carolyn B. Helsel draws on her success with white congregations to offer insight and tools to embrace, explore and work through the anxious feelings that often arise in these hard conversations. Through powerful personal stories, new observations on racial identity development, and spiritual practices to help engage issues of racial justice prayerfully, you'll gain a deeper understanding of race in America and your place in it."
Almost Everything: Notes on Hope
"In this profound and funny book, Lamott calls for each of us to rediscover the nuggets of hope and wisdom that are buried within us that can make life sweeter than we ever imagined. Divided into short chapters that explore life's essential truths, Almost Everything pinpoints these moments of insight as it shines an encouraging light forward."
The Warmth of Other Suns
"From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves."