If you went to Sunday School, odds are you heard the story of Jonah being swallowed by the big fish and surviving to tell the tale.

What you may not have heard is the historical and literary context around the story. It changes how we understand it. Turns out, its pretty relevant to anybody putting somebody else into the category of “other.”

Have a listen,

Doug

The post An Ancient Story (2): Finding Our Way Back appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Today we look at one of the darker times in our religion’s history – a time of racial hatred, fear, and suspicion of outsiders. It happened 600 years before Jesus, and in our fear and uncertainty, we created a story that defined us – and caused us to lose our way.

Next week, we’ll look at a second story – one that helped us find our way again.

Have a listen,

Doug

The post An Ancient Story (1) A Fear-Driven One appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Each first Sunday for the balance of the year, we are having a lunch after church to discuss tough questions about our religious life. The project coincides with my book, Rethinking Our Story: Can We Still Be Christian in the Quantum Era?

Today’s lesson is hopefully priming the “Hey! I have questions” pump to get us ready for that lunch. We look at some of the ways our stories of God affect us.

Have a listen,

Doug

The post Tough Questions About God appeared first on Common Thread Church.

We speak often of the four categories of spiritual practice.

Today, we set them before ourselves as we begin the new year.  Let us integrate these practices into our lives together.

Have a listen,

Doug

ps…  download the worksheet you hear about in the lesson HERE

The post Working the Circle: Embracing the Four Practices appeared first on Common Thread Church.

One of the four essential spiritual practices is serving the well-being of the earth. One of the ways we are helping one another embrace the practices of service is to develop a relationship with the Ferrier Village in Haiti. Today, Nick Errato from HelpOneNow is speaking to us about how our community can be more connected with Ferrier Village.

Have a listen,

Help One Now overview video: http://vimeo.com/82240279

Backpacks of Hope video: http://vimeo.com/80342096

The post NeighborServe: Haiti and HelpOneNow appeared first on Common Thread Church.

We talk a lot about self-awareness and self-disclosure when we speak about our community’s practice of conflict resolution. But as always, we speak of it as an “off-label” use of an ancient spiritual discipline.

Today we talk about the “on-label” use.  Have a listen,

The post Self-Awareness and Self-Disclosure: The "On-Label" Use appeared first on Common Thread Church.

Each new year, I think about growth points and change in my life. I bet many of you do as well.  But forget the individual changes set before us or a moment, and let’s consider how we approach change.  In this lesson we think together about the relationship we develop with change itself.

Have a listen,

The post Preparing for the New Year: Our Relationship to Change appeared first on Common Thread Church.

We just went through Thanksgiving week.  One would think that the week to talk about gratitude is before the holiday.  However, as you’ll hear in this lesson, gratitude doesn’t stop with words we say. Our ancient tradition teaches us the importance of gratitude being manifest in action, in deed.

So have a listen

The post Gratitude: Good for the Soul appeared first on Common Thread Church.

By Robin Camu and Scott Shackleton

Scott and other participants share their experiences on the recent Haiti trip.

The post Sermon Nov 10, 2013 – Robin Camu and Scott Shackleton appeared first on Common Thread Church.

It’s our annual 4th of July-ish hot-dog picnic Sunday.  Today’s lesson we have our kids in with us before we celebrate. We are teaching them about the beauty of diversity within a spiritual community.

Have a listen,

The post Sunday Fun-Day appeared first on Common Thread Church.