The Collective Table

Over the last four weeks, Chelsea, Claire, and Dana have offered weekly reflections on the themes of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. These themes connect to the traditional Scripture readings that are presented throughout the Advent season and remain consistent from year to year. 

Today, we celebrate the coming of Christ - God-With-Us, Emmanuel - on Christmas Day. Listen as Chelsea reflects on the Christmas story.

Watch Chelsea's favorite Eat N' Park Christmas commercial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3NhDtfZmd0 

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Learn more about the history of Advent at the links below: 

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-do-the-candles-in-our-advent-wreath-mean

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-the-history-of-advent-for-united-methodists

Over the next four weeks, Chelsea, Claire, and Dana will offer short reflections on the weekly themes of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.  These themes connect to the traditional Scripture readings that are presented throughout the Advent season and remain consistent from year to year.

In today's episode, Dana reflects on peace, and offers a moment of meditation for our listeners. 

Learn more about the history of Advent at the links below: 

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-do-the-candles-in-our-advent-wreath-mean

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-the-history-of-advent-for-united-methodists

TCT’s December Book Club - Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God - With Us - Then, Here, and Now by Scott Erickson

In a world that's difficult to make sense of, and a season that's so often overtaken by consumerism, here you'll find heart-stirring illustrations and thought-provoking meditations designed to show you the raw, powerfully sacred story of Christmas in a new light.

From celebrated artist and storyteller Scott Erickson comes Honest Advent, 25 days of illustrations and meditations that will help you rekindle the wonder of this season. Honest Advent creates a space for you to encounter the Incarnate Christ in unexpected places: like a pregnancy announcement in an era of political unrest and empirical bloodshed, the morning sickness of a Middle Eastern teenager, and the shocking biology of birth that goes far beyond the sanitized brand of Christmas as we know it today.

Through powerful benedictions, prayers, and questions for honest reflection, you'll discover how the wonder of God-with-Us is still happening today: in your unexpected change of plans, your unaccomplished dreams, your overcrowded lodging, and your humble stories of new beginnings.

If you're looking for something to spark your faith and renew your relationship with the holiday season, Erickson invites you to experience a new way to celebrate this Christmas.

Keep up with Scott on Instagram @scottthepainter

This is a recording of our live Q&A which took place on December 15th, 2022. 

Over the next four weeks, Chelsea, Claire, and Dana will offer short reflections on the weekly themes of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.  These themes connect to the traditional Scripture readings that are presented throughout the Advent season and remain consistent from year to year.

In today's episode, Dana reflects on Joy. 

Learn more about the history of Advent at the links below: 

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-do-the-candles-in-our-advent-wreath-mean

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-the-history-of-advent-for-united-methodists

Over the next four weeks, Chelsea, Claire, and Dana will offer short reflections on the weekly themes of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.  These themes connect to the traditional Scripture readings that are presented throughout the Advent season and remain consistent from year to year.

In today's episode, Claire reflects on Love. 

Learn more about the history of Advent at the links below: 

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-do-the-candles-in-our-advent-wreath-mean

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-the-history-of-advent-for-united-methodists

Do I Stay Christian? addresses in public the powerful question that surprising numbers of people―including pastors, priests, and other religious leaders―are asking in private. Picking up where Faith After Doubt leaves off, Do I Stay Christian? is not McLaren's attempt to persuade Christians to dig in their heels or run for the exit. Instead, he combines his own experience with that of thousands of people who have confided in him over the years to help readers make a responsible, honest, ethical decision about their religious identity.

There is a way to say both yes and no to the question of staying Christian, McLaren says, by shifting the focus from whether we stay Christian to how we stay human. If Do I Stay Christian? is the question you're asking―or if it's a question that someone you love is asking―this is the book you've been waiting for.

This is a recording of our book club's virtual Q&A session with Brian, recorded on November 30, 2022. Enjoy!

Over the next four weeks, Chelsea, Claire, and Dana will offer short reflections on the weekly themes of Advent: Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.  These themes connect to the traditional Scripture readings that are presented throughout the Advent season and remain consistent from year to year.

In today's episode, Chelsea reflects on Hope. 

Learn more about the history of Advent at the links below: 

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-do-the-candles-in-our-advent-wreath-mean

https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-the-history-of-advent-for-united-methodists

During season 6, Rev. Chelsea, Dana and Rev. Claire will be taking a deep dive into some of Jesus’ most known and beloved teachings. But these stories are not just sweet, little children’s stories meant to make us feel good. They are radical and challenging and would have been shocking to Jesus’ audience. They point to God’s grace, God’s upside-down Kin-dom, and the ways in which we are invited to respond.

In today's episode, Dana tackles the parable of the Rich Man & Lazarus, found in Luke 16:19-31. Listen as she reflects on what it means to choose a life not of self-centered indifference, but of inclusivity, joy, and and openness. 

Follow us on instagram @The.Collective.Table, and check out our website at thecollectivetable.org! 

During season 6, Rev. Chelsea, Dana and Rev. Claire will be taking a deep dive into some of Jesus’ most known and beloved teachings. But these stories are not just sweet, little children’s stories meant to make us feel good. They are radical and challenging and would have been shocking to Jesus’ audience. They point to God’s grace, God’s upside-down Kin-dom, and the ways in which we are invited to respond.

On today’s episode, Claire gets into the weeds as she shares her take on Matthew chapter 13, the parable of the weeds and the wheat. Maybe you have heard this parable preached in a way that is supposed to scare you out of hell - but we hope you come away from this podcast knowing that actually, Jesus is painting a picture of our loving creator who will dig deep enough to uproot the lies that tell us that we are not worthy of love. So get out your gardening tools and let’s dig! 

Follow us on instagram @The.Collective.Table, and check out our website at thecollectivetable.org! 

Today our TCT Book Club sits down with author Valarie Kaur for a virtual Q&A on her book, See No Stranger. 

How do we love in a time of rage? How do we fix a broken world while not breaking ourselves? Valarie Kaur—renowned Sikh activist, filmmaker, and civil rights lawyer—describes revolutionary love as the call of our time, a radical, joyful practice that extends in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves.