Growing In Community : “My Grandmother’s Hands” book discussion & prayer starts 20 May

Sometimes you put yourself out there and tell others what’s going on with you. Well I did here and someone I’d never yet met with before reached out. Over Zoom, we discovered we have a lot of similar interests and experiences even though our lives have been much different. Some of them are our previous work with the military, connecting others, chaplaincy, race, and the love of the church. We both have busy schedules, but want to make time to keep in conversation with open and honest dialogue about race and the church, continuing to inform ourselves, hear others’ perspectives, and learn. So we decided to start by discussing a book and invite a few others to join in with us. Hopefully we will each continue to grow in many ways and afterwards go through other resources together as well. We shall see!

Join us, Sejana and Laura, via Zoom as we all make space to share and to listen to one another talk about our responses to the readings in “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies” by Resmaa Menakem.

I’d also like to make time to pray for one another as we experience this learning together.

These are the basics:

Who:

Anyone interested in reading this specific book with us, Sejana & Laura, to meet together briefly to share and to listen to what resonated with everyone can join in.  We want to have a rich discussion and respectful dialogue with one another. Note: Laura and I come from a Christian faith tradition, but persons with other faiths or no faith are still welcome to join in.

Sejana is currently working as a Hospital Chaplain Resident in Texas. She is a Spiritual Director and has a masters in clinical mental health counseling. She is a current masters of divinity student. You can read more about her here.

Laura is currently working as a Hospice Chaplain in Georgia. She has a masters of divinity and is currently working on her doctorate. She has a passion for radical reconciliation with Christ and community. Her growing website is here.

What:

Think adult book club and prayer group in one. Order your book today!

When:**

Saturday’s 6-8pm CST via Zoom. Email sejanashines@gmail.com for the Zoom link if interested to join in. Time span of 13 weeks: 20 May – 19 August.

** Things may change due to unforeseen circumstances but we hope to keep consistent. If anything changes, the group will be notified asap.

Where:

Via Zoom. Email sejanashines@gmail.com SUBJECT: My Grandmother’s Hands if interested to join in or if you have any questions.

Why:

Develop relationships with others. Create a compassionate space to share our thoughts in dialogue with one another as we work through this book on race and trauma together and pray for one another. Personally, I discovered this book when taking the Racial Reconciliation class listed in my resource list here. I also heard about this book from a practicing counselor who highly recommended I read it. I wanted to invite others to go through it with me because I wanted to be able to discuss it in community with others who are also reading the book. I have not read this whole book yet, only 1.5 chapters so far. We will go through this together! What I like about it so far is the writing seems easy to understand and includes practical tools on how to help oneself (and maybe others).

How:

Get a copy of your book and begin reading the introduction sections before Chapter 1. Flip through the book and see what we will cover. Set aside time in your calendar to pre-read before joining in on each of the dates listed. Email me if you have questions, suggestions, or concerns at sejanashines@gmail.com .

I am looking forward to this! Hope to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Sejana