Small Group - Grateful
Wed, Sep 5th 7pm - 8:30pm
Browns Point United Methodist Church 5339 Browns Point Blvd NE Tacoma, WA 98422

Starting September 5th from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. We are reading and discussing Diana Butler Bass’ new book Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks. We will meet each Wednesday in September. Class Reading Schedule: September 5th read pages xi-45 September 12th read pages 49-90 September 19th read pages 93-132 September 26th read pages 135-194 More and more people are finding God beyond the walls of traditional religious institutions, but these seekers often miss the church community itself, including its shared spiritual practices such as gratitude. While four out of five Americans have told pollsters they feel gratitude in their daily lives, cultural commentator and religion expert Diana Butler Bass finds that claim to be at odds with the discontent that permeates modern society. There is a gap, she argues, between our desire to be grateful and our ability to behave gratefully—a divide that influences our understanding of morality, worship, and institutional religion itself. In Grateful, Bass challenges readers to think about the impact gratitude has in our spiritual lives, and encourages them to make gratitude a "difficult and much-needed spiritual practice for our personal lives and to make a better world." Grateful is partially an individual, emotional response to our circumstances, but research has shown that what we often miss is how much more it is a communal, actionable response. Bass examines this more unexpected experience of gratitude, and reveals how people and communities can practice it and thrive, whether or not they are part of a traditional religious community. *Sign up by marking the “interested in small group” on your connection card on Sunday or email Rev. Katie. revkatieklosterman@gmail.com