The After Times

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The pandemic is not over…and yet, we are in a different place than we were twelve (even 3) months ago.

Which begs a critical question: what will life look like in the ‘after-times.’ As the restrictions of the pandemic lessen, and therefore more freedom returns, what shape will our lives take? We have to be honest with ourselves: unless we give this intentional thought, we will almost certainly be swept up in whatever seems urgent or has our culture’s attention.

Join us as we take four weeks in May to pause and reflect. What has the pandemic revealed to us? What have we learned? What do we want to take away, and what do we want to leave behind?

Let’s enter the After-Times intentionally and with purpose.

Intersection

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During this season of Lent, we are entering into a conversation at the Branch about vocation. One way to think about vocation is to consider the ways that your every-day-ness (your routines, relationships, perspectives, experiences, gifts, etc.) intersect with God’s intentions for the world.

When we look at Jesus’ life this is what we see: someone who, in his every-day-ness, consistently participated in God’s intentions for the world. And it wasn’t just the miracles he performed, it was also the simple word of belonging. Yes, when he raised others out of sickness and disease he was participating in God’s dreams for the world, but he was also doing this when he struck up a conversation over a drink of water. Jesus lived with intention, seeing every moment as a possible moment of shalom.

What if we did the same? What would this look like? We’re looking forward to the journey of discovery as we consider these questions together.

Stories of (unexpected) Strength

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Let’s be honest. We’re tired. Tired of the pandemic. Tired of separation. Tired of division. Tired of hate.

Or to come at it from another angle: we are in desperate need of strength.

But strength is a funny thing. The word carries with it images of sculpted physiques and unflappable personalities. We tend to think that strength comes in big packages. It’s overpowering. Unstoppable.

And perhaps there is truth in these perceptions, but that picture of strength is too one-sided.

You see, strength often arrives in the most unexpected vehicles. It’s when we are courageously vulnerable or humbly reliant on others that we find the ability to move forward in this world. Instead of weakness, these unexpected ways of being are actually the precise pathway to discovering a strength we didn’t know was possible.

We hope you’ll join us.

For info on our Sunday gathering during the pandemic, click here.