Join us for monthly summer book discussions with group spiritual direction. The months of June, July, and August we'll be reading one book a month picked by the facilitator of that given month that explores different themes of spiritual formation. The facilitator will lead a book discussion at the end of the month with light instruction and provide guided reflection in a group direction format to help participants deepen understanding of the content and apply it in their context.
This is great for any Nuos Formation directors in training or alumni who want to continue their education or for any individual who wants to grow in their relationship with God.
Participants can choose to participate in one, two, or all three of the book discussions based on their interest and availability. Participants are responsible for obtaining the book. There is a suggested donation of $40 per monthly session. All sessions will happen online via Zoom.
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Please email jessica@nuosformation.com with questions.​
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Dates, Book Descriptions and Facilitator Bios
June Book: Our Unforming by Cindy S. Lee
Discussion is Saturday, June 24 from 9:30-11:30am PT
For many, spiritual formation often can feel like putting on the cultural experience of someone else where parts of their lived experiences are put off to the side in order to pursue spirituality. Our Unforming explores the possibility of a more robust spiritual formation that invites readers to reimagine a more intricate spirituality that holds a diversity of cultural experiences of God. Cindy S. Lee paints a picture while posing questions of spiritual formation through the expression of eight postures and cultural orientations in understanding spiritual formation.
Facilitator: Jason Tom is a spiritual director who loves walking alongside people in bringing their whole selves into their journey with God. He is a former pastor at a multi-ethnic church where he worked in cultivating a worship culture that honored and embodied the diversity of cultural expression as part of a fuller encounter of encountering God.
July Book: Wanting by Luke Burgis
Discussion is Saturday, July 29 from 9:30-11:30am PT
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Gravity affects every aspect of our physical being, but there’s a psychological force just as powerful―yet almost nobody has heard of it. In Wanting, Luke Burgis draws on the work of French polymath René Girard to bring this hidden force to light and reveals how it shapes our lives and societies. According to Girard, humans don’t desire anything independently. Human desire is mimetic―we imitate what other people want. This affects the way we choose partners, friends, careers, clothes, and vacation destinations. Mimetic desire is responsible for the formation of our very identities.
Facilitator: Jessica Lacy is a spiritual director and life coach with an MA in theology. For years she's been helping people cut through the cultural chatter of what they should want to help them clarify and move toward their authentic desires. She's excited to guide this book discussion and increase understanding and application of some dynamics and nuances around desire.
August Book: The Life We're Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in A Technological World
Discussion is Saturday, August 26th from 9:30-11:30am PT
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"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10b, NIV).
Life to the full can feel deeply compelling and surprisingly confusing in a quick-fix, media driven culture. Using Andy Crouch's The Life We're Looking For, we will notice and reflect on a different kind of flourishing and its surprising implications for technology, society, faith, and the renewal of personhood.
Facilitator: Gabrielle Smith has over a decade of combined experience in integrative medicine, pastoral care, and the healing arts. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Worship Arts and Biblical Studies and an MS in Business Leadership, and is a Certified Music Practitioner and harpist. Trained as a spiritual director through Nuos Formation, Gabrielle draws from her range of experience in both art and business in her spiritual direction practice. Gabrielle is mom to her two young kids, and loves to be outside whenever possible. She enjoys the continuing process of coming alive to the story that is happening around and within us, and creating space for others to do the same.