For our opening Table Talk, we revisit the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) in order to recover a sense of conversational commitment and cherished nuance needed to have rich discussions on the tougher topics of faith in today's Church. We are inspired by that event in church history and believe it helps us build a framework for constructive conversations (in our Study Session video, "Holding Mystery Together"). And further, we establish a Trinitarian view of discourse that will help us embrace unity in diversity. 

 

Holding to these principles will help us recover unity in diversity:

1. The mystery of God is at the center of our faith 

2. The global Church needs to be in dialogue 

3. Speaking with clarity is important 

4. We must hold together the whole Bible 

5. We believe that God is active now 

 

We also believe that going into a conversation with one's head swimming in responses and reactions before opening them up to God can be less than ideal. So, we invite you to slow down and participate in a self-assessing spiritual practice reflecting on our Trinitarian God (in our Spiritual Practice video, "Unity Over Uniformity"). We hope the time with God will help us become more aware of where he is in the stirrings of our hearts on any particular issue.

 

And it all leads up to the Table Talk event night, when we gather at Valle Crucis on Monday, November 15 from 6 to 8pm (details in our Event Night Video, "Setting The Table"). There's free childcare, refreshments, and the promise of enriching dialogue. We hope we set the table for conversations to come, where we can rejoice in the nature of God himself - in unity rather than uniformity. Come to the table, family.