Formation
The Beloved Community is partnering with our sending parish, The Church of the Nativity (Raleigh) to offer various opportunities for formation. Below are some helpful links to resources about the Episcopal Church, Inclusion, and Faith. If you would like to register for any of our upcoming formation opportunities or would like more information, please contact us.
It is our belief that no one should miss a formation opportunity due to a lack of resources. If you need assistance purchasing a book for any of our book studies, please let us know. If you would like to donate to help provide for those who may need assistance, you may do so through our financial donations page.
You can find information about our previously held formation opportunities here.
Upcoming Formation Opportunities at The Beloved Community
Womanist Midrash, Volume 1: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne
Zoom Book Study
Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30PM
May 6 - June 10, 2026
Led by Carolyn Kreuger, Jodi Belcher, & Amanda Harrison
Womanist Midrash Book Study Registration Form
Using her own translations, Wilda Gafney offers a midrashic interpretation of the biblical text that is rooted in the African American preaching tradition to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Gafney employs a solid understanding of womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Near East. This unique and imaginative work is grounded in serious scholarship and will expand conversations about feminist and womanist biblical interpretation.
Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage
Zoom Book Study
Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30PM
July 1 - 29, 2026
Led by Rev. Deacon Dan Laird
First published posthumously in 1987, Pauli Murray’s Song in a Weary Throat was critically lauded, winning the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and the Lillian Smith Book Award among other distinctions. Yet Murray’s name and extraordinary influence receded from view in the intervening years; now they are once again entering the public discourse. At last, with the republication of this “beautifully crafted” memoir, Song in a Weary Throat takes its rightful place among the great civil rights autobiographies of the twentieth century.
Shameless: A Case for Not Feeling Bad About Feeling Good (About Sex)
Zoom Book Study
Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30PM
August 5 - 26, 2026
Led by Rev. Phillip Bass
Negative messages about sex come from all corners of society: from the church, from the media, from our own families. As a result, countless people have suffered pain, guilt, and judgment. In this instant bestseller, Nadia Bolz-Weber unleashes her critical eye and her vulnerable yet hopeful soul on the harmful conversations about sex that have fed our shame.
Migrant God: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice
Zoom Book Study
Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30PM
September 2- 30, 2026
Led by Anthony Bishop
From Tijuana, Mexico, to Douglas, Arizona, across North Carolina and beyond, Isaac Villegas cuts a new path through worn-out talking points and bears witness to loving solidarity among Christians—both with and without US citizenship. Along the way, he offers a theologically astute and politically rich vision of beloved community.
Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God
Zoom Book Study
Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30PM
October 7- 28, 2026
Led by Eileen Morgan
Lauren F. Winner—a leading writer at the crossroads of culture and spirituality and author of Still and Girl Meets God—joins the ranks of luminaries such as Anne Lamott and Barbara Brown Taylor with this exploration of little known—and, so, little used—biblical metaphors for God, metaphors which can open new doorways for our lives and spiritualities.
There are hundreds of metaphors for God, but the church only uses a few familiar images: creator, judge, savior, father. In Wearing God, Lauren Winner gathers a number of lesser-known tropes, reflecting on how they work biblically and culturally, and reveals how they can deepen our spiritual lives.
Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament
Zoom Book Study
Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30PM
November 4 - 25, 2026
Led by Rev. Phillip Bass
With sound scholarship and her own vivid translations from the Hebrew, Old Testament professor Ellen Davis teaches us a spiritually engaged method of reading scripture. Beginning with the psalms, whose frank prayers can be a model for our own, Davis reflects on the stories of the patriarchs and the pastoral wisdom of the book of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs in helping us cultivate those habits of the heart that lead to a rich relationship with God.
