Previous Formation
Opportunities
The Beloved Community at the Trees offers ongoing formation opportunities for everyone. We hope that you'll explore some of our previously held formation opportunities below. They continue to be discussed in our lectionary discussions, support groups, and around our dinner table. Enjoy!
Previous Formation Opportunities
The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self Discovery: Discerning your true self is inextricably related to discerning God's purposes for you. Paradoxically, the more you become like Christ, the more you become authentically yourself.In this profound exploration of Christian identity, psychologist and spiritual director David G. Benner illuminates the spirituality of self-discovery. (Offered April 2025)
When Religion Hurts You: In When Religion Hurts You, Dr. Laura Anderson takes an honest look at a side of religion that few like to talk about. Drawing from her own life and therapy practice, she helps readers understand what religious trauma is and isn't, and how high-control churches can be harmful and abusive, often resulting in trauma. She shows how elements of fundamentalist church life--such as fear of hell, purity culture, corporal punishment, and authoritarian leaders--can cause psychological, relational, physical, and spiritual damage. (Offered March 2025)
Beyond A Binary God: All are made in the image and likeness of God. If this is what we believe, then trans people, like all people, reflect something of God, and not just in the ways that they share in common with others, but also in the ways that they are different. They remind us that God is beyond all of our categories, even gender. In this book, Tara Soughers explores theology from the position of a trans ally―a parent of a trans young adult as well as priest. What does it mean about God and about humans, that there is not a strict gender binary? How can we affirm and include what we have learned about the permeability of boundaries to affirm those whose path does not follow traditional cultural stereotypes, and how might the broadening help us to understand the God who is never two for Christians, but both one and three? What gifts does this broader understanding bring to the church? (Offered February 2025)
God After Deconstruction: Thomas Jay Oord and Dr. Tripp Fuller for “God After Deconstruction” – a reflective journey designed to help you embrace the uncertainty, explore profound topics, and offer a constructive, hope-filled vision of God grounded in open and relational theology. (Offered January 2025)
Love Wins: In Love Wins, bestselling author, international teacher, and speaker Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis, Drops Like Stars) addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—hell and the afterlife—arguing, would a loving God send people to eternal torment forever? (Offered October 2024)
​​Rediscovering Scripture introduces fundamental principles of using source criticism int our interpretation of Holy Scripture. Delving into topics such as canon, genre, hermeneutics, and more, this series will shed new light on the Bible and how we can look beyond what it says to discern the work into which God is calling us. (Offered September 11 - October 23, 2014)
Radical Love: Introduction to Queer Theology: "Patrick Cheng's Radical Love is not only an excellent introduction to LGBT theology but an important contribution to the discipline of theology and the life of the church. It is a must read for anyone who cares about the health of the church and theology today." --James H. Cone, Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY (Offered August 14-September 4)
Walk In Love: Take a journey through The Book of Common Prayer, the Christian life, and basic beliefs of our faith, guided by two Episcopal priests - Scott Gunn and Melody Wilson Shobe. Walk through the liturgical year, the sacraments of the church, habits of daily prayer, and the teachings of Anglican Christianity. See how our prayer shapes our belief and our lives and how our beliefs lead us into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. (Offered July 18-August 8, 2024)
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents: In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched, and beautifully written narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. (Offered May 15 - June 26, 2024)
The Savvy Ally:The Savvy Ally is a vital resource for teachers, mental health professionals, healthcare providers, college professors, faith leaders, family members, and friends who want to support and advocate for the LGBTQ+ people in their lives and help make the world a safer, more inclusive place. This informative, encouraging, and easy-to-understand guidebook will jump-start even the most tentative ally. (Offered April 10 - May 1, 2024)