Prompts for 2022-2023

For our October meeting

Are you retired, working… what did you do… what do you do?

Tell us about your home and who lives there…

Any growth edges this season?

Simple pleasures … are you getting enough of them?

Anything else??

November 2022

First, take a paragraph to describe your mother.  You might consider her attributes and her achievements.  Try a rounded portrait of all the ways she was seen by others.

Then for a second paragraph take a balanced assessment of your relationship… a high or a low (both) … a warm connection and/or a disconnection … a place where you experienced intimacy or even friction with your mother.

December 2022

Leaving home emotionally

When did you start to examine your parents’ values and lifestyle and make your own choices?

Has this been a source of conflict with them? Or within you?

Is there a way you have reconciled your choices to theirs over the years?

January 2023

Honoring your gifts, affirming your struggle…

Looking back over your life, who has recognized and affirmed something in you that you were unaware of?  This may have been early on … in the middle of important work … or at a cross roads.

What did they see in you (or what did you recognize in their presence)? How did you recognize it?

Feel free to comment on other ways in which you have found encouragement.   And, try to reach for the person to person connection where it fits.

February 2023

We are going to explore the parable of the Prodigal Son.  You might find it helpful to paraphrase the story (hold the paraphrase to the side rather than including it here … but bring the paraphrase with you so we can hear pieces of it along with the Biblical text!).  I hope we can all feel the power of the story.

Then write for us an honest assessment of the story.  What hits you most powerfully?  Sibling relations, breaking out of the family, forgiveness, duty and fun, loyalty … so many themes … and a growing relationship with God.  Just pick it up where it hits you.  It should be a great discussion!!

March 2023

Siblings

Give us a brief sketch of the siblings you have, who they are, where they live, how often you see them, their life situation.

Choose one relationship.  If there is friction, what you do you see as the cause of the friction?  How much of the friction is caused by nurture (the environment of the family); how much by nature (your temperaments)… and how much is about the history between you?

In this relationship:  What can you do?  What can’t you do?  What’s next?

If there isn’t much tension, try describing your family tree (mom and dad’s sides) as a place where both loss and vitality reside.  What do you contend with, what do you celebrate in your life and in your siblings?

April 2023

Understanding our refreshment, wonder, and joy

What role does “getting out into nature” play in your life?

If there is something else that is a significant source of refreshment, wonder, and joy, feel free to substitute that for “nature.”

What activity do you most enjoy outdoors?

When experiencing nature, what things do you enjoy doing the most by yourself?  With others?

What part does nature play in connecting you to the transcendent or beautiful?

Is there an element of risk or danger associated with nature for you?

Is there a creative, building, growing, or “making” aspect to your connection with nature?

What is your favorite season and why?

May 2023

What is your experience with prayer?

How has your perspective of prayer changed over your lifetime?

Do you have any significant experience with prayer that you care to share?

June 2023

Which conversation(s) have unearthed important issues, memories and questions for you?

Choose one and share as freely as you would like… or talk more generally.

Are there things about our meetings that work for you?  Are there things that you’d like to address to make the group even stronger for you?