Unearthed
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It takes real courage to dig out when we’d rather bury our heads, especially with difficult subjects we hear about in the news and see on social media. How might we shift our gaze up from ourselves and peer out into the wider world together with good courage? We’ll hear from trusted experts and practice being brave in uncertain times.
April 7 | Political Divide (week 1) - We are eager to welcome Jeff Thiemann from Braver Angels’ “Reduce the Rancor” campaign to chat with us about polarization during election seasons, and how we might be able to build capacity for both holding conviction and having difficult conversations.
LIVESTREAM | PODCAST | SUNDAY PAPER | GROUP GUIDE | RESOURCES
April 14 | Political Divide (week 2) - We received a challenge from Jeff Thiemann: make one commitment toward being equipped and brave for challenging conversations. Today, we’re going to brag about it! Come hear from one another as we celebrate our bravery and learn from one another. LIVESTREAM | PODCAST | SUNDAY PAPER | GROUP GUIDE
April 21 | Climate Crisis (week 1) - Today, we welcome Joshua Lewis, a climate justice organizer from Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light to continue our conversation, this time around how we might faithfully look up and out from ourselves at the issue of global climate change. Is the climate crisis just too big, or are there approachable ways for us to engage in the conversation with courage and conviction? LIVESTREAM | PODCAST | SUNDAY PAPER | GROUP GUIDE | RESOURCES
April 28 | Climate Crisis (week 2) - Is the climate crisis just too big, or are there approachable ways for us to engage in the conversation with courage and conviction? We trust that the latter is true! Let’s dive in. LIVESTREAM | PODCAST | SUNDAY PAPER | GROUP GUIDE
May 5 | Palestine & Israel (week 1) - What comes up for us as we look up at the current events in Gaza? We’ll welcome Rev. Jenny Sung, a pastor working through the ELCA’s Sumud ministry toward justice in Palestine and Israel to hear about how she shows up in her role with steadfastness in light of such despair and heartbreak. LIVESTREAM | PODCAST | SUNDAY PAPER | GROUP GUIDE | RESOURCES
May 12 | Palestine & Israel (week 2) - As we wrap up our time with the Unearthed series, we welcome artist and author Joe Davis back to Fabric to help facilitate a time of artistic reflection and processing. Let’s notice what came up, metabolize it, and bless it… LIVESTREAM | PODCAST | SUNDAY PAPER | GROUP GUIDE
Photos and reflections by Jeanette Mayo
The turn of the calendar tempts us with promises of newness—fresh starts, better habits, upgraded versions of ourselves. But what if, instead of charging ahead with self-improvement schemes, we took a cue from winter’s stillness? What if we let go of the relentless hustle and embraced the radical idea that we are already enough?
Fabric’s January series, “Give Up,” has invited us into this counterintuitive wisdom—the grace of resting, receiving, and recognizing our inherent worth. Nature doesn’t demand that a hibernating bear emerge as a “better” bear. Spring’s renewal is not about striving but about unfolding what has been there all along.
In Wintering, Katherine May reminds us that transformation often happens in the quiet, unseen spaces. And in Belonging, Toko-pa Turner challenges us to strengthen our “receiving muscle,” to accept the support woven into our interconnected lives. “You are the receiver of too many generosities to count,” she writes. “Count them anyway.”
So, what if we stopped trying to earn our existence? What if we acknowledged the trees, the friendships, the small kindnesses that hold us? What if, instead of striving, we surrendered to belonging?
You are the gift. That’s enough. May it be so.
-Ian