Join Pastor Kathie Nycklemoe at 5:00 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at North Star Tavern (5101 W. 98th St. in Bloomington) for conversation, beverage and food of your choice. If you enjoy talking about the basic stuff of faith and life with laughter, please come! Contact Pastor Kathie at knycklemoe@ststephen.net with questions.

Each of our lives is an unfolding story. In this great conversation, facilitated by Dr. Diane Millis, author of the recently published Re-Creating a Life: Learning How to Tell Our Most Life-Giving Story, Diane will invite us to reflect upon the story that we are currently telling ourselves. Becoming aware of our inner narrative is crucial because the story we tell ourselves, both consciously and unconsciously, has tremendous power over our thoughts, feelings, and actions. In many ways, this story defines our lives. During our time together, we will explore approaches for authoring a story we are choosing and learn…

How can individuals and teams be more intentional about cultivating and using their God-given talents in all aspects of their life? It begins with attending an Introduction to Strengths-Based Talent Development, where participants learn how to engage their talents through the lens of Christian discipleship and stewardship. The session focuses on individual strengths development as well as equipping participants to become more aware of the talents in themselves and others, more able to cultivate their talents, and more ready to use their talents collaboratively with others. The strength development process is rooted in Gallup Inc., Strengths Development Principles and uses…

In the Lord’s Prayer Christians pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Many of us say those words many times each week, and some, every day. Yet forgiveness is something we struggle with. For many of us, accepting God’s forgiveness of our failings is difficult. Even more of us struggle with forgiving those who have hurt us, those we love, or our communities. This evening will invite us to reflect on the things that make it difficult for us to forgive. How do we deal with anger and hurt that hinder forgiveness? How do…

Darkness is a place of limited sight and not knowing, and Advent is a time to practice living in the dark in new ways. How can darkness be a place of fear, of shadow, of pain? How can darkness also be a place of germination, of freedom, of new life? In this workshop we will develop rituals and practices that can help us see darkness in a new way, embracing the wisdom it has to bring. The Psalms will be our guide as we explore their subtle and expressive responses to our bewildering, beautiful lives.

The outset of a new year calls us to be clear-eyed about our lives. Choosing our yeses for the year means learning to say no to other things (even some good things) when a bigger YES is calling. Otherwise, old patterns and half-hearted commitments prevent us from engaging the purposes, relationships, and joys that give our lives deep meaning. Join with others who know these pressures and who take new beginnings seriously. Gather for prayerful reflection about your yeses for 2020 and find practical guidance for keeping the most important things clearly within view.

In hot butter, onions, carrots, and celery become a fragrant mirepoix. Over hot coals, hearty cuts of raw meat caramelize into delicious steaks. Thrust into a hot oven, balls of dough bake into tall loaves of bread. The act of cooking may seem a daily mundane task, but it can become a window into how God loves us, feeds us, and transforms us. Come experience cooking as a catalyst for diving deeper into our own spirituality as it touches our everyday life. We will cook, read, eat, learn, and reflect together.

Someone has remarked that a cynic is often an idealist with a broken heart. In an era in which the fires of social anger, fear of The Other, intolerance in all its forms, and concern over what seems to have been lost burn out of control, the path to cynicism is smooth and all downhill. In this conversation we explore how we balance our troubling concerns with our deepest convictions about what is true, good, and beautiful so that we continue to aspire to our idealism despite the evidence.

In addition to being steeped in Scripture and spiritual practices, St. Benedict was an astute student of human nature. He realized that relying on good intentions would not be enough when he established a “school for the Lord’s service.” Rather, for people to live each day aware of God’s presence and their call to manifest Christ in all things, there was a need for purposeful rhythm so that work, prayer, study, and leisure existed in balance and encouraged people to pay attention to God’s presence in all of life. The measure of a ‘good’ rhythm is its ability to sustain…

Into the disciples’ fear and restlessness following the Passion, the Risen Christ stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” He found them behind locked doors and spoke into the very heart of their circumstance. With this assurance and breathing the Spirit upon them, he then sent them into the world. Join Fr. Michael Byron, a theologian and pastor of Pax Christi Catholic Church in Eden Prairie, to explore Christ’s word of peace and sending for today.

Benedict emphasized the vital practices of simplicity and moderation because he recognized the difficulties of aligning our everyday rhythms with our spiritual lives. This conversation will explore how we center ourselves, practice gratitude, and focus our energy in meaningful ways. We will draw on insights from St. Benedict, Scripture, poets, and the wisdom we each bring into the room.