Spiritual Formation

Reconciling Ministries

QAUMC belongs to the Reconciling Ministries Network, which advocates for full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people within the church and within society at large. There is much work to be done. We are in it!

General Conference Spiritual Support

The United Methodist General Conference will be April 23-May 3 in Charlotte, NC. We will holding the denomination is prayer. Look for prayer opportunities during these dates. The goal for delegates in our caucus groups will be for the church to “regionalize, revise, and remove.” In short, this emphases is referred to as the “three R’s.”

First, there is a call for the church to regionalize our organization, which would allow each region to adapt portions of the UM Book of Discipline. It would provide leeway on LGBTQIA+ inclusion and other acts of theological conscience as well as other polity questions, allowing regions to be contextually relevant. Right now the US cannot adapt the BOD.

“Revise” refers to revising the church’s Social Principles. After eight years of work, a new restatement of our fundamental moral and social commitments as United Methodists has been created.

“Remove” supports the removal of all provisions in the UM Book of Discipline regarding the participation of LGBTQIA+ in the life and leadership of the church.

Classes and Practices

Exploring Isaiah

Our after-worship study will be a deep dive into the book of Isaiah. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and wrestle with the prophets! Classes will take place in the parlor and last about an hour - until 12:30 PM.

We are in the midst of our class on Isaiah. Upcoming Classes:

  • Isaiah 40 - 2nd Isaiah: Return

  • Isaiah 53 - Suffering Servant and Christian Use of This Text

  • Isaiah 58 - 3rd Isaiah: A New People

Covenantal Restoration is on pause. We will return to this later in the year.

Covenantal Restoration is a 12 session class that will be broken into smaller portions. The curriculum was written by Kelly Ann Hall.

“Racism and oppression have a long and painful past and present, it is an open, aching human wound that reflects a fracture in our relationship with God. Understanding how it was promoted and is still alive and acting out in the construct of our beliefs and systems and structures is the beginning of caring for this wound.”

Examples of Previous Classes :

  • “Sermon on the Mount,” a 6-week study about Matthew 5-7 using Dr. Amy-Jill Levine’s book and video series Sermon on the Mount: A Beginners Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven.

  • “Between Past and Future” by Hannah Arendt. Discussion about how we make meaning in these years of changing and eroding meaning - in spirituality, in justice, in community, in our world.

  • The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr. Meeting after worship, this is a small group discussion about the ideas presented in the book by Franciscan Richard Rohr.

  • My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem.

  • Queering the Divine. A 4 week course on the diversity of gender expression within God’s own being.

  • The Antiphons. A 4 week course exploring the antiphons sung during Advent and how these images for Christ are still forming our understanding of Christ’s identity.

  • Entering the Passion with Amy-Jill Levine.

The Well

Many of our spiritual formation offerings come through The Well, a ministry focused on compassion and justice. We host a podcast that features some of the nation’s leading voices inside and outside of the church, including Dr. Wil Gafney, Katherine Stewart, Dr. Cornel West, and dozens more. Our podcast is The Well QA. You can subscribe through Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts.