new wineskins

June 2 Gathering: Active Nonviolence (or “War: What is it Good For?)

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If there is anything constant in this world, it’s that human beings seem trapped in a cycle of violence. Disagreement leads to conflict, and conflict leads to violence. Despite our best efforts to strive for peace, we eventually resort to violence as a means to either get our way or defend ourselves.

But we’ve been given glimmers of hope. Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, St. Francis, and a Jewish carpenter’s son named Yeshua bar Joseph have shown what an alternative to embracing violence, even as a last resort, could look like.

This Sunday at New Wineskins, we’ll take a look at MLK Jr.’s six principles of non-violence. They were the core of his work for justice and the basis for training participants in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. We’ll discuss whether it’s actually possible to embrace an ethic of non-violence and what it might look like if we did.

Please join us this Sunday, June 2, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company for a conversation around how King’s principles of non-violence might reshape our own lives and world.

Happy Half-Hour: 6:30pm

Food service & Conversation Begins: 7:00pm

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April 28 Gathering: Resurrection

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Resurrection. Returning from the dead.

It’s an idea that Christians from the beginning have hung their collective hats on. The idea that somehow, death doesn’t get the last word. That there is some kind of life after death.

And the proof is in Easter.

Historically not just a one-day candy-binging holiday but a 50-day liturgical season of celebration of new life, Easter is our yearly reminder of the miracle of Jesus overcoming death on the cross and being raised to life.

But what if it’s really not a miracle at all? What if resurrection was the most natural thing we could possibly believe in? What if it’s the most natural thing we could experience?

This Sunday at New Wineskins, we’ll talk about the idea of resurrection, both as a future hope and a present reality. And we’ll unpack how we can begin to view resurrection less from a standpoint of overcoming disbelief, but seeing the cosmos for what it really is.

Pleas plan to join us this Sunday, April 28, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company for what we hope will be a fascinating conversation about resurrection and reality.

Happy Half-Hour: 6:30pm

Food service & Conversation Begins: 7:00pm

April 14 Gathering: Holy Week (and free food!)

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Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the days leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus which culminates in Easter.

For centuries, communities of people who follow the ways of Jesus have marked the days of Holy Week in special ways, especially Maundy Thursday (traditionally the day of the Last Supper), Good Friday (the crucifixion), Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday.

This week at New Wineskins, we’ll pull some of those traditions together into a liturgical whole. This week’s format will be a little different than other gatherings, but we’ll still have plenty of time for reflection and conversation.

Oh, and this week, dinner is on us! We’ll provide appetizers for all including meatballs, chicken tenders, pretzel-wrapped franks, and veggies. Water & tea will also be provided. Other beverages are on your own.

Pleas plan to join us this Sunday, April 14, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company for a very special celebration of Holy Week with the New Wineskins community.

Happy Half-Hour: 6:30pm

Food service & Conversation Begins: 7:00pm

Dec. 30 Gathering: Watch Night

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oil lamps

CC via Creative Commons. Copyrighted work. Some rights reserved.

In the early days of the Methodist movement, John Wesley gathered people together on New Year’s Eve to reflect and pray, and to give them an alternative to the drunken revelry that, even in the 18th Century, predominated the culture. The Watch Night service was also a time for people to renew their commitment to God, and many Methodist and Wesleyan churches today still hold Covenant Renewal Services at the turning of the year.

Watch Night took on special significance for the African American community on Dec. 31, 1862, as people anxiously awaited Lincoln’s enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation. Historians say that many slaves gathered in churches to pray together as they anticipated freedom from bondage. The Watch Night tradition remains strong in black churches as the struggle for equality continues more than 150 years later.

This Sunday at New Wineskins, we’ll close out 2018 with our own Watch Night observation as we take some time to reflect together on the past year and look ahead to 2019. Please join us this Sunday, Dec. 30, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company as we look back and look ahead together!

Happy Half-Hour: 6:30pm

Conversation Begins: 7:00pm

*PLEASE NOTE: New Wineskins will be on hiatus during January 2019. We will resume our gatherings in February. Please watch here and our Facebook page for dates and details!

Oct. 21 Gathering: Miracles (do they matter?)

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Jesus Toast

We love a good miracle story. Jesus feeding the 5,000. Healing the sick.Walking on water. Raising the dead. Giving sight to the blind. Or our personal favorite, turning water into wine.

Maybe it’s because we need to know miracles are real. We need to hope that the impossible can happen.

So why is it that so often in biblical post-miracle dialogues, Jesus tells people to keep it quiet? To not tell what they have seen or experienced?

It begs the question…do the miracles really matter?

This week at New Wineskins we’re going to talk about miracles, what they are (and aren’t!), and whether or not we view them the way Jesus intends them to be viewed. Come on out and be part of the conversation this Sunday, Oct. 21, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company!

Happy Half-Hour: 6:30pm

Conversation Begins: 7:00pm

Sept. 23 Gathering: Who is God?

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God in Heaven Set

It’s maybe the deepest question there is: Who (or what) is God?

What do we think about when we think and talk about God? A bearded old man in the sky? A “life force” or energy field of some kind? How can God be both personal and universal?

Since questions are more interesting than answers, we’ll tackle this big conversation this Sunday at New Wineskins. Come with an open imagination, and let’s see what we can learn about God from one another!

Join us this Sunday, Sept. 23, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company!

Happy Half-Hour: 6:30pm

Conversation Begins: 7:00pm

Sept. 9 Gathering: This is water

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this is water

In his 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, the late author David Foster Wallace challenged graduates to see beyond their own self-centered assumptions and choose a higher awareness of the people and world around them.

What would it look like for us to recognize more deeply the world outside of our own heads? How might our assumptions of what is “right” and “good” and “true” change if we considered more fully the perspectives of others, especially when those perspectives are radically different from our own?

This Sunday at New Wineskins, we’ll view a short video of excerpts of Wallace’s now-famous “This is Water” talk, and discuss the ways we can be more aware of the reality beyond us.

Join us for the conversation this Sunday, Sept. 9, in the 167 Side Room of the Marietta Brewing Company as we seek to become more aware of the water we’re all swimming in together!

Happy Half-Hour: 6:30pm

Conversation Begins: 7:00pm