Being part of a small group working through questions about faith and life is an important part of spiritual growth. If you aren’t already part of one, this is your time! Check out the current offerings below and contact Pastor Eric if you have questions.
Note: If you’d like to schedule an on-site meeting for your small group, please contact the church office to make arrangements.
Weekly Small Groups
Sundays
Micah Class | Sundays 9-10:30am
We meet each Sunday to discuss contemporary topics of faith.
Contact: Sandy Finney
Drop your weapons: Reading the Bible with the LGBTQ Community | Sundays 4-5:30pm starting 8/27-10/1
How can we respond when people use the Bible as a weapon to exclude and harm LGBTQ+ folks? This short-term group will take a fresh look at how Scripture shows God’s all-inclusive love. We’ll draw on Colby Martin’s book UnClobber in studying the so-called “clobber” texts people use against gay people. This class will have 5 sessions, skipping September 3.
Contact: Pastor Eric
Mondays
MSG (Monday Study Group) | Mondays 9:30am
Our group purpose is to be a community of women offering camaraderie and support while pursuing lifelong learning in the areas of faith and social justice. Meets September-May. Join us in person in the Bridge Classroom at St. Paul’s (with the exception of a few social gatherings where we might meet in a different location and time). Check the calendar for details.
Contact: Linda Stoner
Book Club | 1st Monday of each month | 7pm
We welcome anyone interested in reading books (generally for age 16 and up), discussion, and fellowship. We meet in the Student Center (lower level). For a Zoom option, check the calendar.
Contact: Lisa Groth
Be the Light Intergenerational Book Club | 2nd Monday of each month | 7pm
Anyone in high school and older is welcome to attend. We read books surrounding St. Paul’s welcome statement and meet every second Monday of the month to discuss.Â
Contact: Charlotte Millard
Tuesdays
The Group | Tuesdays @ 6pm
Focusing on relationship with one another, the group will discuss differing topics each week that will allow for growth and education while seeking answers to our questions. We’re currently meeting in person on the lower level at St. Paul’s.
Contact:Â Linda Stoner
Hands of Love | 3rd Tuesdays @ 7pm
We meet to knit or crochet projects for ourselves as well as provide baby blankets and shawls for the church to distribute. All are welcome and we are willing to teach others our skills.
Contact:Â Cheryl Tomson
Faith & Real Life Podcast Reflections | 2nd & 4th Tuesdays @ 8:15pm
Are you looking for a small group that meets to consider how faith impacts real life? Join host Ray Millard via Zoom 2nd & 4th Tuesdays each month at 8:15pm for about an hour (Zoom link on the calendar). The group, designed especially for men, will reflect on podcasts they listen to between meetings.
Contact: Ray Millard
Wednesdays
Men’s Study Group | Wednesdays 6:30-7:30am
We meet at St. Paul’s except for 1st Wednesdays, when we meet for breakfast at at Ronnie’s Restaurant on 87th St. in Lenexa. Our group includes men in any life stage. We typically begin with a cup of coffee and a DVD lecture followed by discussion. Our current series is “Cultural Literacy for Religion.” Join us!
Contact: Dan Hartle or Brad FoothÂ
Women’s Study Group | Wednesdays @ 1pm
We are a group of women who seek to find new ways of understanding God’s presence in our lives and in the world around us. We are always eager to welcome new faces to our Zoom circle!
Current study:Â
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans
Rachel Held-Evans, a New York Times bestselling author, speaks of her deep love of the Bible and stories of God’s work in the world. She boldly writes of her own faith story as she moved from unquestioning childhood to her early adult years in which her emerging questions about the Bible stories she loved were squelched and disregarded, to her own epiphany that questioning is not only alright it leads to deeper understanding and devotion. As she wrestles with doubting and re-imagining the mysteries of Scripture, she discovers that the Bible is not a static work but a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that equips one to join God’s loving and redemptive work in the world. Join us as we reconsider and learn from Biblical stories that have carried the message of God’s saving grace throughout time.
The Wednesday Study Group meets each Wednesday at 1:00 pm via Zoom. Find the Zoom link on the calendar and join us!
Contact: Claudia Ricks Hubbard
Spirit Crew | 1st & 3rd Wednesdays starting 9/6/23 @ 6:30pm
This fall in our women’s study group we’ll be discussing podcasts from Jen Hatmaker and Kate Bowler’s Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved.
Contact: Heather Pineda
Progressive Women | 8-9 pm
This small group grows our faith through book studies on topics from parenting to self-image and everything in between. You can also find us volunteering at The Hub or socializing at trivia night, shuffleboard, or a group dinner. We are an inclusive women’s group that extends to anyone who identifies as a woman in any way. We just wrapped up our summer book study Do I Stay Christian? and are currently reading The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor. Check the calendar for Zoom link.
Contact:Â Shannon Tefft
Thursdays
Ladies’ Coffee Group | 1st Thursdays 9:30am | Family Tree Nursery
Come join us at Family Tree Nursery, 7036 Nieman Rd., for coffee and conversation!Â
Contact: Mary FoothÂ
Senior Zoomers / Senior Breakfast Group | Thursdays 9:30-10:30am | via Zoom + in person 2nd Thursdays
We’re a group of senior adults who enjoy good conversation and checking in with each other. We meet via Zoom, and on the 2nd Thursday of each month we also meet at IHOP, 15350 Shawnee Mission Pkwy. Check the calendar for details.
Contact: Janean Grogan
SPARK (St. Paul’s Active Retiree Kommunity) | 1st Thursdays 5:30pm (with exceptions, see below)
SPARK meets to socialize, work together on serve projects, attend educational events, and explore ways to connect with St. Paul’s. Check out our upcoming plans and join us!
- Thurs, Oct 5, 5:30pm: we will have a shared soup gathering to celebrate fall at St. Paul’s in the bridge classroom; details and activity to be announced.
- Thurs, Nov 2, 5:30pm: we will gather at Strang Hall, 7313 W 80th St., Overland Park.
- Thurs, Dec 7, 5:30pm: Holiday gathering at Randy and Cheryl Scott’s home.
- Thurs, Jan 11, 5:30pm: we have a speaker from Johnson County Agency on Aging
presenting how to organize your important financial information and legal documents at St. Paul’s.
Contact: Cheryl Scott to learn more and be added to the SPARK email list
The Seekers | Thursdays 6pm
Come join us for a lively discussion! The next book we’ll be reading and discussing is Amy-Jill Levine’s Short Stories By Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi. Find the Zoom link on the calendar.
Contact: Sharry Lockhart
Fridays
Brunch with Friends | Last Friday of every other month, 10am-12pm
This group brings together women from St. Paul’s and the Dialogue Institute (mainly Muslim women from Turkey) to share in good food, conversation, and other activities such as crafts. Our brunches are simple and provide an opportunity to get to know each other. We believe that this is a way for people of different faiths and cultures to begin to stamp out prejudice and work for peace in our world. We meet in one another’s homes and are always happy to have new ladies join us!Â
Contact: Pat Cooper