In January, the SJI Group will provide opportunities for members to learn about the following:

– Jan. 5: Being an Upstander for LGBTQIA+ and “OTHERFOLX”

Let’s talk about actions to support our queer “siblings” and other folx. Leader: Katie Brick, Reconciling Ministries group

– Jan. 12: A Faith Story: Black Identity at First UMC Evanston

We’ll review the story of Black persons (African Dispora) in intersection with First UMC Evanston.  In commemoration of the MLK Holiday.

Leader: Henry Pleas, Reconciling Ministries group

– Jan. 19: The Wetlands Initiative

Our guest speaker is Paul Botts, President and Executive Director of The Wetlands Initiative.

Host: Mariann Griebler, Earth Care group

– Jan. 25: Preservation of the Separation of Church and State

Leaders: Phil Crihfield with his two wingmen Jonathon Nieuwsma and Tom Butler

As a follow up to session on What It Means to be a Good Citizen and a Good Christian, Rev. Richard Mosley suggests these books for our consideration:

– Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism by Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood (2024)
ISBN: 9780827203389

– American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church by Andrew L. Whitehead (2023)
ISBN: 9781587435768

– The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church by Gregory A. Boyd (2005)
ISBN: 9780310267300

– The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American by Andrew L. Seidel (2021)
ISBN: 9781454943914

– Why People Are Drawn in and How to Talk Across the Divide by Pamela Cooper-White (2022)
ISBN: 9781506482118