Big House Sundays
Big House Sundays
From September to May we continue to form our faith with Big House Sundays, large-group sessions that meet before worship a couple of times each month. Together we tackle interesting topics as we wonder together about how our faith connects to our everyday lives and are challenged to grow as Jesus-followers. All are welcome to these opportunities to grow together.
Upcoming Big House Sundays – 2024
April 28 – Social Justice Team
May 12 – House Group Capstone
Past Big House Sundays and Adult Education
April 14 – Deacons Have you ever wondered about the work of the deacons and how your budget dollars are used to support church-members and community in times of special need? Please join the deacons and chair John Bush in a special Big House Sunday session to explain our diaconal support.
We’ll review the work of the deacons here at AACRC, the importance of Oikos in our decision-making, and the way we deal with needs from our church and community. We’ll also ask for you to prayerfully consider needs in our church and community that the deacons can help with.
March 24 – Rev. Kathy Smith We are holding a special Big House Sunday on March 24 with Rev. Kathy Smith, the parliamentarian for the Christian Reformed Church in North America. Rev. Smith will be here to talk about what will be on the agenda for Synod 2024. Ordinarily this is not a topic we would feature. But, the decisions of Synod 2024 will impact our ability to be a Third Way congregation in the CRC. Rev. Smith will help us understand the overtures and communications that will be on the agenda. We will discuss “gravamina” and overtures directed at removing office-bearers who’ve signed gravamina. We will discuss the disaffiliation process in the CRC and why this is an important topic at this time. Please come for this informative presentation about how the decisions of Synod 2024 will be impacting local congregations.
March 17 – Dr. Lisa Hoogeboom will be presenting on “Reading the Bible in Disagreement”. As her case study, she will take up what the Bible says about slavery and the use of women’s gifts in the church.
March 3 – The Year In Culture. John Bush will lead this time to discuss and discern notable movies, TV, and music from the past year, including those being talked about during a busy awards season. Plus, we’ll take time to share recommendations of what we’ve loved.
February 11, 2024 – Rev. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap – Rev. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap is the Executive Director of the Association for a More Just Society-US. He holds an undergraduate degree in religious studies from Calvin University (B.A. ’12), a Master of Divinity degree from Western Theological Seminary (M.Div. ’16), and is ordained in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA). For the last ten years, he has educated and mobilized Christians around the world to address the climate crisis as an act of discipleship and neighbor-love.
December 3, 2023 – House Group Capstone. Big House Sunday this week is our Capstone session of House Groups. This season the House Groups read the book Under An Open Heaven: A New Way of Life Revealed in John’s Gospel. The capstone session will be a time to enhance our spiritual growth for all those who encountered the the Gospel of John in House Groups or in worship. Please come.
November 12, 2023 – Racial Reconciliation, Rev. Dr. Reggie Smith
October 29 , 2023 – Friends in Deed, Sarah Thornburg
October 1, 2023 – Social Justice Team with local nonprofit, Avalon Housing. Avalon Housing provides housing justice for Washtenaw County. The lack of affordable housing is the leading cause of homelessness nationwide. This is especially true here in Washtenaw County, one of the most expensive housing markets in Michigan. In our community and across the county, a disproportionate number of people experiencing homelessness are people of color. That’s because the root causes of homelessness — structural racism, generational poverty and trauma — run far deeper than the real estate market. The only way to break the cycle of homelessness is to consider the whole system — and the whole person. Come learn more about Avalon Housing and the boots on the ground work that they are doing right here in our local community as well as their advocacy work that extends to the national level.
September 17, 2023 – Topic: Hospitality, Connect Team: The Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church is a purposeful community that engages the world with the love of Jesus through the practice of Christian hospitality. What intention can we set as a congregation to widen and deepen our hospitality as we seek to live out this mission together? Please join us for a Big House Sunday session this week to learn about the vision of AACRC’s Connect Team in the areas of greeting, enfolding and fellowship. We will spend some time thinking about ways our congregation can feel a little more like “home” whether it’s someone’s first Sunday or if you have been here for decades.
September 10, 2023 – Topic: Discipleship Practices, Pastor Mike: “Discipleship” is a biblical word that applies to people who follow Jesus. It is natural to think of the original 12 followers as examples of being disciples, but it was applied broadly beyond the 12. In our first Big House Sunday, Pastor Mike will be presenting a biblically rooted definition of discipleship that will lay a foundation for some spiritual practices that will nurture our discipleship process for our congregation. Please join us for the launch of our Big House Sundays, for this opportunity to grow in faith together.
