Hello Stronger Together Group,
I love this video Brian found about mental health month, which includes a happy piece from Sesame Street’s Elmo. Here is the link, and look forward to seeing everyone at 7pm tonight.
Warmup question: What qualities do you look for in a friendship?
Dee
Hello friends,
We’re going to do a brief 30-min check-in for Stronger Together this week since it’s a holiday, and we’re shifting the date to Wednesday. Please join us at the usual time, 7:00pm, for a casual chat with supportive friends. Maybe we can also watch the video I shared last week:”How to help someone struggling with their mental health“, which is a delightful and inspiring reminder of why we come together. See you soon!
Our warm-up question for this week:
What’s the best gift you ever gave someone?
See you soon,
Alex
Hello friends,
I searched my email just to be sure: our first Stronger Together discussion was held nearly four years ago on April 16th, 2020. At the time we envisioned it as a “three-part series” to address the social isolation we were experiencing during pandemic lockdown. So much has changed since then. Our conversations on mental health are wider-ranging, many new people have joined in to share ideas and experiences, and we kick things off with a “warm-up question” rather than “two words to describe how you are feeling today.” Many other things have stayed the same; we show up to support each other, we listen with empathy and share honestly, and we congregate via Zoom at the same day and time each week.
I wonder what the next four years will look like for Stronger Together, don’t you? Let’s talk about it. Occasionally we discuss as a group how we want Stronger Together to continue and evolve, and now is a good time to check back in. How might we evolve the program so that more people are involved? What roles can each of us play in sustaining it?
Please take a few minutes ahead of the discussion to reflect on what you love most about Stronger Together. Please also spend a few minutes thinking of a time when something in church (or work, social clubs, etc.) changed over time… but in a good way. This will be the warm-up question for Thursday as you’ll see below.
And don’t think that I’ve forgotten to share a neat video with you! I came across a touching and thoughtful video from BBC called “How to help someone struggling with their mental health“, and to my delight I found that it’s part of a robust series called Headroom: Your Mental Health Toolkit. Why this video this week? It reminded me of you, and what makes Stronger Together a special experience.
Our warm-up question for this week:
Tell us about a time when something significant changed at church, work, or a social club… and the change ended up being really positive.
See you soon,
Alex
Hello Stronger Together Friends,
I am filling in again for Alex so… please join me this Thursday to discuss conflict and how to try to argue effectively. Of course arguing effectively sounds good on paper, or video, but in real life arguing is way complicated, as we all know. What are your go to techniques for diffusing or working through difficult arguments?
Here is the video we will see on working through conflict: How to Argue Effectively.
Warm up question: What do you think about Daylight Savings Time?
Hope to see you Thursday at 7pm.
Dee
Hello friends,
As Christians we believe–really, we have to believe–in the ability of people to change. While it’s easy to look back on our lives and reflect on how we have already changed, it’s a little bit more difficult to imagine how we might change in the future (spoiler alert: we’re all going to continue changing and growing, no matter how much we might insist otherwise). It’s enough to make you wonder…what types of things change us? Major life events, of course, but surely there are “small” things that change us over time, too?
This week we’re going to talk about one way in which people change: by listening to the personal stories of others. We’ll listen to a ~5-minute excerpt (starting at 3:45) of a podcast episode titled, “Communications to Power Mental Health” by none other than our very own Carrie Fox! In this episode, Carrie interviews Schroeder Stribling, President and CEO of Mental Health America, who tells her story about how she was inspired to be the leader she is today. As you reflect on her story, think about how it makes you feel, and perhaps how similar personal stories have changed the paths you’ve journeyed along throughout your life.
Our warm-up question for this week:
What’s a song that you love dancing to, or (if you’re like me and desperately try to avoid dancing), a song that you danced to for a memorable occasion?
See you soon,
Alex