On August 30, 2020, The Common Room held its virtual re-launch and gathered to discuss the topic of "Loving our Enemies in a Cancel Culture." Dr. J Anthony Snorgrass, a branding and media guru and professor at Avila University, joined us to share insights on how to understand and navigate cancel culture.

In this episode, Darcie Tramp joins Rev. Paul Rock and Jimmy Itczak to discuss the different ways people have responded to health and public safety guidelines, including mask-wearing, that have been recommended to help stop the spread of COVID-19. How can we understand the different responses? As followers of Christ, what can and should we do to advance the common good and the welfare of others?

Paul Rock, Jimmy Itczak and Sam Murphy discuss the question posed by Desmond Tutu: do we focus on pulling drowning people out of the water or go upstream to learn why there's so much water in the first place? Addressing the needs of people while discussing systemic issues is a tension followers of Christ find themselves in regularly. What principles do we consider in these scenarios?

Rev. Kristin Riegel, Geneva McAuley and Maggie McClure join us for the second conversation in our Common Room Lounge series. Maggie poses the question, "Is prayer real, and how can we do it in a way that doesn't impede action?"

In our new series, "The Common Room Lounge," we're creating a space for raw, honest and unfiltered dialogue on questions that come directly from The Common Room community. This first episode features a conversation with Rev. Paul Rock, Jimmy Itczak and Trish Berrong in response to a question from Trish:  how can we find hope, and how should we respond, when it feels like the world is falling apart?

On Mother's Day, we continued our "Ordinary Joy in Extraordinary Times" series by talking about the wisdom of moms and mother-figures. In Proverbs, wisdom is personified in female form ("sophia" is the Greek word for wisdom) and Proverbs 8 tells us this female essence of wisdom was with God from the beginning. In this sermon, Rev. Paul Rock helped us consider how the adept, savvy, and enlightened women in our lives embody this truth for us -- training us in wisdom and pointing us toward the things that bring us life and "ordinary joy."

In the second week of our new series, "Ordinary Joy in Extraordinary Times," Rev. Kristin Riegel led us talking about gratitude. Multiple studies have shown that practicing gratitude can make you happier, feel more positive emotions, and lead to improved emotional and physical well-being. As people of faith, we also know that when we're at our best, we can be more mindful and intentional about loving God, ourselves and others. In this sermon and discussion, Kristin helped us delve into a passage from Philippians 4 to reveal what our faith tells us about practicing gratitude, and how it may be possible to find peace and joy even when we don't have all the answers.

In the first week of our new series, "Ordinary Joy in Extraordinary Times," Rev. Paul Rock helped us consider the relationship between Fear, Doubt and Joy. Throughout this series, we'll be talking about daily practices that can help bring us a deeper sense of peace, calm and joy so that we can experience God's presence more fully. As part of our series, we'll also deconstruct some of the misinterpretations about joy and Christianity, and find out what scripture and Jesus actually tell us about why tending to joy is an important part of practicing our faith.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and to kick off Earth Week, we talked about how we can renew our commitment to action and care for the earth. As part of the sermon, Rev. Paul Rock helped us look back at a few excerpts from Rev. Don Fisher's sermon, "As Long as the Earth Endures," originally delivered in April 2014. Following worship, Paul led an informal community conversation about the lessons we are learning and the faith questions that are being raised during the current pandemic.

In our Easter message, Rev. Paul Rock helped us reflect on the telling interaction between Peter and the resurrected Christ. When Jesus finds him, Peter is no longer the ever-certain or self-confident person from before, but has instead become humbled by uncertainty. Yet, it is in this state that the risen Christ comes to Peter, revealing to him how he will move forward as a better leader, servant and caregiver. Like Peter, our lives have been upended by uncertainty in this time of the coronavirus, and we are already a changed and humbled people. And also like Peter, the resurrected Christ comes to us now, telling us how we will become better servants, leaders, and friends, and reminding us of our shared humanity.