EXPLORING FAITH AND DOUBT IN COMMUNITY
Safe Community
We believe people often need to be embraced and understood more than they need right answers.
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Safe Community
We believe people often need to be embraced and understood more than they need right answers. Thus, we aim to create a safe community that practices charitable listening and compassionate question-asking for the spiritually homeless and those recovering from painful experiences in faith communities. To belong in our community is not achieved through agreeing with any set of doctrines, but rather is grounded in a desire that our beliefs, whatever they are, open us to love of God and neighbor. We withhold judgement, and we are generous with our affirmation. No question is off limits, no perspective is discounted, and no one is ever ostracized for where they are on their journey.
Humility with Mystery
We embrace that relationship with God is always shrouded in mystery.
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Humility with Mystery
We embrace that relationship with God is always shrouded in mystery. We see such unknowing as vital for the life of faith, not as an obstacle to overcome. We are held together not by common certainty, but by common seeking to experience the mystery of the divine. Thus, we believe we must approach our spiritual journey with profound and pervasive humility before one another. We believe that such humility actually frees us to engage in charitable dialogue without fear; it enables us to see that there is always more to learn from others, and it gives us a real patience with our own process.
Movement toward God
We believe, through all the existential ups and downs of our spiritual journeys, that moving toward God is moving toward goodness, truth, and beauty.
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Movement toward God
We believe, through all the existential ups and downs of our spiritual journeys, that moving toward God is moving toward goodness, truth, and beauty. We often experience this through learning from the life of Jesus. We do our best to keep moving toward such goodness, avoiding stagnant cynicism. We acknowledge that movement toward God invites a process of continually deconstructing and reconstructing our understanding of God as we grow. We embrace that moving toward God looks different for everyone. We know first-hand the difficulty of wrestling with doubt, and will never force someone along in their spiritual journey.
Human Connection
We are all about connecting people for the journey. We seek to connect people who can intimately identify with one another in the struggle with and for faith.
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Human Connection
We are all about connecting people for the journey. We seek to connect people who can intimately identify with one another in the struggle with and for faith. We have found that during seasons of deep doubt, we often need beautiful human connection much more than we need another verse of encouragement or apologetic argument for God’s existence. We treasure the moments of solidarity that come with openly sharing our doubts and the candid conversations that spring from such connections. If this collective achieves nothing else but connecting future friends for the journey of faith who can help us explore our questions, it will surely have been worthwhile.
STC's Retirement
Letter
Hello friends,
After roughly 6 years of providing a safe space for the spiritually homeless, St. Thomas Collective will no longer be gathering regularly.
This was a difficult decision to make, as we have seen the ways the Collective has been an invaluable source of community for those experiencing doubt, and we know that there are still students out there who could benefit from the group. However, we have also had to acknowledge that the group has come to a natural pause. With many of our regular attendees graduating, moving away, or simply moving on when they were ready, it has proven difficult to rebuild a community of students to carry on the Collective’s work.
We wish the Collective could remain a steady presence for future generations of Biola students who need it. We also wish to view this retirement not as a failure, but as a chance to celebrate what STC has been to the numerous people that have passed through over the years. For many of us, STC has been a spiritual rest stop during a very difficult journey.
Though we will not be gathering regularly anymore, the network of friends and resources built through St. Thomas Collective is still here, and we want to continue to provide access to this network. Our website and Instagram page will remain up. Anyone can message the page to ask for advice, get recommendations of professors to speak to, or simply chat. Our Gathering Guide is still available online, and we are willing to assist anyone who would like to restart the group in the future.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to everyone who has supported or been a part of this community 🧡