Come and See
A year of honest questions, for anyone still wondering, wandering, or just curious. No sign-up sheet. No follow-up call. Just come once, and see.
Dinner 5:30pm (optional) · Group 6:00–7:30pm
Sept 30 – Apr 14, with breaks · Saint Dunstan's Episcopal Church
↓ what to expect
Not a Bible study. Not a program to bring you back to anything.
Come and See is a room, once a week, for people to ask honest questions about faith, doubt, and meaning. Whether you grew up in church, left it, or have never set foot in one, this is built for you. Nobody asks what you believe. Any honest answer fits, including "I don't know" and "I don't believe any of it."
The name comes from a moment early in John's gospel, where someone unsure and half-convinced is invited to come see for himself rather than take anyone's word for it. That's the whole posture of the year: come look, don't just take it on faith that it's worth your time.
There's no homework, no sign-up sheet, and nothing you're agreeing to by walking in. If you come once and never come back, that's completely fine.
The arc of the evening
Every session, all year, follows roughly the same shape. Knowing the shape in advance is meant to make the room feel familiar, not to spoil it. Some of what actually happens is easier to receive live than described ahead of time, so a few of these are named here in outline, not in full.
Dinner5:30pm, Parish Hall, optional
An ongoing fellowship meal, open to anyone. Some people come just for dinner. Some come for dinner and the group. No pressure either way, and no agenda at the table.
Welcome
We say plainly what tonight isn't, and someone leading is honest about their own doubts too. This isn't a room where one person has it figured out and everyone else is catching up.
Light, and an old prayer
A candle is lit and stays lit for as long as we're together. Then a short prayer follows, one Christians have spoken at this exact moment, day turning to evening, for almost two thousand years.
You'll hear the words when you're in the room. That's on purpose.The covenant
Before anything else, we say out loud what this room promises everyone in it. See below, this part isn't a secret.
A short story
Told, not read from a page, usually ending on the same three words the whole year is named for.
Small groups
A few honest questions, no right answers, three or four people at a table. You won't have to figure out who to sit with — that part's taken care of.
Close
The candle is blown out together. A quiet moment, then we go home. About 90 minutes, start to finish.
What this room promises
Said out loud, together, in Week 1.
What's said here stays here.
We don't fix each other.
Nobody in this room is a project.
Disagreement is fine. Debate isn't the goal.
This holds every week, all year, not just Week 1. You don't have to memorize it. It's said again, and it's true whether or not you were there to hear it the first time.
Where the year goes
The whole year is one arc, but it moves in six parts, loosely tracking the church calendar from ordinary time through Advent, Lent, and into Easter. Tap any part to see the weeks inside it.
PART 1
Questions We Actually Have
Sep 30 – Oct 21
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Four weeks of starting honestly, with yourself first, then with the group.
- WK 1What Are You Looking For?
- WK 2What You're Missing, or What You've Never Had
- WK 3What's Actually True About You
- WK 4An Old Idea Worth Trying
PART 2
Too Far or Too Close
Oct 28 – Nov 11
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A short bridge on whether God feels impossibly distant, or too close to notice at all.
- WK 1Too Big to Reach, or Too Close to See
- WK 2Is God in the Ordinary?
- WK 3Neither Pole Is Home Yet
PART 3
Waiting in the Dark
Dec 2 – 16
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An Advent-shaped stretch on not knowing yet, where doubt (or never having believed at all) counts as a real starting point, not a failure to arrive somewhere else.
- WK 1Permission to Not Know Yet
- WK 2Learning to Sit With Mystery
- WK 3Doubt, or Never Having Believed, as a Real Starting Point
A short take-home prompt goes out by email between Dec 20–30, no meeting that week.
PART 4
Faith You Can Do With Your Hands
Jan 13 – Feb 3
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Four weeks on practice over belief, and rhythm over willpower.
- WK 1The Physical Over the Checklist
- WK 2A Simple Daily Rhythm
- WK 3Looking Back Over Your Day
- WK 4Adjusting Your Rhythm
PART 5
The Day Between
Feb 17 – Mar 24
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The longest stretch of the year, held loosely, on staying in the unresolved space between question and answer, named for the day between Good Friday and Easter, when nothing yet felt certain.
- WK 1Being Unresolved Isn't a Detour
- WK 2Spiritual Practice: The Labyrinth
- WK 3The People Around You
- WK 4Disagreement Isn't a Threat
- WK 5Spiritual Practice: Lectio Divina
- WK 6The Day Between
PART 6
What Now
Apr 1 – 14
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Closing out after Easter, naming what actually changed, and deciding what, if anything, continues.
- WK 1What Actually Changed
- WK 2Committing to the Rhythm
- WK 3Where You Go From Here
What people usually ask
Is this a Bible study?
No. There's no homework and nobody's teaching you what to believe. It's closer to an honest conversation, with a short story or idea to kick it off.
Do I have to believe anything to come?
No. Nobody's ever asked what you believe. The whole night is built so any honest answer fits, including "I don't know" or "I don't believe any of it."
Is someone going to try to convert me?
No. The first thing said out loud, every time, is that this isn't a recovery program and nothing is being asked of you beyond showing up.
What if I go once and don't want to come back?
That's completely fine. There's no sign-up sheet and no follow-up call. Nothing you're agreeing to by being here once.
Can I join partway through the year?
Week 1 sets up a few things the rest of the year builds on, so it's the best place to start if you can. If you can't make it, ask before showing up mid-part, you won't have missed your chance.
Can I bring someone else?
Yes, more than welcome.