10/21/2026
On Sunday Lauren visited Allegheny Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mohnton.
Two years ago, back when Free to Be was just a baby of an idea, they were the first congregation to welcome us in for story sharing and connection building during a 'Recovery Sunday'.
In those two years 300 different people have attended a Free to Be small group!
THREE HUNDRED. 🙀🎉💓
It was exciting to share that news with them.
And they met that exciting news with excitement of their own for a game that we regularly play at Play Ground Pop-ups.
Ouisi Picture-Dominoes; place one nature picture card at a time near another card in play that has something in common. Give your reason. Take turns going one at a time.
What was really fun was that it started as two separate groups with the same rules and objectives, and they ended up following, or not following them, however made sense to them.
Then I invited them to connect the two separate game boards, and be more intentional about taking turns, placing one card at a time, and focus in listenong to the reasoning behind why each card is picked.
We had to go around exactly once to bridge the gap. 🥹
And the last four cards placed allowed them to meet in the middle with multiple shared characteristics between them. 🤩
It was fun to reflect on what we had done together at the end:
They reported thinking about how their answers were either 'so good' or 'not good enough'. 'What if they think my reason is weird?' 🤔💭
They felt joy playing together a game that was more about being together than having to win. They felt weird for the same reason. 😄🥴
And they intend to take the invitation to notice nature, and the reminder to listen to understand instead of in order to respond, into their daily lives. 🐞🪸🍃
Thank you, AELC!
