The word saint conjures up images of superstar Christians revered for their spectacular acts and otherworldly piety. But when we take a closer look at the lives of these spiritual heavyweights, we learn that they also experienced struggle, doubt, and heartache. In fact, we learn that in many ways they’re not all that different than us. In her book Vintage Saints and Sinners: 25 Christians Who Transformed My Faith author Karen Wright Marsh reveals surprising lessons in everyday spirituality from “saints” ― folks who lived and breathed, and failed and followed God.
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Each time your Vintage Small Group gathers, you’ll begin with the “Getting to Know You” questions provided in the weekly Discussion Guide. You will then watch the video provided where Karen Wright Marsh will introduce different brothers and sisters in the faith. In the Discussion Guides, we have provided 5 questions for each session. You can use these as a starting place and feel free to follow the conversation as the Spirit leads you. We hope that you will enjoy getting to know one another and the “vintage” Christians that you will meet along the way.
If you are interested in additional small group opportunities, contact Anne Galliher, Associate Pastor for Small Groups and Young Adults.
About the Leaders
Karen Wright Marsh
Karen is an author speaker and the executive director and co-founder of Theological Horizons, a ministry that supports Christians and seekers in academia by providing a welcoming community for engaging faith, thought and life. She is the host of the Vintage Saints and Sinners podcast. She holds degrees in philosophy from Wheaton College and linguistics from the University of Virginia. Karen lives with Charles Marsh, a UVA professor, at the Bonhoeffer House in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In September 2023, Karen joined White Memorial as our Theologian In Residence. During her visit she took the time to record these conversations about six “saints” who have impacted her.
Rev. Anne Galliher
In her role as Associate Pastor for Small Groups and Young Adults, Anne is primarily responsible for the overall vision and implementation of adult small group ministries at WMPC. She seeks to encourage growing participation among young adults in their 20s and 30s in the life of the church, equipping them for discipleship, leadership, and service in God’s world. She is passionate about cultivating communities of belonging and transformation for all of God’s people.
Anne is a graduate of Appalachian State University and Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. She is married to her high school sweetheart Aaron. She is happiest being outdoors or when busy in the kitchen, gathering people around a crowded table. She loves hot yoga, iced coffee, and good books.
Rev. Grier Booker Richards
In her role as Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Adult Faith Formation, Grier is primarily responsible for nurturing, guiding and resourcing the various Sunday School classes and midweek groups of the church, for offering worship leadership at the 10:45 a.m. OnPoint@1704 service, and for helping interested visitors and new members to connect with this community and find their home at White Memorial Presbyterian Church. Grier is excited about leading and sharing in ministry which is both relational and transformational.
Grier is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and of Princeton Theological Seminary. She has been published in PAUSE, a collection of 52 weeks of devotions from the popular devotional site d365.org, and has written curriculum and has served in various leadership positions for Montreat conferences and events of the PC(USA) denomination.
Grier has a son, Olsen and in her free time, you will find her running trails, practicing yoga or keeping up on Tar Heel athletics.