Introduction: The Old Testament in the Gospels

Starting on 2/3/13, Mandy Rodgers-Gates is leading our class in a study of the Old Testament in the Gospel.  Below are the notes from our first class:

1. We will be assuming a certain kind of intentionality and compositional skill in the Gospel writers.  That is to say, the Gospel writers could have written their narratives in ways other than they did.  They could have chosen different examples of Jesus’ teaching, different stories of his healings.  (cf., John 20:30)

 

2. The Gospel writers engagement of the Old Testament is retrospective.  That is, in light of their experience of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, in light of the revelation they have seen in and through Jesus, and via the guidance of the Spirit poured out on the community of disciples, they can now see ways in which the OT writings pointed forward to Jesus and ways in which Jesus is a fulfillment of Israel’s relationship with her God and of God’s promises to Israel.

• By emphasizing the retrospective nature of NT writers’ interpretation of the Old, we are able to affirm the theological and revelatory value of the OT narratives on their own terms.
• Christians have a long history of villifying and persecuting Jews.  One contributing factor goes something like this:  “Well, the Old Testament clearly lays out what the Messiah is going to be like, all the ‘proofs’ that will show he is the Messiah, and Jesus obviously fulfills those; why don’t those Jews just get it?”
• This retrospective view best captures the newness, the “new thing,” that the God of Israel did in Jesus.  It captures this newness while also maintaining the continuity of Jesus with Israel’s story.  We could not have predicted what God would do, and neither could the Jewish people.

 

3.  The distinction between promise and prediction: OT texts are often treated as predictions and proof texts about Jesus.  But the entire OT narrative has the character of promise – namely, the promise of God to sustain Israel, to care for the people of Israel, to be faithful to them – even and especially when they are not faithful to him.

• Promise involves commitment to a relationship; prediction does not
  • a promise to someone; prediction about someone
  • A prediction needs no response. Promise necessitates/calls forth response
    • e.g.,  Isaiah 40-45 predicts that Cyrus of Persia will be used by God, but does not indicate that Cyrus acknowledges the Lord.  That prediction was part of God’s promise to Israel that they would return from exile in babylon, and that DID require a response from them.
    • Promise involves ongoing levels of fulfillment.
      • The fulfillment of a promise made will take different forms and make different demands depending on the circumstances and situation we find ourselves in.  Most importantly, it is the relationships which determines how the promise will be fulfilled in a given situation.

 

4. Reading the OT in light of Jesus, and understanding Jesus through engaging the Old, is a two way task.  We read forwards and backwards.  As we engage deeply with the Old Testament, our minds and hearts are formed by that world and those narratives.  This prepares us to read the NT with new eyes, and to understand Jesus in new ways.  At the same time, we can go back and read the OT differently in the light of Jesus, just as the NT authors do.  We can see new layers of meaning.

 

5. Gospels’ engagement with OT is complex, multifaceted, and often very subtle.  It’s not a question of simple predictions, nor of flat typologies.  We need to pay attention to both continuities and discontinuities between the OT narratives and the story of Jesus.  Often both are in play. 

Chapter 10: Difficulty and Emotional Maturity, Struggling

The second of the “points of leverage” that enable us to be all we can be as stewards of our gifts.

BOOK: Lifelines (Merriam and Clark) – life is fundamentally about two things – our work and our relationships and maturity is found in the inter-relationship between work and love and the key to this capacity is the ability to learn. (e.g. work place relationships….)

How do our work and relationships shape one another? (chat about this…or think about before next class?)

When you think about the most important things you have learned about God, how did you learn them? Have the way(s) you have learned about God changed over the years? What might be the invitation there? What might be the risk? Chat about this or think about it for next class

This chapter is largely about suffering. It intersects with vocation, but my sense was the Smith really was drawing on a larger context of suffering and reflected secondarily on how this relates to vocation and work. The reality is that the brokenness of the world intersects our lives in many ways, including in our “work worlds”.

2 Corinthians 1:5 – “For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”

• I Peter 4:13 – “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
• Romans 8:17 – “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
• 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 – Jars of clay…carry around both brokenness and HOPE
• Romans 3-5 – we rejoice in suffering…produces perseverance and character.

We shouldn’t be surprised by suffering, and yet we do need to try to make some sense of it…when that is possible. We are formed through suffering and we are partners WITH Christ through this.

The real test of emotional and spiritual maturity, in vocation as well as everywhere else, is how we respond to suffering. Whether we become self-absorbed, turn inward/melancholy, or turn to Christ.

Robert Orben – “sometimes I feel like the whole world is against me, but deep down I know that isn’t true. Some of the smaller countries are neutral.” – victimization

LINCOLN movie

What do we do?

1. Forgiveness – pray for those who persecute you….we will be wronged, taken advantage of, misunderstood. Don’t let resentment thrive. Forgive yourself
2. Accept our limitations and losses – we cannot do and be everything. That is not how we are designed (thankfully). Transitions in life involve letting go and embracing this.

Parker Palmer – “Each of us is given a nature by God. To have a nature is to have both limits and potentials. We can learn as much about our God-given nature by running into our limits as by experiencing our potentials. The truth is that I cannot be anything I want to be or do anything I want to do. The truth is that my created nature, my God-given nature, makes me like an organism in an ecosystem: I thrive in some roles and relationships within that system, but in others I wither and die.”

3.  Find safe places to be vulnerable (FMM – SHAME) – accepting suffering does not mean NOT FEELING, not processing. “Hardiness” is NOT a spiritual gift, nor is lack of appropriate anger. We need only look at Paul’s life and writings (as well as the Psalms) to know that God is OK with our hearts laid wide before him….Mourn loss honestly

Bob Pierce (Samaritan’s Purse) – “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God” – a good sign that we are open to deeply feeling suffering, our own or in the larger world, is if we are able to have deep compassion for others too.

4. Realize that some form of difficulty or pain is actually inherent in what we are called to do. Sometimes that is obvious; sometimes its not so…through this we can encounter God and our own need for HIM to fill our cup. 2 Corinthians 4:12 – Where we feel “death” at work in us, we are life to others”

5.  Practice gratitude (Ann Voscamp – author of 1000 gifts – keep a gratitude journal)

There is no other way to emotional and spiritual maturity than to be open to God and one another….in this season of advent which despite all its beauty can accentuate the brokenness around us (in our own lives, families, work places) may we notice.

Courage and Calling (Chapter 9) – The Capacity for Continuous Learning

One of the five “points of leverage” that enable us to be all we can be as stewards of our gifts. COURAGE was the topic last week (any review, thoughts that came up during the week?). This week the topic is the capacity for continuous learning. Followed by living/working through difficult situations and disappointment, the organizations we are a part of, and finally the routine and rhythm of our lives – solitude and community).

Had a hard time initially relating this to the Christian walk….seemed sort of “worldly” – about keeping up, being prepared for change (in my world of CME credits, documentation etc,..), but then tried to settle in and focus on scripture that sets this into a bigger frame.

•  2 Timothy 1:6 – “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God”
• 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a man who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth”
•  Psalm 25:4-5 – “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all the day long.”
•  Psalm 90:12 – “Teach us to number our days that we may present thee with a heart of wisdom”
•  Proverbs 23:12 – “Apply the heart to wisdom and thy ears to words of knowledge” – Proverbs is full of passages which make clear God’s desire and intention for man to grow in wisdom and truth
• King Solomon in Ecclesiastes – “whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might”

Our first and primary intention in excellence and continuous learning should be to serve Christ. We need to realize that God is the author and founder of all knowledge – including “work place” knowledge…he knows more about architecture, medicine, banking, education…than any human being could begin to fathom. And he longs for us to grow, to improve (parables of soil, farmers…)

“Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. The motive is everything. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart and he can thereafter do no common act.”  – AW Tozer

BOOK: Lifelines (Merriam and Clark) – life is fundamentally about two things – our work and our relationships and maturity is found in the inter-relationship between work and love and the key to this capacity is the ability to learn. (e.g. work place relationships….)

How do our work and relationships shape one another? (chat about this…or think about before next class?)

Two streams of learning and self-improvement:

1. do better what you do reasonably well
2. in response to change (or in preparation for change) learn a NEW skill

Models of learning:

• Cognitively – lectures and reading – intellectual
• Socially – group discussions, conversation, perspective
• Doing – practicing with supervision, trial and error
• Observation – stand back and watch first

While we may have preferred ways (which bleeds over into all of our lives) we all learn in all of these ways and stretching the boundaries helps us see this in new ways.  (e.g. language learning in Nepal)

When you think about the most important things you have learned about God, how did you learn them? Have the way(s) you have learned about God changed over the years? What might be the invitation there? What might be the risk? Chat about this or think about it for next class

We can learn to pray ONLY by praying

Evaluation and review – we all need affirmation, but not empty praise and flattery. This is an important role of mentors. Be a mentor, have a mentor. Good mentoring brings hope. Mentoring and apprenticeship is an ancient human dance. It is the dance of the spiraling generations, in which the old empower the young with their experience and the young empower the old with new life.

Proverbs 4:6 – “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you. Love her, and she will watch over you.” Wisdom leads to depth…

“I want my inner truth to be the plumb line for the choices I make about my life – about the work that I do and how I do it, about the relationships I enter into and how I conduct them.”
― Parker J. Palmer

notes from 10/14 class: Sabbath Rest (Martha Carlough)

In the last week, three things that gave me JOY:

1.

2.

3.

In the last week, three things that caused anxiety, fatigue or that I couldn’t approach wholeheartedly:

1.

2.

3.

Ways I join in some of the sustained practices of the church:

Hospitality – act of welcoming Christ into our lives

Advocacy for poor – share in the brokenness and God’s in-breaking kingdom

Generous giving – engaging in the work of the world

Intercessory prayer – acknowledging God is at work

*Corporate worship/fellowship

Last week we talked about some of the aspects of vocational integrity – pursuing our work with excellence, truth, diligence and generosity. This is a recipe for burn out unless we also approach our work with balance – including patterns and practices of Sabbath renewal. A lot of what we know about the Sabbath comes from the Old Testament and Judaism…the means by which the Israelites reminded themselves that it is God who ultimately provides and sustains. Sabbath, biblically “celebrated” is not just a day off, marked by the absence of productive work but a demonstration of trust and an opportunity for renewal.

SABBATH

God’s gift to us, provision for a sustained and integrated life….allows time and space for renewal and perspective. Intended for WORSHIP, rest, prayer, fellowship. Sabbath patterns in our day, week, and longer term “breaks” to re-connect more deeply with God and ourselves.

Mark 2:27 – The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Marva Dawn – Keeping the Sabbath Wholly (and Holy)

“Not celebrating Sabbath effectively means that I don’t trust God enough to keep the world going even one day without me…”

CEASING:

Hebrews 4:9-10

“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from His own work, just as God rested from His (referring back to Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 20:8-11).

Cease not only from work itself, but also from the need to accomplish from our efforts alone; to be in control of our lives and the world around us as if we were God. Cease from productivity, control, anxiety.

“Only he who obeys a rhythm superior to his own is free.” (Calvin Miller)

In many traditions, there is also a commitment of refraining from buying and selling, from acquiring new possessions which relates to God’s Old Testament commands to not provide for the future on the Sabbath, to trust. Stems from Nehemiah 10: 31 and similar OT verses.

RESTING:

Throughout the Bible, God promises rest to his people. Often the biblical word rest means “resting place” – a place for rest, trust, reliance.

Matthew 11:28-30. “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The spiritual rest which God especially intends is that we not only cease from our labor and trade but much more – that we let God work in us; realizing that “in all our powers we do nothing of our own.” (Martin Luther).

The Jewish Sabbath begins with sleep (often the first thing I do when I go on retreat, even if I’m not feeling particularly tired, is take a long nap…there is freedom in this).  It represents an experience of a fundamental understanding of grace and restoration. “Menuha” – Hebrew word for Sabbath translates best as harmony. Rest leads to harmony.

EMBRACING:

Third commandment – “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”. We know Jesus kept the Sabbath – spoke in synagogues, healed, rested…but he also allowed freedom (story of the man with the withered hand he healed – though that was “work”)

Psalm 92: 1-3 – a song for the Sabbath!

Acts 20:7 – “On the first day of the week, we came together to break bread”

Acts 13:44 – “On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

Part of the Sabbath USUALLY is worship in community. We don’t keep Sabbath alone. Quality time spent with other believers inevitably strengthens our own notion of who we are and what we are to do with out lives. Take hold of our faith, in the company of those we share it with.

FEASTING:

“Celebration is the honoring of that which we hold most dear. Celebration is returning with open arms and thankful hearts to the maker.” (Sara Wenger Shenk). Sabbath keeping offers us hope for relationships because of its emphasis on one’s relationship with God, its rhythms of community and solitude, its gift of time, and its call to cease striving. The intentionality of Sabbath lends itself to a conscious enjoyment of our relationships with, and delight in, each other as the outgrowth of our delight in God. Marva Dawn calls it the “weekly eschatological party. Suggests shared meals, rejoicing, intimacy with those we care for….

Hebrews 10:1  “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves……not rigidity, but out of trust that Sabbath is gift meant for our good.

Sabbath

 

Whatever is foreseen in joy

Must be lived out from day to day.

Vision held open in the dark

By our ten thousand days of work.

Harvest will fill the barn; for that

The hand must ache, the face must sweat.

And yet no leaf or grain is filled

By work of ours; the field is tilled

And left to grace. That we may reap,

Great work is done while we’re asleep.

When we work well, a Sabbath mood

Rests on our day, and finds it good.

Wendell Berry

Books:

Abraham Heschel – The Sabbath

Wayne Muller – Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest

Marva Dawn – Keeping the Sabbath Wholly

Notes from 10/7/12: Courage and Calling (Chapter 5) – The Pursuit of Excellence, Truth, Diligence and Generosity

Martha Carlough

Brief review

Genesis 2:15, 19-20

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work and take care of it….” “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So, the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.”

WORK IS GOOD. God created us to be partners with Him in his creative and redemptive work on earth. We are to engage in the work we do “with all of our heart” (Col 3:23). God’s chosen ones will “long enjoy the works of their hands”. (Isaiah 65:22)

VOCATION ENABLES US, IN RESPONSE TO THE CALL OF GOD TO EMBRACE WHATEVER IT IS THAT GOD WOULD HAVE US BE AND DO IN THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. Our confidence is not in our ability to listen (figuring it out) but in God’s ability to SPEAK.

DIFFERENT USES OF “CALLING”:

1. FIRST AND FOREMOST WE ARE CALLED TO BE CHRISTIANS (TO LIVE BY FAITH, TO TRUST AND OBEY GOD, AND TO LIVE INTO OUR SALVATION)
2. WE ARE CALLED TO FAITHFULNESS IN THE DAILY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES – CARING FOR FAMILY, SERVING, HOSPITALITY….
3. WE ARE INVITED BY GOD TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD, CONSISTENT WITH WHO WE HAVE UNIQUELY BEEN CREATED TO BE

ALL VOCATIONS ARE POTENTIALLY SACRED. RESPONSIBLE CHRISTIAN LIFE INCLUDES STEWARDSHIP OF OUR GIFTS AND CAPACITIES. We have talked about how these may be clarified in different stages of life (age wise as we mature, as we cope with the responsibilities of life, with change/loss). And we don’t always get to “live out” our vocation through a particular occupation. (Cathedral story). Vocation is fulfilled within the limitations of life. But the essence of what God desires for us is that we live in congruence with who we are – considering our talents and capacities, our temperament, where we know joy, and where we feel the brokenness of the world.

Ps 37:4 – “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart”

Ps 16:5-6 “Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Ps 16:11 – “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Ecclesiastes 2:24 – “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see if from the hand of God.”

We come to know ourselves within community. (Romans 12) – ?exercise….three things in the last week that gave you JOY and three events/interactions that you had trouble approaching with wholeheartedness, or that caused anxiety or “fatigue”. Make it a goal to talk about these with a few people in your life before next week – a good friend, a spouse, a close work colleague, your grandmother

VOCATIONAL INTEGRITY – WORK IS GIVEN TO US BY GOD AND IS OFFERED BACK TO GOD….

2 TIMOTHY – This as a letter by an “elder”, Paul (starts out with a BLESSING given from someone in that third stage of life…) who writes to Timothy encouraging him to fulfill his calling with excellence, truth, diligence and generosity.

I thank God for you, I long to see you. I am reminded when I think of you of your family (where you came from – your grandmother, your mother…). I want to remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which you received through the laying on of hands (in community).

Don’t be ashamed to testify of the faith – we have been called to a holy life through the grace of Christ (first calling…). Guard what has been entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

2 Tim 2:2 – “And these things which you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (one of my life verses)

 EXCELLENCE – (2 Tim 2:15) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman proud of his work. Do this unto the LORD. Luke 12:48 – “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required…”

“shadow side” of this might be perfectionism or control

TRUTH (2 Tim 2:15 – 2^nd part) –As one who handles the words of truth (warns Timothy against gossip, wandering away from truth…).

“In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter he will be an instrument of noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” (v. 20-21)    All vocations are sacred. God prepares and uses us…but we need to be living holy lives in preparation for this.

v. 23-25 – Do work through gentleness, kindness and patience.

2 Tim 3:16-17 – “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate; equipped for every GOOD WORK.”

 

“shadow side” of this might be fundamentalism – blinds us to graciousness and generosity and the reality that others may be on different places in their walk.

DILIGENCE

 

2 Tim 4:2 – “Preach the word. Be prepared in season and out of season – correct, rebuke, encourage – with patience and careful instruction…..Keep your head in all situations. Endure hardships.”   Our work shouldn’t depend on daily affirmation from others. Wholeheartedness.

Shadow side – Hectic over-activity, OR acedia (sloth, lack of caring)

GENEROSITY

4:6 – “For I have been poured out like a drink offering….I have fought the good fight and kept the faith”. Generous service, freely given; not for what Paul would receive back.

We all can’t be generous in all things.

Parker Palmer – “Though God loves everyone, I am not called to be the means by which everyone knows and experiences this love.”    How we are touched by a particular brokenness in the world? True generosity empowers those we serve (not creating dependency) and brings joy to the giver.

Shadow side – creating dependency, need for affirmation and acceptance

Life in community – do your best to come quickly….loads of folks have left me. Get Mark to come too as he’ll be useful. Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus and my scrolls. TO GOD BE THE GLORY.  

 

Four sustained practices of the church:

1. Generous hospitality – act of welcoming Christ into our lives
2. Advocacy for the poor – share in brokenness and God’s inbreaking kingdom
3. Generous giving – engaging in work of the world
4. Intercessory prayer – affirm that God is at work

Add to this community worship and SABBATH…

Biblical Case Studies for “Vocation” (notes from 9/23/12 class discussion)

Vocation: Definition (from Intro to Courage and Calling)

• Our specific call, a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being
• Living out the full implications of what it means to follow Jesus
• Through vocation, we come to an appreciation that God takes us seriously
• Each of us follows our Lord differently
• Not primarily as an occupation or “line of work”

Case Studies in Vocation

• Genesis 2:15-20

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

8 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

• Genesis 3:17-19

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

• Exodus 4:10-12

10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

• Acts 18:1-4

1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

• Ephesians 3:8

8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

Fall Study: Courage and Calling (book by Gordon Smith)

Join us each Sunday morning in the Community Room as Steve Hinkle and Martha Carlough lead our discussion on work, calling, and vocation using the book Courage and Calling by Gordon Smith.  We meet at 9:45AM (or after first service!) for snacks and fellowship and begin our class at 10AM!

Class will follow this general outline:

1. Introduction to the book and Chapter 1- Being Stewards of our Lives (August 26th)

2. The Meaning of our Work- a Theological Vision for Engaging our World (September 2)

3. Seeking Congruence- The Character of Vocational Intregrity

4. Chapters in our Lives- Vocation and the Stages of Adult Life

5.  As Unto the Lord- The Pursuit of Excellence, Truth, Diligence, and Generosity

6.  Thinking Vocationally- Wisdom for the Road

7. Four Callings (as examples); Business, the Arts, Education and Religious Leadership

8.  Week 8- Courage and Character- Turning from the Fear that so Easily Entangles Us

9. The Capacity for Continuous Learning- The Way We Stay Alive and Engaged

10. The Cross We Bear- Difficulty and Emotional Maturity

11. Working With and Within Organizations- Leveraging Our Work with the Work of Others

12. The Ordered Life- Between Solitude and Community

This summer, the PCF Sunday school class is looking to develop deeper awareness of issues of poverty, injustice, and ways God is moving in certain spheres through guest speakers.  We would love for you to join us for any or all of the weeks.

We meet in the Community Room at 9:45AM for fellowship and food; class starts at 10AM.

Summer class schedule

• June 17: Opening Conversation, Bethany Innes: Define social justice, look at types of poverty, talk about where we meet the poor, ask questions
• June 24: Legal Sphere,  Kay and Jay Ferguson
• July 1: Mental health care, Kimberly Andresen and Frauke Schaefer
• July 8: Health care, Susie Meghdadpour, Caleb Pineo, and Rich Frothingham
• July 15: Education, Bethany Innes and Steve Larson
• July 22: Marsha Owens
• July 29: Homelessness, Peter Hausmann
• August 5: Reconciliation, Chris Rice
• August 13: Closing discussion, Bethany Innes and Margot Hausmann:  What does it look like to love people “on the margins” in our lives?

Amos discussion and potluck

This Sunday, April 22nd- Coffee and Discussion.  With our study of Amos complete, join our discussion to share any thoughts about the Amos study as well as thinking through our fall class (and get a sneak peak at what’s ahead for the coming months!).  All are welcome.  We’ll have yummy pastries to accompany the coffee.

Potluck at Andy’s- next Sunday, April 29th.  After second service, head over to Andy Sturges’ house (929A Urban Avenue Durham) and join for a fellowship lunch.  All are welcome- PCF-ers new and long-term alike 🙂

New Course on Prayer

Starting July 10, we’ll start a new course called “Prayer” that will run from July 10–August 28.