HELLO!

I plan to offer two faith studies early in the fall. One will be held in the daytime, monthly, and the other will be in the evening, weekly. Let me know which time works best for you. A newer member shared that in her former church, the faith study was held after Coffee Hour, participants would bring their own bag lunch. I won’t be able to accommodate everyone, but hearing from you, I will have a sense of what works here. I asked for input on what books to use moving forward. My caveat remains, I want to hear what moved you, but know I also want to reach a broad range of people, consider if your suggestion might speak to others. These five books were suggested to me. Please share the one you would like to study monthly-in the daytime and the one you would like to study weekly-in the evening. I will keep a tally. We have 15-30 participants.

• Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond With the Natural World by Karen Armstrong. Since the beginning of time, humankind has looked upon nature and seen the Divine. Drawing on her vast knowledge of the world’s religious traditions, Karen Armstrong describes nature’s central place in spirituality across the centuries.

• Paul: The Misunderstood Apostle by Karen Armstrong. Paul is known as the first Christian writer, authoring fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament. It was Paul who established the first Christian churches in the first century and Paul who transformed a minor sect into the largest religion in Western civilization.
• Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories: Reflections on the Life of Christ by Debie Thomas. Jesus was a disrupter and a peacemaker. His friends were riffraff, his enemies the religious elite. The stories he told were scandalous. The stories he lived changed the world. The Jesus who emerges is not the sanitized Christ of piety and platitude, but the Christ of complicated joys and transcendent sorrows. These are the stories of an Incarnate God who finds and loves us in the messiness of our lives.
• Delivered out of Empire: Pivotal Moments in the Book of Exodus by Walter Brueggemann. The book of Exodus brims with dramatic stories familiar to most of us: the burning bush, Moses' proclamation to Pharaoh to "Let my people go," the parting of the Red Sea. These signs of God's liberating agency have sustained oppressed people seeking deliverance over the ages. But Exodus is also a complex book. We also learn about Moses, and how his story connects to the larger theme of Exodus.
• What Is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything by Rob Bell. Bell takes us deep into actual passages to reveal the humanity behind the Scriptures. You cannot get to the holy without going through the human. When considering a passage, we should be asking: "What’s the story that’s unfolding here and why did people find it important to tell it?” What was it that moved them to record these words? What was happening in the world at the time? Bell addresses the concerns of those who see the Bible as “God’s Word” but are troubled by the ethical dilemmas, errors, and inconsistencies in Scripture.

Please remember, in the faith studies I lead, no one is expected to own or to read the book. Rather, it’s theme and contents, which I summarize at the beginning of each session, offer all participants a chance to engage, ask questions, make comments, and listen to each other’s perspective.

I look forward to your feedback. Peace, Kevin