Ezra, Nehemiah, Timothy, and the Counter-Reformation

meeting of March 24.  Present:  S. Thompson, B. Nowicki , J. Nowicki, B. Lovelace, L. Lovelace, S. Rouse, S. Smoot.

We discussed Ezra and Nehemiah.   The call to give up foreign wives and to come back to the laws of Moses seemed to lead to centuries of strife.

About Timothy I and II, we heard Paul's pastoral letters to fledgling churches, warning them to stick to the right ways, and, significantly, to conform to the ways of the Roman empire, insofar as possible.  "Don't make waves" was Susan's sum up.

We heard about Henry VIII and his offspring, Protestant and Roman Catholic.  The MacDonald's chapter on the Counter - Reformation was refreshing in how much was motivated by sincere efforts to recall the heart of our faith.  So much of previous chapters had to do with politics and wealth!

A question came up about the Protestant emphasis on marriage and children v. the R.C. mandate for celibacy of clergy.  We were reminded that the celibacy idea had its origin in problems regarding inheritance; the idea of "marrying the church" was an ex post facto justification for this Roman Church doctrine.

Next week:  The Lovelaces will provide food, and Lynne will bring worship;  Jeff is doing the TR. 

What does Transubstantiation Mean to You?

meeting of March 17.  Present:   S. Windham, S. Thompson, B. Nowicki , J. Nowicki, J. Karkula, S. Rouse, S. Smoot.

Our discussion of Philippians, Collassians, and "A Church Divided" brought us to the dilemma for believers who hear different things from different sources of authority.  "Scripture alone" was not a satisfactory answer, for we saw deadly conflicts that arose among those who studied Scripture closely.

The historical disagreements among Church "magistrates" and clergy over meaning of the Eucharist brought us to enunciate our own different positions on the topic.

Our TR featured a 1927 recording of Blind Willie Johnson's wordless performance of an old hymn. Writing about this now, I wonder that we didn't think about the line from Romans 8:26 about prayer, and how the Spirit "intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words."

We decided to schedule our open house for May 5. 

Weeks 22 & 23

Last week, we all read and discussed Diana Butler Bass's essay about integrating belief, behavior, and doctrine in a multicultural world.  (Scott's blog post about it is part summary, part reflection. See here.)  This week, we're back to reading in our own texts.

Our TR grew from a poem by Ella Wilcox Wheeler, "An Inspiration."

For the 10th, Bill N. has TR, Stephen has food, and Susan will bring worship.