Yr. A, Wk. 36: Closure

All present.  We awarded certificates from Sewanee to Bill and Lynne in church May 6; we met in the choir loft to say good-bye to them and to each other with a liturgy provided in our Reading & Reflection Guide.  At the place in the liturgy where everyone could offer a prayer, we each selected a favorite from the Collected Collects in bound in striking marbled paper created by Susan.

The class presented the mentors with potables that will bring pleasure many summer nights hence. Susan and I thank you!

We repaired to Hemingway's for a meal under a mildly cloudy night sky; Bill and Lynne took the bill: Bill and Lynne, we have, for the final time, one more occasion to thank you!

Next:  Susan and I will have mentor training during the summer.  We'll be in touch with you early in July about  sending in checks and signatures before July 20,  to begin again Year B in mid-August!

Yr. A, wk. 35: Concluding the Year, and a Kaleidoscope

Members:  Thomas, Gene, Mariel, first year;  Erica, second year; Scharme, third year; Bill and Lynne Lovelace, fourth year; Scott and Susan, mentors. Absent: Erica, Gene; Tom left midway.

Mariel started us off with worship from Canada's prayer book, focused on St. Julian of Norwich.  We answered her question, "What made you laugh during the past week?"

About the first year readings in apocryphal wisdom literature, Mariel and Tom found that these works were focused on secular education for upper-class boys.

Scharme discussed culture wars.  We digressed on the topic of "prosperity gospel" and its opposite, "liberation theology."  She was most struck by the observation that the doctrine of Hell has all but vanished from faith discourse in the 20th century.

Bill and Lynne, speaking of the readings for fourth year, felt that these chapters in this book made a fitting conclusion to their years with EfM.  The focus was on action that grows from dialogue.  Lynne says the chapters made her ask herself, "What am I going to do with my faith?"

For a TR, Scharme brought us a story of a time when she was overwhelmed, thinking "this is what we agreed was right to do," and yet feeling in the moment, "this is very wrong."  She said,  "It was like looking through a kaleidoscope and trying to keep track of just one color."  We imagined trying to find the esy out of a warren of halls and doors, looking through a kaleidoscope.
In such a world, the sin was standing still, sitting down, fearing to make a misstep.  We found Scriptural analogs in the stories of the Exodus, Jonah, and Paul's being struck blind on the road to Damascus.  The common element was feeling unprepared and apprehensive about a journey, uncertain of the turns taken.  Bill pointed out that we only presume that there's just one right way to go.


Collect for Clarity
All knowing God, You led the Hebrews with the pillar of flame: help us to remember your faithfulness when we allow our cares and fears to overwhelm us, and when we lose our way; so that we will have the courage to step forward into the unknown, trusting in Your divine goodness even to our last days.  Amen.

Next week, our last:  Meet in the choir's pews at 6:45.  We will have a worship service, then repair to Hemingway's for a final meal together.

Yr. A, Wk. 34: Maccabees and a Mad World

Members:  Thomas, Gene, Mariel, first year;  Erica, second year; Scharme, third year; Bill and Lynne Lovelace, fourth year; Scott and Susan, mentors. Absent: Erica.

Lynne led us in "Night Prayer" from New Zealand's prayer book.  While we ate our brown bag suppers, she posed a question that arose for her from 4th Year's text Our Neighbor's Faith, "Is it easy or difficult for you to speak of your faith? Are there messages from society that encourage or discourage you from doing so?"  A couple of pithy quotations came up in our discussion.  From Our Neighbor's Faith, "Too many religions have suffered from being over-verbalized and under-experienced."  From St. Francis: "Share the Gospel; if necessary, use words."

Responding to Maccabees, Mariel wondered if such over-the-top violence might have been in some way intended as humor?  Gene was struck by the role of dreams in Daniel.  Tom said that the transparently non-historical nature of Daniel is a prime example of the fallacy of 20th century fundamentalists' imposing on the Bible their needs for assurance of consistency and "infallibility."
Lynne commented on how she loves the book of Daniel for its portrayal of "staying true to your faith."

Reporting on the collapse of Christendom in two world wars, Scharme admitted that she had never before "connected emotionally" to what happened in the first half of the 20th century.  We commented also on the way the hierarchy of the Church enabled fascism, even while Bonhoeffer and other lay believers resisted.  We saw the same connection between religion, politics, and power.  Scharme told how the World Council of Churches emerged from the wars.

Bill and Lynne shared some stories from the later portion of Our Neighbor's Faith. They were struck by the story of Jewish families who prepared meals for their Islamic neighbors during Ramadan.  Bill repeated a quotation from one of the authors in the book, "Never hate the evil more than you love the good." This brought to mind a couple more outstanding quotations.  From Scharme: "Be a living example of how love wins."  From William Sloane Coffin, by way of Bill: "The only way to have a good death is to lead a good life."

When we observed that Bill and Lynne have only one more reading to do, there was a reflection on the EfM experience.  Bill said EfM "was not what I expected; it was more."

TR
For a theological reflection, Gene handed out the lyric for the 1980s song "Mad World" by Roland Orzabel, then showed us a video created for a more recent performance of the song by Gary Jules. Susan observed that the "whimsical" images of children at play in the video undercuts the lyric; Mariel found the music to be "sweet" in contrast to the bitter words.  In the end, we explored the world of "artistic collaboration."  We found insights that we, discussing the video, are also part of the collaboration; that any creator, like The Creator, gives up control of the creation; that, in collaboration, different perspectives (exemplified in the video by the camera's panning from rooftop to the children far below) can connect our "shared aloneness."

Running out of time, we all truly collaborated, drafting separate pieces of a collect in different quadrants of paper, for Scott to combine later.

Collect for Collaboration
Almighty Everliving Father, together with Your Word and Spirit, You risked opening the act of creation to Your children:  Teach us to try others' perspectives before we advance our own, so that, in our shared aloneness, we may truly collaborate with You and each other in the fulfillment of Your dream of creation.  Amen.

Next Week:  We brown bag again -- looking forward to a shared meal on the Square the following week.  Mariel will lead worship; Scharme will bring the TR.