Yr. D, Wk. 3: First Readings in Collins, Levine, MacCulloch, and Ford

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Worship and Gathering
Donfred brought us a set of thoughtfully-chosen prayers for worship. In answer to his gathering question about our favorite seasons, the results are in: winter, 1 vote; summer, 2; spring, 2. The winner is "Sprall" (both spring and fall) 3. I guess someone voted twice. PHOTO: Joyce and friend.

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 1 Spiritual Autobiography and Listening: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings
Before we began to discuss the readings, Scott challenged everyone to practice active listening by building every response on something in another's comment.

Jessica started us off from her reading in MacCulloch by remarking on the influence of Greek/Roman culture on Judaism, and the tension between the ideals of "oneness" v. "goodness." Susan encountered the same topic in Levine. Scott related the "goodness" idea to Ford's "good" theology: it must be wise (taking from past history) and creative (relating the past to current circumstances).

Lanie connected to the topic of Greek influence, expressing surprise at the number of ways that mythology of non-Jewish cultures made its way into the scriptures we have today. Daniel picked up on her uneasiness: Scripture was written by men limited in their knowledge and shaped by the beliefs of their times, yet we also believe that the Spirit moved in them and in the councils that put all these books together. Jessica observed that the Spirit still moves in us -- collectively, individually -- as we read scripture. The same passage means different things at different times in your life.

Daniel agreed with Jessica, and added his experience that another person reading the same passage can have a wildly different way to see it.

Joyce really brought the conversation around to a different level when she enthused about Levine. The author is so down-to-earth and relatable and FUNNY! The book is like a conversation, she said. Scott picked up on the idea of "conversation" in Scripture: conversations between us and scripture, us and each other, and between different authors of the Bible's various histories, stories, poems, letters, laws, and prophetic writings.

Theological Reflection

After reviewing the norms list on our class blog (use the back arrow on this page to see it), Scott posed a question from "Respond" in the RRG: What part of the norms list calls for special attention?

• Journey, the group: digression on their music, their hair, and unfavorable comparisons to awesome Springsteen and Jagger
• Susan: More than one way to the same point
• Flexibility
• Jessica: "I thought EfM was going to give me all the answers. But it raised more questions that had never been on my radar!"

We took a turn from Jessica's comment. Daniel called it ironic that the more you learn, the more you need to learn. Donfred related back to the journey, telling us that every place he has lived, from the Caribbean to NYC to Virginia to Georgia, has been an incredible learning experience.

We could have based our list of norms on discussion of our experiences in other seminars and committees. What was the effect of deriving the norms from a metaphor and its images?

The answers came in terms of the journey. The metaphor of the journey helps Donfred to accept the ups and downs of the journey ahead. Susan said that reasonable rules keep us on good terms with our traveling companions. When Daniel takes a group to Mexico every year, he explains that there are reasons behind each rule.

Thinking to next week, we took a couple minutes in breakout rooms to think aloud about what story we might tell. We're bringing the first installment of our Spiritual Autobiographies, all about conversions from the last 15 years of our lives. For week four, we're looking at "affective" conversions.

Daniel invited everyone to Evening Prayer at St. James at 6:30-7pm every Wednesday for October, at least. Jessica and Joyce offer morning prayer on Zoom, camera off, at 7am Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For Monday:
Joyce will lead worship and bring a gathering question. We're reading the pieces assigned for week four in the RRG. We're going to bring our "affective" conversion story, 2-5 minutes long.

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Yr. D, Wk. 2: Class norms for 2024-2025

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In breakout rooms at our first meeting, we found images suggested by the year's theme of "the journey." This week, with different partners, we compiled rules and tips suggested by those images.

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 1 Spiritual Autobiography and Listening: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: None.

I. Packing and Preparations

• Read the material, do the work so that you'll have at least some sense of what's ahead.
• Arrive on time; prepared for that day's leg of the journey.
• Take reflection music prayer dedication focus.
• As deeply as we care about it, let's leave politics at the door.
• We only spend two hours a week -- don't be looking at your cell phone.
• Use the bathroom first. (NOTE TO SELF: Immodium, bring)

II. Discernment ("Finding our Way")

• We are working to be better equipped to see and feel God with us... like sunglasses to see through the glare...
• Compass - What is that in a metaphor? A way of orienting, a sense of direction... figuring out where you want to go -- you need the destination...
• Be reassured that many paths come to the same point...
• Trust your instincts ... go with inspiration, speak up to suggest we take a road less traveled.

III. Relationships ("We're in this Boat Together")

• Take friends with you... What is our destination? Enjoy, love, a broader sense of our faith, a journey WITH God...
• "What you get from a journey with other people isn't the big stuff but the little stuff: give it a chance!"
• You've got to develop flexibility.
• Learn from each other, things we don't see right away.
• While your mentor is responsible for moving the journey along, where you go and what you see is up to you.
• Appreciate that others feel as strongly and deeply and informed as you are: respect... honor differences. You have to compromise and see from others
• Speak with confidence: that what we say will be respected even if others disagree, and that it will remain confidential.

IV. Don't stop believing!

Jessica led worship, a short and uplifting service from the BCP. Her gathering question about the Olympics yielded mostly stuff about gymnastics; a high percentage of our class didn't watch the Olympics and didn't like sports.

Our discussion of the reading from the RRG yielded these insights: Scotosis ("darkness") means that we're not going to like everything we read in the Bible or in our church history... We want to deny the darkness in our lives, or the injustice we've participated in. We have to change hearts... Anamnesis (how we learn by looking back) is one thing, but, the future? "We see [the future] through a glass darkly," and Revelation can be scary, "but it has become a comfort to me"... Ditto: like a new heaven, a new earth, "I'm becoming more than I was."

Scott highlighted some tips in the RRG, pp.34-36 about how to read religious texts. These are conversation starters, not instructions for life. And "critical" reading isn't about disparaging or disproving, but about understanding the message in its context.

We took the last 30 minutes to work off line, drawing our lives in the form of maps, looking especially for points of conversion. We will focus for the next few weeks on just the last 10-15 years of our life journey.

For Monday: Donfred is bringing worship. If I'm remembering that incorrectly, please email me right away! We are doing the readings assigned for our individual years, listed in the RRG, beginning on p. 36. You'll get more out of the reading when you do what the RRG suggests for your year in parts labeled "Read" and "Focus." There's a "Respond" part for all years, too.

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Yr. D, Wk. 1: Orientation and Organization

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Worship and Gathering
Scott selected lines from the first and second Songs of Isaiah from BCP p. 86 to be an opening acclamation, confession, absolution, praise, and a lesson. At the end of the evening, he read the prayer at the end of chapter one.

For a gathering, we told about photos that we'd selected to tell about the summer months. Newborn niece Norah; a camping trip with prayers and bears; a musical hydrangea; the strong hand of Jesus; homage to Monet; what Brandy noses, Scott disposes.

Yr. D, Living Into the Journey with God, Unit 1 Spiritual Autobiography and Listening: 1st yr: Lanie, Daniel; 2nd yr: Donfred, Joyce, Susan; 3rd yr, Jessica; 4th yr, Scott. Mentor: Scott. Absent: None.

Discussion of the Readings
We cited portions of the chapter that struck us as interesting, puzzling, or important for the life of the group. Jessica highlighted the reminders of what Efm is and is not. Daniel was intrigued by the passage about how a group will develop its own personality and dynamic. Joyce advised everyone to participate, as each participant contributes something special in their own way.

In breakout rooms, participants looked for striking images to go with the theme of "journey" for this year. We will use those pictures at the next meeting.

Theological Reflection
We got a little practice for the upcoming spiritual autobiographies when we took the suggestion on p. 14 to tell about a time in our lives that came to mind when we considered "tides" as a metaphor to describe a conversion. We also practiced "mutual invitation." The way we found meaning through metaphor will be part of the process of theological reflection when we get to that in a few weeks.

For Next Week
Jessica will lead worship and bring a gathering question for us.

1. We all read the chapter for week 2 in our online RRG. The listening part is especially good. When you get to the "Spiritual Autobiographies" part, you can skim over to "alternative format" on p. 32.

2. Do try to "map" conversions in your life, as suggested on p. 31. See Scott's example below:

You won't be sharing your map or your whole life story. We tell only about selected events of the last 10-15 years.

3. Book orders. We will have reading assignments in our textbooks for the 23rd. Link here to see the book titles. We are responsible for ordering books for ourselves from Amazon or another source. We won't use all of them at once, so don't feel like you have to order more than one book this month. First year is using Collins, Second year is reading Levine, Third Year is using MacCulloch, and 4th year will be reading Ford.

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