Yr. D, Wk. 29: Incarnation, and Walking in God's Footsteps on a Bridge

Present: Bill, Erica, Susan, Scott.

We brought our own dinners.  Bill opened and closed with prayers for evening from his father's 1928 prayer book, and asked us about artifacts of our parents' lives.

Discussion continued of Delio, et. al.  We felt that the environmental teachings in the book were, for us, "preaching to the choir."  Our discussion focused on Duns Scotus's idea, contrary to what we'd been taught as teens, that Christ's Incarnation was not "remedial" but the crowning act of creation.

Erica's TR was an anecdote that brought to mind events in all our lives that we captured in the metaphor of crossing a rope bridge. Our exploration of that metaphor brought us to Peter's steps on the water.

Collect in time of Hesitancy
Lord, You hesitated to go forward at Gethsemane, and caught Peter when he faltered on the waves; when we freeze with doubt, may Your Spirit remind us that You have been this way before, so that we can trust in You, and know that we are not alone. Amen. 

Next week: We read the essay in the RRG for Wk. 30. Scott does food, Susan does worship, and Bill will bring a TR.

Yr. D, Wk. 28: Care for Creation

All present; Scott came mid-way, following chorus concert.  Susan ordered pizza and brought cookies. For worship, Scharme opened with Psalm 8, and ended with Francis's Canticle to Creation.

Of discussion, Susan reported a consensus that the common reading book Care for Creation: a Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth by Delio, et. al., was "peaching to the choir" but then generated some interesting discussion about "how to make ecological questions transcend politics."

For the TR (with interruptions from a dramatic wind and hail that rattled  our windows), Scott focused attention on John 5:1-18, the story of the man crippled 38 years whom Jesus finds beside a pool where the waters are supposedly stirred now and then by a healing angel.  "Do you want to be healed?" Jesus asks. Our first thought, from the cripple's point of view, was, "Duh."  When we asked ourselves why Jesus might be intuiting something holding the cripple back from really wanting to be healed, we generated some references to other experiences, Scripture, and insights, wrapped up in this:

Collect for Healing:
Lord and Father, as Jesus demanded to know if the cripple really wanted to be healed, You know when we, too, have settled comfortably in places where we lie paralyzed: help us to recognize our need for healing that we may rise up, take our pallets, and confront life. Amen. 

Next week: Finish Delio. Brown bag for food, Bill for worship, Erica for TR.

Yr. D, Wk. 27: Hymns and Trophies

All present.  The Lovelaces provided dinner.  Erica brought prayers from St. Patrick, including words for our hymn tune St. Patrick's Breast Plate. For an ice-breaker, Erica asked about luck in our lives this past week.

All of the readings related to hymns.  Erika told of the wide range of emotions in Psalms, and spoke of the joy in reading Song of Solomon.  Scharme pointed to ancient hymns incorporated into James, and related James's warnings about "the tongue" to a hymn we listed as a favorite, "O for a thousand tongues to sing."  She also went into the theme of faith v. works.  Our third year students Bill and Lynne also found a lot to relate to the hymn card.  We were all interested in the Moravians' "cheerful" Christianity and the Methodists' "methodic" way of stoking "enthusiasm."  Discussing Wesley's 9000 hymns and his "fuguing tunes," we got a quick lesson in musical counterpoint.

Scharme brought out a plastic gold trophy for the TR.  Though she'd thought of it as a "vessel," we all had a range of emotions and positions when we thought of trophies given, received, denied, envied,

treasured, despised.  In the end, "trophy's" origin in the Greek word for "nourishment" was what we explored.

We attempted to capture elements of all our exploration in a collect.

Collect for the Trophy:
Father, the prize of Your upward call inspired the Apostle Paul to press on: may we, too, take nourishment from Your word as we run the courses of our lives, that we may be vessels of Your spirit to raise up others we encounter along our ways, through Jesus, the pioneer of our faith. Amen.

Next Week: Susan brings the food, Scharme the worship, and Scott the TR.  We read what's assigned for week 28, 100 pages in the book by Delio.  We may decide next week to double up.  Noted: Bill and Lynne will miss on May 16.

Yr. D, Wk. 26: Chronicles, Thessalonians, and New Spain

Scott was away;  Scharme brought food; Susan led worship.

Here's a report second-hand from Susan's notes:  Chronicles is another perspective on the same material found in Kings.  Thessalonians gives us Paul's response to those who expected a glorious end of the world in their lifetimes -- Scharme was reminded of Jack's mom: "You gave up everything for magic beans?!"  Year 3 told found disturbing the story of the Spanish church's conquest of native Americans, and the introduction of trans-Atlantic African slave trade to replace native labor depleted by European diseases.

The word "atone" provoked a discussion that came to stress reconciliation, us to each other, as well as us to God.  An image of "Pilgrimage" emerged, with Jonah, Paul, and Abraham as examples.

Collect for Pilgrims:
Almight God, who sent Abraham and Paul on unexpected journeys that brought them closer to You: send us as you will and open our minds so that we may embark on the journeys you intend for us. Amen.  




Next week: Scharme brings the TR, Erica brings the worship, and the Lovelaces bring food.

Yr. D, Wk. 25: The Desire to Codify Beliefs and Worship

All present.  Dinner was the Youth's Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper or BYO.  Erica led worship with readings from leaders of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.  This week's "on board" question came from the current Pope Francis's list of regrettable traits to give up during Lent.

To discuss the readings this time, we gave every fellow three hypothetical "cards" on which to write the three outstanding items from their study that they wanted to discuss.  After we invited Erica to play her first card, everyone tried to lose all their cards by finding a connection to those already "on the table."  At the end of the discussion, we articulated themes that emerged from the exercise.

For the TR, we focused on the first theme that jumped out at us from the earlier discussion:  "The Desire to Codify Beliefs and Worship."  We asked what represents wholeness, brokenness, recognition, and restoration when we look at this desire in our world.  We found even more examples in Scripture and our tradition, both for codifying and for eschewing codification. We looked at how our culture honors the outliers who rebel against codification.  We accumulated an impressive list of insights and personal experiences this way.

The pieces of our collect emerged from the written notes on the board, and are assembled here:

Collect before Worship:
God of Law and Love, Your servant Moses carved Your law in stone; your servant Hezekiah elevated Your written word; yet Your Living Word refused to be enshrined by Peter on the mountain:  let us enter into worship with open and attentive minds, that the words we repeat may be written in our hearts, a part of our being. Amen.


Next Week:  Scott will be with his young actors at least until 8:00.  Scharme brings food; Susan, the worship; and Bill, the TR.