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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Mentor Training: Scott Looks Back on "Foundations" with Bill Cruse

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Nine of us with varying experience in EfM met this week for an intense and invigorating engagement with the whats, whys, and hows of EfM. We spanned all the time zones, from ME to CA, with PA, KY, WY, NY, NM, and GA in between.

Our trainer Bill Cruse prepped us with the basics of EfM via individual learning modules at Pathwright, reserving most of our 16 hours together for practice with Theological Reflections. Most of the online material was familiar, but the questions did raise up some things I've let slide and things I've thought about trying. Those, with a few items that came up in discussion, include

• Remember how it felt to be put on the spot with a question "How was school today?" v. an inviting statement, "I'd like to hear something about your day."
• I liked a description of TRs as having "an intentional direction" but not a straight path (image: a zig-zagging walkway over a marshland).
• A good alternative to "what does our tradition say about X?" would be the question, "How might some wise people in the Bible guide us with issue X?"
• Mutual invitation must include the word "invite"; simply naming someone the way a teacher might call on a student connotes a power play. The person may pass or pass for now, but it's still that person who must invite the next contributor.
• Make the use of the RRG one of the class norms, and draw on the RRG for discussion each week.
• Review class norms at the start of each unit: "How are we as a class doing?"

This paragraph from the Pathwright pages presents a concise description of good mentoring: Watch your trainer. Take notes. Notice when the trainer speaks and when they use silence. Notice when they ask questions and when they speak in discussion. Are they speaking to model vulnerability, to share a personal insight, to further the conversation, to lift up a quiet voice, or to redirect a louder voice? You will learn by watching and participating in training as you lead workshops, participate in exercises, and lead Theological Reflections.

Bill was particularly insistent on the last of the "core practices" listed on the Pathwright document. These are

1. Living in community
2. Prayer and worship
3. Theological Reflection
4. Study of Tradition
5. Vocational Discernment

Item 5 is about answering the question, Who am I becoming? "It's not just Bible study," Bill said, "but education for ministry."

Theological Reflections To put the emphasis on ministry, Bill made us take time to ask in the "connect" movement of a TR, "How are these sources in conversation with each other?" I've asked that question of my seminars for years, getting mostly shoulder shrugs. Bill recommends that we apply the theological perspective questions in a comparison of the different sources (i.e. culture, tradition, experience, personal beliefs). Compare what constitutes wholeness or goodness, sin or brokenness, judgment, repentance, reconciliation or wholeness. From those thoughts we can "discern our vocations," what we're called to do to bring about repentance or reconciliation.

Bill invited me to join him in leading the first TR because I'd requested some ideas for building a TR from something in the present moment. We had just shared 3 minute spiritual autobiographies, so we made that the basis of the TR. The group looked for a common thread, and found it in a question that Bill asked about the image I'd presented for my spiritual development (above): What would cause you to exit? Someone else suggested a detour sign. I paused there to ask everyone to contribute to the scenario: where is this detour sign? what time of day? what weather?

Bill would later return to the next question for the way it boosted energy for the TR: "So, when you see this sign in the rain at a bridge, and you're forced to go on a road that's unfamiliar to you -- how do you feel?" We had a lot of buy-in to that image. I've learned from some good experiences to have the participants put themselves in the image.

When we applied those perspective questions to the scenario, we got some surprises. In the world of the bridge out, which seems like 100% brokenness, wholeness could be the fact that someone looking out for you put up that warning sign. We thought of the sin of ignoring the signs -- and that resonated with the prophets and Jesus. Something discovered or experienced along the unfamiliar way around could redeem the situation.

Minutes later, Reva (rhymes with "forevah") teamed with me for the second TR from the Gospel reading for the day, Matthew 12 -- the Pharisees question picking grain to eat and healing a withered hand on the Sabbath. Reva and I were both struck by the method Jesus uses to teach the Pharisess and disciples, and we were sure that a group of mentors would pick up on that, too. They didn't.

We were swimming around without a focus until someone said something about "finding the heart of God in the Law." With some coaxing, that turned into trying to find the heartbeat in an unconscious person. Reva picked up the thread, and thoughts and feelings tumbled out. We identified with the fear of doing something wrong, and also recognized "it kills your soul to walk away." Of course, the Good Samaritan was a Scriptural touchstone.

Maurice Geldert and Barbara Wood initiated a TR with the question, "How has EfM affected your life spiritually?" The answers could be used in recruitment: EfM has established a practice of daily devotion; increased spiritual vocabulary (literally, also metaphorically); made me more aware of spirituality in everyday life; broken down barriers/distinctions between sacred and secular.

Appreciations, Things to Remember Barbara Brooks with her elderly cat Boots nearby, reflected on putting our animals to sleep:"If it gets easier, you shouldn't have pets."
Bill pointed out that prompts for the short-form spiritual autobiography are from the different sources of a TR. The observation came to him on the spot after I passed on advice from Jenny Beaumont's training, to introduce different movements of a TR stealthily during the first weeks of the seminar, to get new participants used to finding a focus, recognizing different sources for our spiritual lives, playing with metaphor and image.
Rephrasing our list of negatives as positives, Barbara Wood moved her TR out of the realm of complaints into a more productive realm of aspirations.
I appreciate Maurice's candor and approach to "all these wonderful diagnoses" he's living with. "Life doesn't always let you do what you plan." He used to ride bikes as much as I do; he says he doesn't plan very far in advance anymore.
William and Joanne teamed up on a TR based on an article about evangelicals who now reject the teachings of Jesus as "too weak" and "liberal." When the group discussion narrowed down to two equally strong topics, I appreciated William's candor when he admitted, "Help me dig us out of this." Barbara Wood pointed out a false binary. When we went with dissonance itself as the focus, William provided an example of the middle school band concert, which may be dissonant, but it's lovely for the proud parents. Maurice quoted our presiding Bishop, "We can live with differences, but not with division."
Laura was so polite and gentle, yet insistent, as she redirected a symposium on environmental sciences back to theological reflection.
Joanne's worship for one of the sessions in her group involved a (virtual?) visit to a labyrinth and collecting participants' expressions of their thoughts and feelings into a poem that she read for us, full of surprising turns -- like a labyrinth!

I enjoyed Barbara Wood's gathering question: Sharing a picture of a hand-held remote control, she asked which button could represent our recent spiritual life. I can imagine showing a picture of just about anything and asking "where are you in this picture?"

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Yr. C, Wk. 36: The First Supper

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First and final in-person meeting of our cohort. INSET: The photographer and Scott in 2022.

On Tuesday, May 21, we convened in the choir stalls at St. James Marietta. We were sorry when Joyce sent word that she wasn't well. Pete was called out of town on a mission. We thought about our absent friends.

Susan bestowed upon our graduates glass bowls that she designed and shaped with her own hands. Scott gave Marilyn and Nuno hardback books of all the class blog entries from all four years of their participation.

Then everyone received a booklet, Collects, Prayers, and Insights from Theological Reflections, and we spent some quiet time re-reading our work. "These are good!" someone said. We prayed the daily devotion for early evening (BCP 139). Before the Lord's Prayer, we each read a selection we chose from the booklet, using mutual invitation.

We walked to the Square and pulled together three tables in front of Willie Rae's, where Jessica took a picture of our first -- and last -- supper as a group.

Graduates will receive certificates in the mail sometime soon. Nuno and Pete, if you have yours by June 2, I hope you'll bring them for our recognition of EfM graduates during the 10:30 service. Marilyn, you can tune in online https://www.stjamesmarietta.com/watch -- I guess around 7:30am for you.

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 5 Vocation: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred, Scott; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Pete, Joyce.

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Yr. C, Wk. 35: Last Chapter

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Worship and Gathering
Donfred prepared prayers for us, a mix of familiar ones from the BCP, the one by Emerson that we discussed in a TR a few weeks ago, and at least one from Donfred's own heart.

Scott said that he would have asked a question about our "vocation" tonight, tying us into the theme of the unit, but Jessica's wonderful question last week was a side door into the same question: "What kind of non-profit would you start if you could?" Because it was indirect, I think the question drew better answers from us: we weren't limited to thinking of being nuns or priests or missionaries.

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 5 Vocation: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred, Scott; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Pete, Tom, Donfred.

Discussion of the Readings
Discussion began with some thoughts from our sources about the nature of history. Yee, p. 157 – “History never stays put.” The narrative that brings the facts together is always changing. Y3 history does NOT repeat, but "sometimes rhymes." The story of Ruth doesn't explicitly speak of God, but implies that Divine Providence is active in experience. The OT history writings covered in Yee (Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah) likewise illustrate something we read a year or two ago in Rabbi Heschel's book about the Sabbath, that peoples typically build their civilizations in geographical space, but the Jews in exile, lamenting the destruction of their temple, built a new temple in TIME, history providing the building blocks. Jessica's big takeaway from Collins' discussion of Revelation is that "God has the last word" no matter whether you read Revelation from the "historical, idealist, or futurist" approach.

We wondered about those approaches. Jessica explained that the "idealist" approach extracts exhortations from the generic messages to 7 representative types of churches found in the book. Scott opined that the "futurist" approach could also be called the "revenge fantasy" approach, as supernatural horrors befall the Christians' tormentors. The book would have given an adrenaline boost to an oppressed Church. Susan reminded us that the world of the time was "awash" with similar apocalyptic lit (as we are awash with apocalyptic movies and video games!).

Marilyn was curious to learn more about a figure from relatively recent history, Dorothy Day. We weren't all sure whether Day is a saint. She's "on the road to sainthood," having been acclaimed a "servant of God" by the RC church in 2012. Read more. Marilyn and Scott saw poetic possibilities in the way he misunderstood something that Marilyn quoted from My Neighbor's Faith -- to become vulnerable enough to see the "infinite" in each other, could also be seeing the "intimate" in each other.

Nuno was surprised to discover an essay in this book by a writer -- last name De La Torre -- who contributed to Reading the Bible from the Margins (see our discussion of that book here. Nuno had been intrigued when the author wrote about "being seen as a man of color in one community and a white man in another." The essay in My Neighbor's Faith called into question the writer's depth of experience.

Nuno won our prize, the team of his choice portrayed entirely with gum wrappers by the artist Lyndon Barrois:

Theological Reflection
We felt that we needed at least one more person to do the work of a TR. Scott was content to pronounce that the wonderful TR we did from Joyce's story was a very grand finale.

For the Next Meeting
We'll meet 6:30pm at St. James Episcopal Church, 161 Church Street, Marietta, 30060. After a short worship service, we'll walk three blocks south to the Marietta Square for dinner al fresco, weather permitting. See directions below.

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Directions to St. James: It's 161 Church Street, Marietta. GPS will take you past (1st) First Pres to (2nd) our small parking lot just one inch past the Presbyterian Church. Park there and walk out to (3) Church Street again towards the corner of Church and Polk. (4th) There are two red doors side-by-side that we don't use; just around the corner is the single red door that we do use. Pull the handle (don't twist it), and the door will open.

Yr. C, Wk. 34: Raising up Non-Profits, Consciousness, and Children

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Worship and Gathering
Jessica brought us worship adapted from Evensong. One interesting feature was to present "Our Father" in two versions, back-to-back. We would later compare "lead us not into temptation" with "save us from the time of trial."

Jessica's question was both fun and thought-provoking: If you could start a charity or non-profit, what would it be? Marilyn imagines a hospice, "Ushering Angels," to ensure that no one dies alone. Jessica imagines something like that for pets, a non-profit that would help pay the expense of in-home euthanasia for the pets of families that can't afford such service. Jessica shared with us a book that a friend sent her, Dog Heaven. Nuno imagines a place for kids to do art -- and actually sees an opportunity to make that happen; Susan wants to sponsor arts classes after school for kids who can't afford them, and Scott imagines a workshop where teens and adults can be guided through writing plays and getting them in front of an audience. Pete wants to get his hands involved in making meals for a soup kitchen.

Yr. C, Living as Spiritually Mature Christians, Unit 5 Vocation: 1st yr: Tom, Joyce, Donfred, Scott; 2nd yr: Jessica; 3rd yr, Susan; 4th yr, Pete, Nuno, Marilyn. Mentors: Susan and Scott. Absent: Tom, Joyce.

Discussion of the Readings
Because we were missing Joyce, missing Tom (who emailed us from Ukraine), and getting only an hour with Pete (Zooming in from Maryland), Marilyn (in California), and Jessica, we decided to discuss the reading and to save the TR for next week. But the discussion was very lively.

Marilyn started us off with an echo of last week's "blanket" metaphor in a story from My Neighbor's Faith. Pete shared the story of a young Anglo woman who spent hours on a darkening road in India with women who sat with her to keep her safe, unable to communicate, but joining with her in sewing.

Susan's reading about the Church's failures in "a time of trial," the rise of Fascism, resonated for Jessica's with Jude's adversaries -- a mysterious bunch who somehow perverted the gospel -- that Jessica associated with a documentary about elders of a polygamous sect who perverted Gospel to justify their sexual predations.

From an undisclosed location, Tom emailed comments that we'd all read. Scott seconded Tom's enthusiasm for the passage of the reading that contains the line "for the souls of the righteous are with God."

There was a lot of energy in responses to a portion of Ben Sirach that Scott quoted with disapproval: "He who loves his son will whip him often." Scott said, that’s someone who’s into ego and control (and he regrets bad times when that was true of him in the classroom); it's a lie to say you're doing it for the sake of the children. But Pete could understand Sirach's point of view; Susan cautioned against being the kind of parent who wants to just be friends with the children. Donfred could identify: likes “tough love” in the Wisdom literature, something his mother showed, but his mother was also looking for the best for him… Donfred tries to be the same way with his son… "We can talk as friends, but I have to be serious sometimes."

Scott disagreed with Collins on a chapter of Sirach about artisans whose handiwork leaves no time to study scripture or think all day. Collins sees sarcasm; Scott sees a warning to the boys in the school: "Don't think you're special because you work with your mind; these men build 'the fabric of the world' and the work of their hands is their worship." Donfred joined in with admiration for the guys who work on roofs.

With Jessica reciting a prayer for those who work or watch or weep this night, we closed. By the way, Jessica chose the secret square in the discussion, and she won a catered Cinco de Mayo party with tiny pinatas for every guest and a tequila donkey.

For Next Week
Donfred will bring worship; Scott will offer his source for a TR. The week following that, we'll take off. We plan to meet at St. James Marietta on May 21, 6:30pm, for worship and then a stroll to the Square for dinner.

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