All are invited to our annual Advent outreach project.
If you need a ride to Wesley or to meet later for shopping, then please contact Anthony.
Due to low turnout the week before Thanksgiving break, those who showed up went for dessert. The discussion on interfaith relationships was postponed to this Tuesday.
The most recent edition of the Spire, Wesley's newsletter, is available online.
Here are some highlights:
The title of this post is a bit presumptuous. Interfaith relations implies that there are faiths outside Christianity and we ought to be in relationship with them. Christian opinions on interfaith relationships fill a spectrum from isolationism or superiority to mutuality, communal worship and cooperative ministries. This week we will explore what Process Theology might teach us about being in relationships with people outside the Christian tradition. After watching a brief video, we will explore the complexities of the subject. Some questions we may tackle as part of that conversation follow.
Updates on tonight's grad study and the Thanksgiving dinner follow:
In the past few weeks, we have examined the framework of process theology, feminism, and African American liberation theology. This week, we will practice hermeneutics by examining lectionary texts for Year B's All Saints Day (this Sunday) through the lenses of those frameworks.
Homemade chocolate chip cookies will be provided as refreshments.
On Friday morning at 10:00a.m., Wesley Food Pantry has the opportunity to make a short presentation to department Combined Charities Campaign representatives. Having a UI student (grad or undergrad) make the presentation could be particularly powerful. If you would be willing to talk about your volunteer experiences at the pantry, please contact Donna Camp at dcamp@wesleypantry.org.
Tonight we will examine 20th century African American theology through the eyes of theologian James Cone. We will view and discuss a November 2007 interview with Cone on Bill Moyers Journal.
This week we will be preparing sandwiches for Daily Bread. If possible, please contribute $10 each toward the cause. We will meet in the Great Hall kitchen at the usual time. We welcome you in this time of fellowship and service.
Daily Bread soup kitchen is now serving sack lunches at New Covenant Fellowship while they find dedicated space. The following are opportunities for us to help them on Tuesday, September 29.
OPTION 1: Sandwiches (Feed 70)
OPTION 2: Fruit, Salty Items, Desserts (Feed 70)
OPTION 3: Hygiene items (travel size)Shampoo
We will fine tune all the details on September 22. If you have any thoughts beforehand, please post them below.
At first viewing of the upcoming video on the convergence of process theology and feminism, I was inclined to say we were discussing feminism primarily. However, after watching it a second and third time, I am more aware that Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki wants us to think about what it means to be human, and how that might inform and possibly transform how we see people of the opposite gender.
As you might imagine, the next video then is very dense. So I would like you to be a bit familiar with a couple terms before she lays them out late in the video. There are two kinds of creativity in a process-relational perspective:
Suchocki says that these creativities form the rhythm of the universe.
As we watch the video and discuss the worldviews of feminism and process-relational theology, consider questions you have and also these:
You are invited to join us this Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 8:30pm in Wesley's Watseka Lounge.
"Religion, Violence, and the Global Searches for Peace"
Presented By
Martin E. Marty, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Modern Christianity and the Committee on the History of Culture, The University of Chicago Divinity School
The public is invited to attend. A reception, given by the Wesley United Methodist Women, will be held in the Watseka Lounge for Professor Marty following the lecture.
This week we will hear Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki's meditation on prayer. She asserts prayer matters to God and to the future of the world. We will delve deeper into some of the challenges we discussed last week and explore other questions, such as:
Hunger is a pressing problem in the world and in our local community. Make a real difference.
A number of Campus Ministries across the state of Illinois will be setting up displays on campus' highlighting how many persons die of hunger every day. Approximately 25,000 persons die of hunger and hunger related causes every day (Source: The State of Food Insecurity in the World, FAO). We will have a display set up on the quad with 9,000 little tombs (popsicle stick crosses, stars and crescents) representing the number of persons who died "Last Night as you were Sleeping." The goal of the display is three fold:
We will be passing out fliers that on one side will share statistical information about hunger and its causes and on the other side will suggest practical steps that persons can take to make a real difference.
Still working on the list but it will be something like:
The list is still in process but I want real hands on things that students can commit to.
She then delves into the implications for this worldview when we think about God's presence in and interactions with the world.
Hope you will join us for this week's conversation at the intersection of God, faith, and relationships.
Tuesday at 8pm (gathering), 8:30 (meeting) will be our first meeting of grad study for the fall. Grad study veterans are encouraged to provide refreshments for everyone in the form of a fruit of choice for smoothies. We look forward to welcoming all newcomers to our group.
If you do plan to bring fresh or frozen fruit (frozen is preferable for smoothies, except the bananas), please specify what you will bring in the comments section. Suggestions for fruit are as follow:
There was a tie in the vote for our study. As tie breaker, I have chosen to begin the year with the video study on the intersection of Process Theology, Gender, and Multiculturalism. We will turn our focus to a few of the Minor Prophets in the spring. Our introductory meet and greet will be held on September 1 at 8:30 pm. More information to come on that as the date approaches. For now, here is the outline for the semester. If you have ideas for service projects, please post them below or send them my way.
Grace and peace,
Anthony
09/08 Part I: The Heart of Process Theology
09/15 Part II: Prayer in a Process Perspective
09/22 Part III: Feminism and Process Theology
10/06 Part 1: Theodore Walker - African American Religion & Process Theology
10/13 Interlude: African American Spirituals
10/20 Part 2: Henry James Young - Points of Convergence Between Afro-American Religion & Process Theology
11/03 Part I. Spirituality and the Global Perspective - Catherine Keller
11/10 Part II. Recognizing God's Power - Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki
11/17 Part III. An Opening to Creativity - Gene Reeves
12/01 Part IV. Learning From Other Religions - Gene Reeves
After our planning meeting, we have narrowed our choices down to the following options. If you have a preference, please make that known by voting on Google Moderator, in the comments of this post, or by emailing Anthony.
Note: These video clips are filled with thoughtful commentary, but they are low tech (that is to say, they look like 1980s home movies).
09/01 Meet & Greet
What Is Process Theology? by Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki
09/08 Part I: The Heart of Process Theology - 11 minutes
09/15 Part II: Prayer in a Process Perspective - 10 minutes
09/22 Part III: Feminism and Process Theology - 10 minutes
09/29 Service Project and/or Fellowship
African American Religion & Process Theology
10/06 Part 1: Theodore Walker - African American Religion & Process Theology (8 minutes)
10/13 Interlude: African American Spirituals (use this video?)
10/20 Part 2: Henry James Young - Points of Convergence Between Afro-American Religion & Process Theology (9 minutes)
10/27 Service Project and/or Fellowship
Gender/Power/Creativity:
11/03 Part I. Spirituality and the Global Perspective - Catherine Keller (15:54 minutes)
11/10 Part II. Recognizing God's Power - Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki (11:20 minutes)
11/17 Part III. An Opening to Creativity - Gene Reeves (9:54 minutes)
12/01 Part IV. Learning From Other Religions - Gene Reeves (11:36 minutes)
12/08 Worship
12/15 Shopping & Fellowship
09/01 - Meet & Greet
I. Christian Initiation
09/08 1. Beginnings p2-7
09/15 2. Syria and Egypt p8-13
......3. Rome and N Africa p14-21
09/22 4. The 4th Century Synthesis p22-30
09/29 5. From Adult to Infant Baptism p31-37
II. Eucharist
10/06 6. Communion: The Sacred Meal p38-44
10/13 7. Anamnesis and Epiclesis: The Eucharistic Prayer p45-50
10/20 8. "The bloodless sacrifice" p51-57
10/27 9. Holy Food p58-63
11/03 10. 'Let all mortal flesh keep silence' p64-69
III. Liturgical Time
11/10 11. Daily Prayer p70-74
11/17 12. Sunday p75-79
12/01 13. Easter and Pentecost p80-85
......14. Christmas, Epiphany, and Lent p86-90
12/08 15. Saints' Days p91-93
12/15 Gift Shopping & Fellowship
As September comes onto the radar, I seek your input into the format and content of the fall's grad study.
An informal planning meeting will convene over ice cream on Tuesday, August 4 at 7:30 pm at Jarlings at 309 W. Kirby Ave in Champaign, accessible by the 100 Yellow. Anyone interested in providing input or just eating ice cream and listening is invited to attend.
If you are unable to make the meeting due to other commitments and/or geographical location, but you want to submit ideas, please send an email to Anthony. He will provide a final opportunity to give input after the planning meeting and finalize everything by August 11. The usual meet and greet and the introduction will be the first week of September.
Next Tuesday, we'll conclude our summer study with a cookout at Wesley UMC. Josh will man the grill, fixing beef and vegetarian options. Brooke will lead us in an activity designed to have us reflect on hospitality and the church.
Before next Tuesday, please work on one or both of the following options and bring it with you to share.
After the 28th, we'll be on holiday until the fall semester. Anthony is taking ideas, suggestions, comments, and criticisms in preparation for the Fall semester. Anthony will have a planning meeting on August 4th; those interested will meet him for ice cream or frozen yogurt (time and place TBA later).
I think hard times bring out our need for stories.
– Diane Winston, interviewed on Speaking of Faith, hosted by Krista Tippett
The Bible is filled with poetry and stories. Some stories are factual; most are true; and all are historically rooted in the experiences of ancient Israel and the early Church. The gospels are filled with a particular kind of story attributed to Jesus known as parable. Many of these parables have been transformed into allegory by gospel writers or tradition, whereby characters are symbols of God, Israel, and so on. Our goal in this session is to see parables afresh on their own merit and to regain some of the surprise, awe, or astonishment they must have elicited nearly two thousand years ago.
Let us first define a parable. A parable tells a story set in the world of its hearers, knows the hearers’ expectations for the story’s characters and plot, and instead presents a plotline that subverts those expectations and surprises the hearer. (John Dominic Crossan, The Dark Interval)
To explore parable in greater depth, we will look to a well known parable found in Luke 10.30-35, often entitled, “The Good Samaritan”.
Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii (equivalent to two days’ wages of a day laborer), gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.”
To supplement this reading, please read pages 85-88 of Crossan’s The Dark Interval.
Now re-read this week’s text.
You may use the usual questions as a study guide.
For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
– 1 Corinthians 1.18-25
Gospels (documents telling of the “good news”) were not unusual, nor were they biographical in the modern sense of the word. They may contain stories of miraculous conception or birth and resurrection. The main character may very well be the emperor, the son of god, who brings salvific peace to the empire. The main character certainly would not have been someone who (a) was not a Roman citizen; (b) an artisan peasant—after all, the artisan was not likely to be a wealthy landowner; and (c) a tried and convicted criminal crucified for his crimes.
Jesus was unlikely to be a Jewish martyr. Crucifixion was designed to bring shame and dishonor to the person on the crucifix as well as the person’s family. The crucifixion was held publicly so that those who would see it would be discouraged from making the same mistake as the one hanging on the crucifix. In essence, it served the same purpose as the death penalty has served in the United States of America: to be a “deterrent”. The person would be unclean and the Jewish practices for caring for the body would likely have been ignored; the passion narrative goes to great length to assure people that Jesus happened to have an exceptional burial to others crucified, that he was in fact buried according to Jewish tradition. Furthermore, the gospels account for a resurrection story, a crucial confirmation of a martyr’s righteousness.
Jesus was an unlikely “King of the Jews”. He was also an unlikely “martyr”. He was a “nobody”. To his disciples though, he was someone through whom they experienced God’s presence and who painted a divine vision of peace and justice for the world. They proclaimed the foolishness of the gospel far and wide: Christ crucified and risen.
Read pages 102-103 of Crossan’s The Dark Interval. Then consider the drawing in the email attachment sent out to you.
Taken literally today, statements of faith and creeds sound supernatural or phenomenal because we live with a modern mindset. But if heard in first century, these statements of faith would be remarkable because they were about Jesus of Nazareth.
I believe . . . in Jesus Christ God’s only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
The third day he rose from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty
From thence he shall come
to judge the quick and the dead.
Is it possible to reclaim these statements of faith not as modern fact but as parabolic truth? This is a question for our discussion this week.
This week's Speaking of Faith from American Public Media is focused on Television and Parable of Our Time. From the web site, you can download and listen to the broadcast version, the unedited conversation, read the reflections of the host, Krista Tippett, and subscribe to the weekly podcast.
In session 6, will continue our discussion about calling, vocation, and discipleship. Our hostess and host, Kristen and Michael, have invited us into their home, where we will meet at the usual time, 7 pm. Contact them, Brooke, or Anthony for address or seeking to carpool as needed.
We will continue to discuss Spiritual Gifts and calling. In our fifth session, we chose at most 3 of the spiritual gifts listed by the UMC as gifts we exercise. As we shared those, the group added to each list as the Spirit moved us. For the next session, please take the spiritual gifts assessment on the UMC web site and bring the results with you to our meeting. Furthermore, consider what God calls you to be:
The United Methodist Church believes all, ordained and laity, are called to be ministers. To what is God calling you (however abstract or detailed)? Are you still searching? How did you come about your "calling"?
We will also continue to consider the questions posed in our fourth session. Brooke has an activity planned as part of this ongoing conversation.
Last but not least, please read the texts below and consider the questions that follow them.
Text: Mark 9.33-37
So they came to Capernaum; and when he had gone indoors, he asked them (the disciples), "What were you arguing about on the way?" They were silent, because on the way they had been discussing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them "If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all."
Text: Mark 10.41-45
Jesus called them (the disciples) to him and said, "You know that among the Gentiles the recognized rulers lord it over their subjects, and the great make their authority felt. It shall not be so with you; among you, whoever wants to be great must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Questions:
This week we will consider the meaning of calling and vocation in the context of these passages and in the contemporary church community. (Note that we will meet at Wesley at 7:00 pm and then walk to Mandarin Wok on Green Street.)
Text: Mark 8.34-35
"Then he called the people to him, as well as his disciples, and said to them, 'Anyone who wants to be a follower of mine must renounce self; he must take up his cross and follow me.'"
Text: Mark 10.17-22
"As he was starting out on a journey, a stranger ran up, and kneeling before him, asked 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: "Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not give false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother."' 'But Teacher, he replied, 'I have kept all these things since I was a boy.' As Jesus looked at him, his heart warmed to him. 'One thing you lack,' he said. 'Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me.' At these words his face fell and he went away with a heavy heart; for he was a man of great wealth."
The usual Discussion Questions:
And the questions left over from last week's conversation:
This week we are going to do things a little different. We will gather at Wesley at 7pm as we usually do and then walk down to Panera on Green Street. If you will be later than 7:00 you will have to venture down to meet us. Let me know if you can come this week or not so we get a big enough table. After we eat we can remain in the restaurant or we can venture outside if it isn't too hot. Our study this week will consist of some questions such as:
So you will not really need your bible, unless you want to bring it to point anything out. I am sure these questions will lead to some interesting comments. Hope to see you Tuesday!
But we see the challenge to the purity system not only in the teachings of Jesus, but in many of his activities. His ministry of healing shattered the boundaries of the purity system. He touched lepers and hemorrhaging women. He entered a graveyard inhabited by a man with a "legion" of unclean spirits who lived in the vicinity of pigs, which were of course unclean animals.
John Dominic Crossan has pointed out that medical anthropology has proposed a basic distinction between curing a disease and healing an illness. Diseases are "abnormalities in the structure and function of body organs and systems." Illnesses are "experiences of disvalued changes in states of being and in social functions." A disease is between me and my doctor and I go to the doctor to be cured. But what is lacking in that picture is not just the psychological component of my disease but, much more importantly, the entire social dimension of the phenomena. How does my disease involve my family, my job, or in some cases, wider and wider levels of society? There is a difference between curing a disease and healing an illness. The leper who met Jesus had both a disease (probably psoriasis) and an illness, the personal and social stigma of uncleanness, rejection and isolation. And as long as the disease was not cured the illness also would remain. In general, if the disease was cured, the illness was healed. What, however, if the disease could not be cured but the illness could somehow be healed? Take the disease known as AIDS. A cure for the disease is absolutely desirable. But in the absence of a cure we can still heal the illness by refusing to ostracize those who have it. We can empathize with their anguish and have compassion with them by enveloping their sufferings with both respect and love.
The question which the healing miracles of Jesus raises is: Was he curing the disease through an intervention in the physical world, or was he healing the illness through an intervention in the social world? He could have been doing both. Or he could have been healing an illness without curing a disease. In his healings, whether of disease or illness or both, the important issue is that Jesus acted as a subversive of the purity world. He welcomed back into the human community those persons who were excluded from the purity society of his day. John Dominic Crossan ruminates, "It would, of course, be nice to have certain miracles available to change the physical world if we could, but it would be much more desirable to make certain changes in the social world, which we can."
- Richard Wheatcroft
On one occasion he was approached by a leper, who knelt before him and begged for help. "If only you will," said the man, "you can make me clean." Jesus was moved to anger; he stretched out his hand, and said, "I will; be clean." The leprosy left him immediately, and he was clean.
Along them was a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years; and in spite of long treatment from nay doctors, on which she had spent all she had, she had become worse rather than better. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak; for she said, "If I touch even his clothes, I shall be healed." And there and then the flow of blood dried up and she knew in herself that she was cured of her affliction. Aware at once that power had gone out of him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" His disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing round you and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" But he kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the women trembling with fear because she knew what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace, free from your affliction."
We live in a world desperate for healing.
Brokenness touches our lives as empty spaces are created; as relationships are strained or broken;
as the reality of the fragility and finitude of human life lurks in our visual field;
as uncertainties, anxieties, and fears nest in our consciousness;
as verbal and nonverbal violence hurts individuals and communities.
In the midst of suffering, we utter these words:
“If I touch even his clothes, I shall be healed.”
God hears our cries for wholeness as we take Christ’s path, walking—sometimes being carried—and from time to time finding rest and refuge in God’s house.
At the door to God’s house, we hear these welcoming words, “You are accepted. A meal is prepared, and there are many resting places.”
Bathing in the flowing rivers of God’s abundant grace, love, and acceptance, words of calling beckon us, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” This call to mercy echoes in a rainbow of faith traditions spanning the globe. These words challenge us to see others through a lens of divine grace and to mirror that knowledge to those whose hearts are broken and lives fractured.
Caring God,
We acknowledge before you our fears, our anxieties, our doubts, our hurts, our burdens.
Transform the empty spaces in our lives into thin places through which we experience your gracious presence.
Sanctify your people that we might be for you the body of Christ in the world,
opening thin places of Divine acceptance, compassion, and justice:
communing with those who are isolated or marginalized;
opening hearts to peace and justice;
easing burdens and suffering; and
supporting those in processes of letting go.
Trusting in the hope we have in Jesus, in whose spirit we pray. Amen.
If you have more, feel free to share them in the comments below.
This week's sacred story is set at a meal in Levi's house. Originally recorded in Mark, parallels of this story are also found in Matthew and Luke. Before Tuesday, please read this story, complementing it with your preferred meditation practice (such as lectio divina), and then consider the study questions.
"When Jesus was having a meal in Levi's house, many tax-collectors and sinners were seated with him and his disciples, for there were many of them among his followers. Some scribes who were Pharisees, observing the company in which he was eating, said to his disciples, 'Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?' Hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick; I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.'"
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
10 And as he sat at dinner* in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting* with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ 12But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’
15Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
3 So he told them this parable: 4‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
Study Questions:
4“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.5And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
6“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made man.
~ Genesis 9:1-6
The Miller reading was optional, but consider the argument he lays out at the beginning:
There is some point to the Universe.
There was some situation that needed "re-work."
There was some point to Christ's coming to earth.
There is some reason Christ's death [and resurrection] has seemed more[?] important than his earthly life.
So the reason we're going back to Old Testament sacrifice is to understand the contexts of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection in order to better understand their importance to our own lives.
