Reading the Bible through Diverse Lenses

Tonight at Grad Study

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.

UI Student Needed for Presentation Friday

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.

African American Theology (Part I)

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.

Service Project (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)

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.

Service Project (September 29, 2009)

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)

• Sandwiches with lunch meat and cheese. No toppings. (A packet of mustard or mayo is served with each one.) Place each in a sandwich bag.
• The food should be prepared in Wesley’s kitchen and everyone should wear plastic gloves while handling food. When completed, pack them back in the bread wrappers and deliver them to Ellen McDowell’s house to be refrigerated overnight.

OPTION 2: Fruit, Salty Items, Desserts (Feed 70)

• Fruit, of course, does not have to be packaged.
• All these items, if donated, should be packaged: cookies, candy, small bags of chips, Fritos, etc.
• Bottled drinks: gal size punch, juice, cider, etc. We can use nothing that has been opened.

OPTION 3: Hygiene items (travel size)Shampoo

• Deodorant
• tooth brushes
• tooth paste
• razors
• shaving cream
• soap
• packages of men's socks.

We will fine tune all the details on September 22. If you have any thoughts beforehand, please post them below.

Convergences in Feminism and Process Theology

Discovering a Common Humanity

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:

concrescence creativity

creativity that takes what is given and turns it into the decisive reality of who we are in a given moment

transitional creativity

creativity that takes who we are and offers it to the whole universe

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:

• Is the vision for human beings consistent with those imagined in our previous process discussions? What are the nuances?
• What nuances brought to the table by feminist thought and process thought expand and enhance a vision of a common humanity? Is anyone excluded due circumstances unrelated to gender?

You are invited to join us this Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 8:30pm in Wesley's Watseka Lounge.

2009 Wesley Fall Lecture

"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.

Prayer: Openness to God, to the World, to the Future

Preview of Tuesday, September 15, 2009

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:

• What ways of praying are most meaningful for you?
• What are roadblocks in prayer life?
• What are the practical implications of a process view of prayer for the life and relationships of the one(s) praying?
• Is "prayer without ceasing" possible? Even if you don't believe it isn't, is working toward it desirable? If so, how might one go about doing that? What are its fruits?