|
Redeemer Home > Spiritual Growth
Spring 2012 Offerings
Rector's Bible Study: The Extracanonical Gospels Monday mornings 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
A study of early Christian documents that were not included in the official canon of the New Testament. Come and study and discuss whether these should have been included, or if not, what reasons existed for the decision. Some documents to be included in the study are the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Signs, Dialogue of the Savior, Gospel of Peter, Egerton Gospel, Secret Book of James and Gospel of Mary. No previous experience in biblical studies required. Some teach, some learn, some talk, some listen. Come with what you know and with what you don’t know. It is all beneficial to the whole.
Women Who Wonder Thursday mornings 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. starting January 12
This is a discussion group format for women, whose subject matter will be themed in monthly units. The focus will be on our spirituality as experienced in movies, art, poetry, and writing. Participation by the month is encouraged.
Wednesday Evening Lenten Program: 5 Wednesday Evenings starting February 29
Our plans for the traditional Wednesday night Lenten Series have transitioned into a very exciting new format! Entitled “Taste and See” we will be viewing 2 different award winning films over 5 Wednesday evenings in Lent. For those who wish to have a simple pre-showing meal, arrive at 6:15 in the Parish Hall “to taste”. We will provide beverages, including wine, and a main dish, you bring a pot luck salad and/or finger desert to share with the group. We will enjoy conversation, community and supper for 45 minutes and then the movie will begin at 7 p.m. sharp. For those who do not wish “to taste”, please arrive a bit before 7 in order to settle in “to see”. We will watch a portion of the movie and then have time for group discussion. Each of the two movies is embedded with rich material pertinent to the themes of Lent so we anticipate lively conversation. Our time together will end with a short Eucharist by 8:30.
The series will begin with the showing of The Human Experience, Part One, on Wednesday February 29 and then Part Two on Wednesday March 7. The Human Experience is a documentary produced by Grassroots Films, which tells the story of Jeffrey Azize and his travels, as he searches for answers to the question: what does it mean to be human? The film is divided into three experiences, which take Jeffrey and his friends to New York, to Peru, and to Ghana.
The Human Experience was well-received at the Maui Film Festival (2008) and has won many awards and festival accolades. Perhaps, the most significant endorsement of this film has come from the Women Who Wonder Thursday morning group. They viewed it last fall and it has served as a foundation for many of their discussions since.
The second film is Of Gods and Men which we will view on March 14 and 28. Eight French Christian monks live in harmony with their Muslim brothers in a monastery perched in the mountains of North Africa in the 1990s. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. The army offers them protection, but the monks refuse. Should they leave? Despite the growing menace in their midst, they slowly realize that they have no choice but to stay... come what may. This film is loosely based on the life of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine in Algeria, from 1993 until their kidnapping in 1996. Rated PG 13, it is a film filled with beauty and terror, sin and forgiveness.
Of Gods and Men premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix, the festival's second most prestigious award. It became a critical and commercial success in its domestic market, and won both the Lumière Award and César Award for Best Film.
Once again, the best reviewers are from our own community. There were some members of the congregation who saw this film at The Charles last year. It created quite a buzz and subsequent requests for an opportunity to see this film followed by a time to discuss it. Indeed, this will be just that.
The final session, Wednesday, March 28 we are holding for open discussion on what we have experienced the prior four weeks and how it has impacted our Lenten journey…and this may be the most powerful of the series.
We will need your help for the Taste and See series! We need volunteers to help set up and clean up supper each week. This is a terrific opportunity to meet people and participate in the life of the church. So if you are able, please email or call Barbara Hart (bhart@redeemeronline.com or 410-435-7333 ext. 221) to put your name on the list. The meals and set up will be kept simple, but we do need your hands and hearts to make this successful. Also, a reminder, this series is open to the public, so use this as a chance to ask a friend or neighbor to join you! We would love to welcome them to our midst “to taste and see” not only this Lenten Series, but also the life of The Church of The Redeemer.
Meditation Groups
Ministry Opportunity
If adult spiritual formation is your calling, if you have a program you would like to suggest or plan or offer, or if you are looking for a ministry at Redeemer, we would love to talk with you about your ideas or interest in joining our ministry. Please let any member of the Christian Formation Committee or Redeemer's clergy know of your interest. We'd love to hear from you.
We look forward to your participation in one or more of our programs!
For more information, contact:
Clergy Liaison: The Rev. Caroline Stewart: 410-435-7333 ext. 228
|
