We want you to be able to be a part of our worshiping community in the safety of your own home. We are a gathered community in heart and spirit and we are grateful you are here with us.
We invite you to download a bulletin so you can sing along with the hymns and share in the prayers. Check back Friday
We want you to be able to be a part of our worshiping community in the safety of your own home. We are a gathered community in heart and spirit and we are grateful you are here with us.
We invite you to download a bulletin so you can sing along with the hymns and share in the prayers.
To listen to Mother Barbara’s homily only, please click below this Friday.
We gathered this week in a time of conversation regarding the book by Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ. What I am noticing that completely delights me is that people are asking very basic questions. One might imagine that means they are at the beginning of their spiritual journey. Oh, not so! It actually means they have travelled quite a distance, so they can begin to wonder and question within their faith, where they are not satisfied with what they were always told was true, but rather, they want to know the truth deep within them.
We began our conversation around original sin or original goodness. It is interesting to note that the focus on original sin with the emphasis on the 2nd creation story (the fall) rather than the 1st creation story (the goodness of all creation) came into being in the 4th and 5th centuries and was not a part of the early church writings or theology. It was a very interesting conversation.
This discussion led us naturally into the exploration of the question — if we focus solely on the life of Jesus, without considering his death, what do we learn about the nature of God, about ourselves, and about our relationship with God? A corollary question is — if we focus solely on the death of Jesus, without considering his death, what do we learn about the nature of God, about ourselves, and about our relationship with God?
Some answers offered were:
About his life: Jesus was a teacher, healer, lover, walked alongside people, never gave us, believed people were capable of change, and had a perseverance about him that was astonishing.
About his death: Jesus understands vulnerability and woundedness, there are things worth pushing up against (power, oppression) that is worth risking everything (causing “good trouble”), and that Jesus can enter into, understand, and redeem our suffering.
When we put all of this together, we can realize that we are in relationship with a God who loves us, believes in us, invites us to grow and change, walks alongside us in vulnerability and woundedness and redeems it (offers new life) and is asking us to be healers, which at times, means pushing up against that which is not of God.
We then engaged in a contemplative exercise on Gratitude, launched from Rohr’s statement, “The only way, then, to increase authentic spirituality is to deliberately practice actually enjoying a positive response and a grateful heart.” We drew to heart a recent experience for which we were grateful and asked the following questions:
We meet every other Thursday at 2 p.m. If you would like to join our group, you are very welcome to do so. Just email Mother Barbara for the Zoom link.
We continue our exploration of the Early Church Writings, working our way into the Gospel of Matthew. This past week, we read aloud the first 5 chapters of the gospel and then delved into the historical context, learning about Matthew’s take of Jesus as the “new Moses” and how he built his case for that connection, between the genealogy, wise men, exile into Egypt, baptism, and then the Sermon on the Mount (on the mountain as when Moses received the 10 commandments on mt. Sinai)/ We spent time intentionally sitting with and reflecting upon the beatitudes, how they connect with Matthew’s gospel, and what they mean to us now.
We continue our study on Wednesday, 4th. Please email Mother Barbara for the Zoom link.
For the study guide, please click below.
The image shown above is of the site near the Jordan River where Jesus offered his teaching on the beatitudes.
This past week we gathered to explore the ideas in Richard Rohr’s book, The Universal Christ. We meet every other week for lively discussions as well as a contemplative practice that settles our soul, for it is in resting in God that we are restored and can see the broadness and expansiveness of the Risen Christ among us.
This week we began with our contemplative exercise. We engaged in a video of images taken of nature and reflected upon what the images say to us about the nature of God. For Rohr contents, that God is not just the Creator of all things, but is revealed in all things — which means we can learn about the nature of God and be in relationship with God by engaging with nature and looking with “the eyes of our heart”. As we watched the video we wrote down words that speak to us of what we know about the essential qualities of God. Words such as: abundance, provides security, is all about community, trusting, starkness, strength, comfort, new life, turning toward light, always in motion were some of the reflections we offered to one another.
To watch the nature image video, please click below.
We then discussed the many faithful ways that we have dealt with the isolation and sense of alienation from the pandemic by turning ever more closely to the interior “mirror of Christ” within us, to strengthen our connection with the holy. It was a beautiful time of sharing and reflection for the resourcefulness of God to pull us into exactly the right experiences to find solace and comfort.
We concluded our conversation by talking about Sabbath and the natural pattern established by God in the creation narrative: “doing” following by “being” and how this plays out in our spiritual lives, as we yearn to make our lives prayer, rather than incorporate prayer into our lives.
To pray along with Desmond Tutu our closing prayer taken from his book, “Made for Goodness”, please click below.
We meet every other Thursday at 2 p.m. Please email Mother Barbara for the Zoom link.
This past week we gathered first to hear the Letter to the Colossians read aloud, for that was what was always intended, that we would hear the good news, rather than read the good news, since it offers additional opportunities to engage with the sacred text. Often we find when we read the entirety of a book of the Bible, we gather a larger message, rather than hearing only a snippet of the text on Sunday mornings.
This past week we delved into this letter, which is attributed to Paul, but generally believed not to be Paul’s authorship. Several of the topics considered were: 1) prayer for spiritual wisdom, 2) exploration of the Hymn of Christ, 3) proper meaning of the crucifixion, and 4) maturing in Christ.
To download the study guide prepared by Mother Barbara, please click below.
Our conversations are designed to know the scripture at depth, to explore how they interact with our lives today, and to see the larger arc of the development of Christian thought. All are welcome to participate!
Refresh your spirit as you listen, watch and participate in this beautiful and holy time of music, prayer, reading of the Holy Scripture and the Holy Eucharist. Prepare your hearts for a rest and refreshing. Click below to access the bulletin for this service and to participate from home.
To view the video for this service click below and allow your spirit to be filled with joy.
We gathered this past Wednesday to explore Paul’s 2nd Letter to the Corinthians as part of our exploration of the Early Church Writings.
We explored such topics as 1) affliction and consolation, 2) power in weakness, 3) the gospel being the treasure in clay pots (we’re the clay pots), 4) the development of the notion of a judgment day and the role of the resurrected Christ at that time, and 5) Paul’s emphasis on mercy and compassion.
We always study the historical context of the writing and identify new theological concepts and then apply the text to our own lives.
To read the Class Outline with Questions to ponder, please click below.
This past week we gathered by Zoom and had a fabulous conversation around a very short book in the New Testament: Paul’s Letter to Philemon. Perhaps because of it’s brevity, it encouraged us plenty of time to discuss some of the major themes, and to wonder together, why this book was first placed in the canon (books of the bible) and what would have been missing if it hadn’t.
We found the book filled with the theme of hospitality and how right relationships are an expression of the hospitality of God, which we are to show with each other.
To read the notes and questions, please click below.
We will next meet on June 17th. You are always welcome to join us. Please contact Mother Barbara for the Zoom link.
This past Wednesday, we gathered together, first to catch up, which was so delightful — and then to delve into Paul’s first Letter to the Corinithians.
We began, however, learning how to read scriptures so they aren’t merely a nice story on the pages of the Bible, but how we can learn more about the context of the letter, make connections with other the books in the Bible, begin to notice how Christian thought was beginning to develop, take a simple phrase, like “brothers and sisters in Christ” and think through what that means for us as Christians.
We then looked at the context of the letter, since that is always vital in understanding the audience of the book. We focused then on the two main teachings of this book: 1) Paul’s depiction of the Last Supper and the importance of it being equally shared among all classes of people; that there was to be no division in Christ and 2) Paul’s view of the resurrection, which was a spiritual, not physical resurrection.
To read notes about this session, please click below.
All are welcome to join us. We meet every other Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (catch-up time) and 7:00 p.m. for the conversation and exploration.
This past Wednesday, we gathered by Zoom to explore the writings of Paul, especially focusing on his letter to the Thessalonians. In this short letter, he sets the stage for the structure and dynamics of the early church, with an emphasis on his “new family” imagery, his use of his famous triad, “faith, hope, and love”, and his charge for “simple and unobtrusive” living. We learned some about the person of Paul, looked at the historical context of this letter, studied some important themes, applied his writing to our liturgies, and then imagined the comfort and challenge his writing may offer to our current context. It was a time of sharing, discovery, and engagement with our sacred texts.
If you are interested in joining our next session, please contact Mother Barbara at rector@standrewsship.org.
To read the notes from our session, please click below.
We gathered by Zoom this past Wednesday — and it was WONDERFUL to finally see each other’s faces and hear each other’s voices. Gathering back into community, even after a break of just a few weeks felt holy and true.
We focused our attention around the spiritual practice of blessing, as part of our Lenten exploration of the series of Life Transformed: The Way of Love for Lent.
We tied the spiritual act of blessing one another with the Christian ritual of turning away from and then adhering ourselves toward something else. This pattern begins in our baptismal vows (renouncing the forces of evil before proclaiming our faith and trust in Jesus) and is a part of our regular lives. Much of our conversation then connecting this Christian ritual with our current situation of living with the pandemic of COVID-19.
It was a good time of being connected with one another in thoughtful discussions about our faith and life.
