Dear friends,
Thank you for including study leave in my contract. I spent last week reading and writing, and it felt very refreshing to be able to work on long-term issues and ideas rather than constantly playing catch-up, which is a game I play far too often. I’m going to try to bring that spacious feeling to work more often, and make sure I don’t neglect the big picture. My reading list, for those of you who are interested, included Ben’s latest book, Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly, a hefty Field Guide to the American Teenager, Riki Wilchin’s Queer Theory Gender Theory, Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God, and Wayne Muller’s Sabbath. My writing included pages upon pages of youth group curriculum, and materials for our Lenten Inter-Generational Bible Study.
I’m glad I got all of this accomplished, because Lent comes very early this year, thanks to the peculiarities of the lunar calendar… All seven weeks of Lent will be over and done by the end of March! So, in less than two weeks you will see Ben & me robed up in black and purple (purple is a serious color – we tell the children – because something serious is going to happen).
I hope many of you will consider joining us for Inter-Generational Bible Study. It will be held on Wednesday nights through Lent, combining dinner, simple candlelit song, and lively discussion for all ages as we go through the last chapters of the book of Mark. We hope you can join for Ash Wednesday, then the four-week Bible Study series beginning 2/17, plus the Taize service that follows (3/16) and the Maundy Thursday service (3/24) for a total of seven weeks of Lent, but we certainly also understand if you have to miss some of them. You are welcome, even if you can only attend once!
Bring your brain, booted up, and plenty of questions. We begin with dinner and then will move to the sanctuary for study in a more solemn environment. You are welcome to bring food, make a monetary donation, or to help clean up, but those are not required – we want to make sure this is available to everyone, including those who must squeeze it in between work and family obligations. No strings attached!
Dates: 2/17, 2/24, 3/2, 3/9 (Taize on 3/16, Maundy Thursday on 3/24).
Times: 6 PM dinner, 7-7:45 study
Readings: from the gospel of Mark, excerpts of chapters 10, 12, 13 and 14.
RSVP: talk to me, or use this link.
Thanks!
Blessings, Talitha