Christ Church
United Methodist

Living the Question 2 - "Reclaiming the World"

Join in a thought-provoking journey with Living the Questions understanding that there really aren’t “answers!” 

We offered seven more sessions of this series at each of these sessions we had an opportunity to hear from contemporary theologians (such as Tex Sample, a fabulous story teller, Jack Spong, Marcus Borg, Bernard Brandon Scott, Matthew Fox, and Amy Jill Levine) and enjoy a conversation about our own thoughts and perceptions on these sometimes controversial topics; 

Restoring Relationships
The Prophetic Jesus
Evil, Suffering & a God of Love
The Myth of Redemptive Violence
Debunking the Rapture
Practicing Resurrection
Reclaiming the World

Watch for offering of this series in the near future.

On-going Small Groups

There are several groups that have been meeting for a long period of time for support, prayer, study and/or reflection. New groups may be formed in the future.

Inquirer’s Class

You’ve been coming to worship at Christ Church for a time, and you already consider this to be your faith community -- the place you want to grow on your faith journey. Or, you’ve been coming to Christ Church for some time, and you are already a member, but want a “refresher” about United Methodism or church membership. You are exactly the ones who are invited to attend an Inquirer’s Class, led by our pastor, on several Sunday afternoons in October. 

Please call or email the church office for Pastor Kimberly to let her know of your interest.

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Past Small Groups

The Parables of Jesus 

We began an adult class on the Parables of Jesus for six Sundays at 8:15 am (before church begins) beginning September 30.  Together we will try to answer such questions as: 

  The subject of the various classes are: 

Session 1        Sept. 30  Discussion on parables - attempting to answer the above list of questions.

Session 2        Oct. 7  The Loss of the Received World and Searching for the divine in the world - The Leaven and The Mustard Seed.

Session 3        Oct. 14  Revealing the Presence or Absence of God - The Empty Jar and The Returning Master.

Session 4        Oct. 21 Cooperation Not Competition, as the basis for human social structure in the realm of God - The Two Sons and The Prodigal Son.

Session 5        Oct. 28  Unmasking the World of Oppression - The Good Samaritan, The Laborers in the Vineyard, and The Wicked Tenants.

Session 6        Nov. 4  Exercise in Interpreting Parables.

David Rebstock will be leading the parables study group. If you have any questions, please give him a call.

Living the Questions 2 - "Seven in Seventy" Presentation

This is an open-minded and exciting series which does not attempt to give participants all the answers. Instead the series is intended to help us think about our beliefs, presenting new and sometimes startling theological concepts for discussion. LtQ2 features many of the contributors from the original Living the Questions series -- some of whom you may recall -- Tex Sample, Marcus Borg, John Shelby Spong, Matthew Fox, Helen Prejean, Amy-Jill Levine, John Dominic Crossan, and Bernard Brandon Scott. We will hear from many other experts as well.

We have scheduled two series of seven 70-minute sessions starting Tuesday, October 9 at 10:30 am and Wednesday October 10 at 6:30 pm – both groups will be offered at the church.

Are You Curious about Spiritual Direction?

“Spiritual direction is about responding to God’s invitation to draw closer in  relationship. It is meant to help a person learn how to be attentive to God’s presence and action in his or her life and to make choices based on that awareness.”

Marcia Burkart offered a 15-minute DVD entitled, “Spiritual Direction:  Listening with the Heart” on Sunday, September 23 after worship. The DVD is described as “warm, thoughtful glimpses into the lives of five ordinary people who learn, through spiritual direction, to trust their deepest desires for God.”  The DVD was followed by an opportunity for questions and a discussion. 

Another resource for information about spiritual direction is the Spiritual Directors International publication “Listen.”  Published quarterly, this free newsletter is available at www.sdiworld.org.  Marcia has sample copies available. The above website also contains “Seek and Find,” a directory of spiritual directors organized by geographical location.

Marcia is a spiritual director who received her diploma in the “Art of Spiritual Direction” at San Francisco Theological Seminary. Contact Marcia, if you have any questions about this presentation or about spiritual direction.  

Summer Book Study: "Jesus for the Non-Religious"

Tuesday nights - July 10 - August 13, 6:30 - 8:00 pm

We have studied many of Bishop Spong's books over the years. Each book seems to describe his most recent revelations in the on-going evolution of his faith journey.

In his newest book, he continues to challenge traditional Biblical interpretations. With piercing scriptural analysis, Bishop spong helps us see the life and ministry of Jesus within our 21st century context. He doesn't need a literal understanding of scripture to passionately hold Jesus as the lens through which he connects with God, the ground of our being.

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Saving Jesus - from the Religious Right

  Ever feel like Jesus has been kidnapped by the Christian Right?  Saving Jesus is a revolutionary DVD-based small group exploration of Jesus Christ for the third millennium.  Featuring leading religious voices of our day, the 12-week program includes conversation around short advance readings, a 20-minute video segment and guided discussion.  Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Matthew Fox, John Shelby Spong, Jim & Jean Strathdee, Tex Sample, Rita Nakashima Brock, Walter Brueggemann, John Cobb, Bernard Brandon Scott, Helen Prejean, James Forbes and a host of others help us explore the relevance of Jesus for our time.  The session titles are: 

1. Introduction: Jesus through the Ages

2. Who was Jesus?  

3. What Can We Know About Jesus (and How)?

4. The World into Which Jesus Was Born 

5. Jesus' Birth: Incarnation

6. Teachings of Jesus: Wisdom Tradition    

7. Jesus' Program: The Kingdom of God

8. Jesus' Ministry of Compassion

9. Killing Jesus, Part 1: Who Killed Jesus?

10. Killing Jesus, Part 2: The Atonement 

11. The Resurrection of Christ   

12. Why Jesus Is Worth Saving

We will start this 12-week series (created by the publishers of “Living the Questions”) the week of January 7, 2007, and it will be offered at three different times and locations:

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Small Group on Prayer

Secret Prayer Partner Program Saturday, February 3, 11:30 am, Conference Room

We gather once a year to share who we have been praying for since February of 2006. We start the day with a shared Potluck, then we begin with one woman sharing who she has held in prayer, then that woman does the same, and so on. Sometimes there is laughter; sometimes tears — but it is this celebration of sharing with women at Christ Church that draws us closer.

Your only requirement: Holding a woman in daily prayer. Sometimes sending her a note to let her know you are thinking and praying for her. That’s all there is to it! Even if you decide not to participate — Come anyway! You will find it so easy to get caught up in this truly wonderful partnership (though secretly) with another woman, you just might change your mind!

Bible Study – Progressive Paul

Our pastor led a series on Paul beginning May 9 on Tuesday mornings, 10:00 am and evenings, 7:00 pm at the church.

As much as we dislike some of Paul’s words in our 21^st century, did you know that Paul was actually progressive for his time? Did you know that Luke and Acts were most likely written by the same writer, but may not be the physician, as we may have been taught earlier? Did you know that only about half of the writings attributed to Paul were actually written by Paul? What do you know about the progressive ideas of Paul for his day?

Come, join us in discussion as we read through some of Acts and the Letters written by Paul or Pseudo Paul.

Paul might have agreed with some of the modern day tenants of Progressive Christianity:  

Bible Studies - The Gospel of Mark

Here it is! What you’ve been looking for! Bible Study, covering the basics! We studied the Gospel of Mark beginning in January 2006.

Did you know that Mark was the first Gospel written? (Bet you thought it was Matthew, didn’t you?) Did you know that the author of that Gospel was probably not a person named Mark? Can you read the Gospel of Mark as though you lived in a Greek-speaking community and probably were not familiar with Jewish customs? Did you also know that the Gospels were written after the writings of Paul? 

We read Mark both for personal inspiration and for a better understanding of the context and current research. We offered thought-provoking readings and challenging questions.

Beginning in January, Bible Studies meetings were on Tuesday mornings, 10:30-12:00 noon and Tuesday evening from 6:30 pm in the church conference room. 

After the Gospel of Mark, we'll study the Book of Acts and the Journeys of Paul in the Spring and Summer.

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Stewardship Workshop

Nancy Thurston was our guest preacher that Sunday morning, and she also guided us in a lively discussion about stewardship during a workshop after worship. The sermon title she is playing with is: “The danger of asking Jesus questions: Stewardship for the global community.”

During the workshop, Nancy opened up an exploration of the bigger context for stewardship that Jesus offered. With this new way of seeing things, stewardship can be exciting, even fun, and offer support for all of us through community.

Nancy was John Davenport ’s spiritual director when they both lived in Palo Alto. Nancy has moved to Oregon, but their friendship continues. Nancy was on the Board and part of the staff of Journey Into Freedom with Dale and Esther (workshop leaders for us a few years ago) and has co-led “Trips of Perspective” to Haiti as part of that ministry, and has led Money workshops with Dale. Nancy holds a deep commitment for living her faith in everyday life.

Nancy’s central call is to explore, illuminate, experiment with, and articulate the Gospel journey from death to life. Much of her work is exploring the unnoticed or unspoken reality of our lives, especially around the big topics of class and race. This is too big a work to do alone, and she is gifted with several powerful communities that support this work and her faith journey. She is a writer and lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband Howard. Together Nancy and Howard have made important decisions about the use of their financial resources and inheritance that has become a model for the rest of us.

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Living the Questions - Faith as a Journey, not a Destination
- A 13-week small group experience in the Fall of 2005 and Spring of 2006

This problem, when offered in the Fall of 2005, was very received. This is what Pastor Gayle Pickrell wrote to introduce this series:

“Two years ago, after several years of book studies, we invited Bishop John Shelby Spong to speak to us in the first of our Transforming Faith Series, as we considered the individual directions our faith might be leading us in these challenging and exciting times. Sharing his research and his deep personal journey, Bishop Spong’s words spoke to me very personally and helped me to move more fully into my own faith experience. He continues to be one of my mentors and teachers in this journey.

“I experience the life and ministry of Jesus more openly now as a result of reading Bishop Spong’s books. But, in conversations with many of you, you seemed to share my questions. Where do we go from here? How do we bring our new understanding of the power of Jesus’ message into our contemporary spiritual practices? What does worship look like? Prayer?

“In the Fall of 2005, I preached from the Guiding Principles of the Center of Progressive Christianity. We also have an opportunity to share with others in small groups and explore our own faith journeys and begin to think about who we are as a church.

“The 13-week small group used the video series Living the Questions  to connect with each other and deepen our faith. This is an important step in claiming who we are as a church and what steps we want to take to spread the good news of community that we experience here at Christ Church. ”

The themes from the series are:

1. An Invitation to Journey

2. Thinking Theologically

3. Creativity and Stories of Creation

4. Restoring Relationships

5. Evil and a God of Love: The Place of Suffering

6. Intimacy with God

7. Social Justice and The Prophets

8. A Kingdom Without Walls: Ruth & Jonah

9. Lives of Jesus

10. Compassion: the Heart of Jesus’ Ministry

11. A Passion for Christ: Paul the Apostle

12. Out Into the World: Challenges Facing Progressive Christianity

13. The Contribution of Wesleyan Theology

The 20-30 minute videos for each session included conversation, sermon slips, comedy/satire lecture excerpts, and spiritual exercises for practical applications (including different forms of prayer and meditation, movement, walking the labyrinth, etc).

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Remedial Christianity - Summer Sunday Adult Class

What did you learn in Sunday School or catechism about Christianity in your early years? Bible Stories? Memorization of Bible verses? Christianity is evolving all the time. One theologian said that as recent as fifty years ago there were only four or five early transcripts of the Bible. Now over 40,000 partial or almost complete transcripts of various books of the Bible have been discovered, translated and interpreted. As a result it is not surprising that many of us in the pews each Sunday have little knowledge of the faith that we embrace. A remedial summer course is just what you need!

Lenten Study Group - “Dwelling of the Soul“

During Lent in 2006, we prepared ourselves to accept anew the love and wisdom of the ministry of Jesus. Our Lenten Study this year is based on this theme. [Read more]

Book Study - “The Heart of Christianity”

An eight-session book study of “The Heart of Christianity” by Marcus Borg began the week of July 5.

What is the heart of Christianity?
What does it mean to be a Christian today?
What is the emerging paradigm in Christian tradition and Christian life today?

Marcus Borg tries to answer these questions and many others in his book.

“Prophets: Past and Present”

The ancient prophets, Jeremiah and Amos, offer much wisdom for our contemporary understanding of faith. The class was led by our pastor on Tuesday evenings, September 14 to October 19. We also did some research on modern-day prophets.

Prayer Support Groups

Several small groups meet in members' homes each week for prayer and sharing.

Companions in Christ

This 28-week series was based on the workbook series Companions in Christ - A Small-Group Experience in Spiritual Formation published by Upper Room Books. Meetings began last Fall and have just completed their study this Spring.

Environmental Justice

An Earth-keeping Taskforce has been formed to covenant together to work toward Environmental Justice. [Read more]