New Friday Morning Small Group Book

The Friday morning small group, which meets every other Friday morning at 7:00am at Clark's Fork, will begin reading and discussing a new book, Friday, March 18th. Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer by Rowan Williams is a short, but meaty, book about the essential elements of Christian life. All are welcome to join the conversation! You can order the book here, or find it at a local book store.
Want to read and discuss the book, but don't want to be up and out the door for a 7:00am small group? Let the church office know, and we'll talk about starting a new group!

Bah, Humbug! A guest post from Jerry Johnson

Note: what follows is a guest post from CtK member, Jerry Johnson. Jerry's opinions are his own, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of CtK or the ELCA.

Bah, Humbug!

     As I grow longer in the tooth, my attitude about holidays has changed--Margaret would say for the worse.  Some of it is definitely age related.  Huge holiday meals are overwhelming and leave me miserable.  Drinking has its own problems.  Staying late at functions has lost its charm and gifting in a materialistic society is crass at best.  January should give us a new start, but it’s frequently with unneeded pounds and a feeling of exhaustion. 

      In our current atmosphere of fear “Christians” forget their role and want to isolate Muslims as we did to the Japanese in WWII.  They complain about Starbuck’s holiday cups, saying they either promote Jesus or dis him, when the intent was neither.  Earlier cups had snowmen, candy canes, etc. which are not Christian symbols.  My understanding is the plain red and green cups are so you can decorate them any way you want, or not.

     Christians whine about the “War on Christmas” not fully knowing the history or seeing the melding of the spiritual and the commercial and of course we’ve carried political correctness from reasonable to ridiculous.  The origins probably began with celebrating the lengthening of the day after the winter solstice, and Romans celebrated December 25 as the birthday of the sun god Mithra.  It wasn’t until the 4^th century A. D. it was associated with Jesus’ birth and didn’t become significant until the time of Charlemagne around 800 A. D.  Catholics made it a tradition and Protestants banned it (Puritans thought Jesus was born in September and they hated the associated holiday debauchery in late medieval England).  The Christmas tree came from Germany and was considered to be a symbol of pagan idolatry.  The Lutherans were castigated for “groveling before a shrub.”  Jeremiah 101-4 condemns cutting down a tree from the forest and decorating it with silver and gold.  George Washington even attacked the Hessians during the Battle of Trenton in 1777 on Christmas because it was a popular German holiday.  Clement Moore’s poem “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” in 1823 was an enormous success.  In 1836 Alabama declared Christmas a public holiday, but it wasn’t until 1870 that President Ulysses S. Grant declared it a federal holiday.

     Of course, the media likes turmoil, so they seize on anything to stir up the pot.  I find Advent a time to reflect.  I like our “Soup and Service” suppers and the fellowship.  In our Tuesday men’s Bible study we studied Stephen Patterson’s book, Beyond the Passion: Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus.  Patterson says that without Jesus’ life, his death and resurrection are meaningless.  Ernest Campbell said the Gospel receives its force in the world from the fact that it was lived.  People confuse expressing religious values with living them.  The most recent example of this is Martin Luther King, Jr. who preached passive resistance as did Ghandi.  We put King on a pedestal and violence is still the way.  The same could be said for Jesus, revere him, but don’t follow him--that could be dangerous to our health (mortal, not immortal).

     As Advent draws to a close and Jesus’ birthday is upon us we need to think on what it’s all about.  We should recognize that all things change, even what we know about Christmas.  We should remember in Jesus’ life and love he reached out and asked us to follow him--feeding and clothing the poor, visiting the sick,  taking in the stranger and visiting prisoners.  For each other it will be plenty sufficient to share our love.

                                                          Jerrold E. Johnson, 12-21-15

Exploring Faith and Life Together - Friday Morning Small Group has a new book

The Friday Morning Small Group will begin reading/discussing a new book at their next meeting on August 28th: Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God, by Lauren Winner. The group meets every other Friday morning at 7:00am at Clark's Fork, for conversation about the current book and life and faith. Participants usually head out about 8:30am or so. Now is a great time to join the group!
If you have questions, please talk to Pastor Lindean.

NEW book for Friday Morning Small Group - Join the Discussion!

The Friday morning Small Group finished reading and discussing The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James Cone, this past Friday morning. Just a day and a half after the horrific attack on Bible Study participants at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, we wondered together what to do, as white Christians in America, where clearly racism is alive and well. That will be an ongoing conversation, but includes continuing to learn about American history as experienced by people of color, to listen to perspectives different from our own, to speak up against racial slurs and stereotypes when we hear them, to pray, to examine and repent of our own racist thoughts and behaviors, to work for justice and reconciliation...

One of the quotes at the beginning of the book's Conclusion especially struck me:
"Perhaps nothing about the history of mob violence in the United States is more surprising than how quickly an understanding of the full horror of lynching has receded from the nation's collective historical memory." - W. Fitzhugh Brundage

Yes, the shooter on Wednesday night appears to have acted on his own, though he certainly did not live and form his opinions and beliefs in isolation. Yet, the history of lynching in the US is something most of us in the Friday small group didn't know much about. And it's not ancient history. As hard as reading The Cross and the Lynching Tree was, we're all glad we read it. And I think I can safely say each member of the group would encourage you to read it, too.

The group's next book is Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, by Imaculee  Ilibagiza. The discussion of the first chapter begins on Friday, July 3rd, at Clark's Fork at 7am. All are welcome!

Friday Morning Small Group: The Cross and the Lynching Tree

Every other Friday morning, I meet with a small group of folks (all women, currently, but there's no reason it must stay that way) at Clark's Fork, here in Bozeman. Most of us order some kind of breakfast, and I think everyone has coffee or tea. We tend not to arrive all at once - a 7:00am start time means we trickle in.

While we gather, we check in on each other's lives, and sometimes jump start conversation of the chapter or two we've read for the morning's discussion. More often than not, once everyone is there we turn to "highs and lows" before we dig in to formal discussion of the text: we go around the table and each person shares a high point and low point of her life since we last met. And I've noticed a change in our lows over recent months: while they are still sometimes quite personal, it's no longer an anomaly for someone's lows to consist largely of what she's heard on the news - natural disasters, political machinations, wars and the violence of extremist groups, racially motivated hatred. It's all a lot.  Maybe even too much, sometimes.

Our tendency to be "plugged in" most of the time probably doesn't help. This morning one of my friends said that she didn't listen to the radio on her way to small group, so that she wouldn't start the day depressed by the news. And I wonder if a general sense of powerlessness, and of not understanding those who think about and experience life so differently from how we do, contributes, too.

In order to learn from someone with a radically different life experience and history, and to have some likely tough conversations about race and faith (and their interweaving in American history), the Friday morning small group is going to read The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone. YOU are invited to join the conversation. The first conversation, on the introduction and first chapter, will be Friday, April 10th, at 7:00am at Clark's Fork.

Want to learn more? Here's James Cone on Bill Moyers Journal in 2007, a CNN blog post about the theologian and author, and a 2008 NPR "Fresh Air" interview with him. Here, also, is a link to the ELCA Social Statement Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity and Culture.

Surprised by Hope

Every-other Friday morning, a CtK small group meets at Clark's Fork restaurant at 7:00am. Some folks just drink coffee or tea, some eat a big breakfast. All are part of lively conversation, stimulated by the chapters read for the morning's discussion.
This Friday, November 7th, the group will discuss the last chapters of Take This Bread, by Sara Miles. It's been great food for thought. (pun!)
Beginning Friday, November 21st, the group will discuss the first two chapters of Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, by N.T. Wright. Wright, an Anglican bishop and professor, tackles the question of what happens when we die, and how most Christians get it wrong. This book is more "academic" than the group's previous selections, heavier on early church history and biblical theology, but it is a fascinating read and will inspire great conversations. You are invited to join in! Pick up a copy at your favorite bookseller, bid on the "Friday Morning Small Group Basket" at the PB&A this Sunday, or get a copy here at Amazon:

All are welcome to join the conversation!

Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion

The Friday morning small group finished reading/discussing Learning to Walk in the Dark, by Barbara Brown Taylor, this morning. I think everyone in the group would recommend it!
And we chose a new book, Take This Bread, by Sara Miles, which we'll begin discussing on Friday, August 1st at 7:00am at Clark's Fork. The chapters are quite short, so we'll be discussing the first three.
ALL ARE WELCOME to join the conversation. Pick up a copy at your favorite bookseller, get reading, and join in! Questions? Just ask!

Looking for a small group or book group?

The Friday morning small group (currently meeting every-other Friday at Clark's Fork at 7:00am) just finished one book (Consider the Birds, by Debbie Blue) and will begin reading another, Learning to Walk in the Dark, by Barbara Brown Taylor.
Time Magazine recently named Barbara Brown Taylor one of the most 100 influential people, and has featured her new book.
Interested in joining the conversation? Pick up a copy and dig in! The group meets next on May 23rd and will be discussing the introduction and first chapter.
Happy Reading!

WEBS - Women's Ecumenical Book Study

There's a great group in Bozeman called WEBS. WEBS is an acronym for "Women's Ecumenical Book/Bible Study." Coming up in February, WEBS will be offering several book study groups, reading different books and meeting at a variety of times and locations.

From the WEBS site online:

The mission of WEBS (Women's Ecumenical Bible Study) is to build connection; as we explore God's story, we share our stories. WEBS offers Seekers and Christians, who enjoy the perspectives of other women, a safe, engaging environment to nurture their faith through Bible Study (for the month of February, a BOOK Study) and in relationship.  WEBS provides both a spiritual and scholarly environment in which each woman can live her own spiritual journey in community.

For the month of February, women will have a choice to explore three different books in small groups.  Feel free to join more than one book group.  We selected the following three books from which to choose because they cover a range of spiritual topics (theology, outreach, spirituality) from a range of perspectives (evangelical/emergent, main-line Protestant, Roman Catholic/contemplative) and invite thoughtful discussion. Books are listed below with a link to their descriptions and group meeting times.

The books for February are What We Talk About When We Talk About God, by Rob Bell; Get Off Your Donkey!: Help Somebody and Help Yourself, by Reggie McNeal; and Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, by Richard Rohr.

I (Lindean) get to lead a group on the Rob Bell book, Fridays in February from 10:00 - 11:15am at Bozeman United Methodist Church. There will even be free child care available!

For more information, check out the WEBS website, or contact Jen, the WEBS administrator, at admin@websbozeman.org .

Sunday School is for Grown-Ups, Too!!

All of the adult education classes on Sunday mornings are kicking off October with new topics:

Adult Forum meets in the social hall and will be using a DVD series for learning and to spark conversation: Biblical Stewardship: Our Duty and Delight.


Biblical Stewardship: Our Duty & Delight from Select Learning on Vimeo.

Manna for Moms usually meets in the sanctuary, and will be spending a month learning about and discussing "Children and Materialsim."

The Digging Deeper class meets in the church office, and will be reading a book this month, Giving to God: The Bible's Good News about Living a Generous Life, by Mark Allan Powell. Copies are available in the church office for $13. Participants will be expected to read 25-45 pages at home each week, and then discuss the readings as a group (a reading schedule is also available).

We all know that everything we have is a gift from God. But sometimes it's hard to know just how to give back to God. How much is enough? What does the Bible really say? What should giving look like in our everyday lives? Filled with good news for followers of Jesus, Giving to God shows Christians the way to a better life and a better relationship both with their money and with God.
Popular author and Bible scholar Mark Allan Powell presents stewardship as an act of worship, an expression of faith, and a discipline for spiritual growth. Faithful use of our time, talents, and treasures starts with a deep, satisfying relationship with the God to whom we belong. We can then learn, says Powell, to give gladly and generously out of our heartfelt connection with God. The second part of the book applies these principles to today's complicated world.
After providing answers to practical questions about living and giving, Powell lays out a specific plan for a generous life that Christians can embrace as both a duty and a delight.
Informative, concise, and wise, Giving to God gives us resources to think carefully about how best to use the treasures, material and otherwise, that God has given us. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book particularly useful for church study groups.

CtK Book Exchange

All are welcome here at CtK tomorrow morning (Saturday, April 17th) at 10:00am for a book exchange. There will be fresh chocolate chip cookies and coffee. Bring your old books and go home with some new (or at least new-to-you) ones. Enjoy some great conversations!

Online course at Harvard

One of my professors at Luther Seminary has posted a link to an online course on world religions being taught by Diana Eck (of Harvard Divinity School) through Harvard's Extension School. Her first lecture is available for free, and it's quite interesting. In the last several minutes of the lecture she goes over the reading assignments for the course, and I'm planning to write them all down and start working my way through those materials I haven't read before. Let me know if you'd like a book/study group to work through some of them together.
Eck (who was born in Bozeman) is also the author of Encountering God: From Bozeman to Banaras.