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.

New Blog from PLTS (Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary)

An invitation from PLTS:

 

PLTS  - Out of the Fog, Into God's World blog

  

Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California has launched a blog that engages theological perspectives with pressing, urgent public issues of our day. This blog involve a wide range of contributors from the PLTS faculty, other faculties at California Lutheran University, students and alums, as well as others committed to the purpose of this blog. A link to our blog can be found here: http://outofthefogplts.wordpress.com/ 

In faith communities and the wider society, there increasingly is moral outrage about what is occurring, such as entrenched violence and inequalities. However, critical biblical and theological perspectives are seldom brought to bear on what is at stake. Ordinary people of faith are either left "in the fog" about how their faith engages such, or certain "religious" voices are featured in the media that tend to be judgmental or polarizing. The public voice of, especially Lutherans, tends to remain muted or confined within churches, as it was not for someone like Martin Luther. Our audience is those preparing sermons or discussions that better equip people to think and act on timely issues in the news in light of their faith.  The hope is that this might contribute to reflective deliberation amid differences rather than furthering the polarization that is all too pervasive in our common life.
Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments. Thanks!

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!