Studies & Book Clubs

For the Fellowship Class, we will turn to the Gospel of Mark. This book is considered by many, if not most biblical scholars as the first of the four Gospels to be written. With his repeated use of the word ‘immediately’ and focus on the actions of Jesus, Mark is an Evangelist in a hurry. The opening verse of the book sets the tone: ‘The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God’ (Mk 1:1). 

The above quote is from Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher. It is a way to explain the Lenten journey. Beginning Sunday, Feb 22nd, following the 10am worship service, Pastor Jenn will lead a Lenten study in Room 204 for 18-30ish-year-olds as we look at Scripture, faith, and the journey of Lent. This will be a hybrid offering, so those who are working or at school out of the area can connect with their home church. 

The winter sessions of bible studies will begin the week of Jan. 12th and continue for ten weeks. As usual, we will meet on Monday nights from 6:30-8:00 pm or on Tuesday mornings from 9:00-10:30 am in the Upper Overflow. Each session will be available on Zoom. In case of inclement weather, the class will be conducted over Zoom.

The title of the study is "Jesus, Jerusalem, and the Gospel of John." Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke–who only report the adult Jesus being in Jerusalem once–John tells us that Jesus visited the Holy City at least five times, namely, for three Passovers, one Hanukkah, and one other unnamed festival. This is a very different perspective on the life of Jesus, and one well worth our time and study. No matter where each of us is on our spiritual journey, the Gospel of John has much to offer us.

TBA

Pastor Jenn is hosting a book club this year featuring books that have been labeled as thought-provoking, including some award-winning titles. We will read the books each month, then gather to discuss them and consider what lessons they offer, what new thoughts and experiences we were not aware of, and where God and religion are in them.

Given the topics, this club is open to young adults and older, but all genders. Meetings will be the last Thursday of the month in Room 203 from 6:30 pm-8 pm, except the November/December reading will meet on December 11th. For those who cannot attend in person, a Zoom link will be provided. If you know of someone who might enjoy joining us, please invite them.

Here are the books we will be reading. 3 copies of each book are available outside of the church office, on the top shelf of the mail slots so you can begin reading now. Please bring back when you are finished so someone else can read them too.

Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala's Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constant.

The December 11th meeting will discuss the first 5 sections only. The rest will be discussed in January.

Few people beyond South Carolina’s Lowcountry knew of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston—Mother Emanuel—before the night of June 17, 2015, when a twenty-one-year-old white supremacist walked into Bible study and slaughtered the church’s charismatic pastor and eight worshippers. Although the shooter had targeted the first AME church in the South in order to agitate racial strife, he did not anticipate the aftermath—an outpouring of forgiveness from the victims’ families and a reckoning with the divisions of caste that have afflicted Charleston and the South since the earliest days of European settlement.

Pastor Lew will be joining us for the discussion that night. He knew the pastor, Clementa, who was killed. He was working on a DMin project with Clementa regarding faith and politics. 

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
 
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
 
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.
 
Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.