EMerge: The Blog

Events at Church of the Way

The Following events will be taking place at Presbyterian Church of the Way in Shoreview during the month of May:

Sunday Forum AND Family and Faith Class* Sundays, 6:30 p.m., Ling Hall

BEGINNING MAY 4: “Our Marriages and Relationships: Helping Something Good Be Even Better,” A three-week Sunday a.m. combined Adult Forum and Faith and Family Class, led by Anita & Russ Cummings in Ling Hall. This class will explore the challenges and benefits of healthy marriage relationships. How can we let go of the ideal, “And they lived happily ever after,” and instead view our most intimate relationships as the fertile ground for God to enhance both love and growth? What are the expectations that trip us up, and what are healthy patterns to develop that ease the flash points of any intimate relationship? We will be open to any long-term relationship as a place to consider the issues.

Anita and Russ Cummings have been married for 44+ years, some of them a bit rocky (their words)! But they have been blessed with the grace of God, good counseling, faithful family and friends, and insights that have even helped others as Anita worked with couples of all sorts in her years as pastor in several congregations.

Wednesday Forum * Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m., Ling Hall April 9 to May 14: “Human Rights: Past and Present,” led by Dr. Chris Gerhz, Assistant Professor of History, Bethel University. This six-week course surveys the history and theory of human rights, starting with the roots of "rights talk" in the Enlightenment and moving up through the present day.

May 7: Case Study: Genocide in the 20th Century Even as the 20th century saw the explosion of human rights documents and courts, it also witnessed the birth of a new form of "radical evil:" genocide. As we consider events ranging from the slaughter of Armenians during World War I to the Holocaust to the killing fields of Cambodia to ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and Africa, we must ask: can human rights be said to exist if entire populations can be deprived of the right to their very existence?

May 14: Human Rights Today: Issues and Action To close the course, we will introduce several contemporary issues in human rights and consider how individuals can respond. Topics may include Darfur, human trafficking, women's rights, torture, political asylum-seeking, and labor rights. We will also survey the Twin Cities' many human rights organizations. (For this session Dr. Gerhz may invite 2-3 students from my Bethel human rights course to give brief presentations on their ongoing service projects.)

Dr. Chris Gehrz is an Assistant Professor of History at Bethel University where he has taught since 2003. He earned his doctorate from Yale University, with an emphasis on modern European and diplomatic history. In recent years his research and teaching interests have expanded to include church history, human rights, and educational theory. Chris lives in Roseville with his wife Katie, and attends Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton.

Child care is available for the classes marked with asterisks ( * ), so consider this your invitation to join us whenever you can!

SILENT AUCTION & DINNER BENEFITTING MISSION TRIP 2007 Saturday, May 17, 5:30 p.m., PCOTW

Auction items include:

• 2 Ticket Vouchers for 2008 US Women's Open & Christie Kerr Autograph Poster
• Buffalo Wild Wings 50 wing party (min: 6 people)
• Fly Fishing Package
• 4 Hour Bus Shuttle Service
• Kayak Adventure for Two
• Avon Gift Basket
• Dinner for 8… …and much more!

Make your RSVPs today by calling the PCOTW office at (651) 484-3346! Deadline is May 12! $5 / person, $18 / family max. Would you like to donate something for the Silent Auction? Please contact Kathryn Nichols, Pastoral Intern and Youth Coordinator, at (651) 484-3346, ext. 101, or at kathryn@pcow.org.

Earth Day Events in the Presbytery

Earth Day is Tuesday April 22.  Several PTCA churches are hosting events that remind us to treat gently on God's creation:

The "Friendship Group"

Linda Wold, a member at Valley Communuity Presbyterian in Golden Valley sent us a story to be posted on the Disability Concerns Task Force page.  She spotlights the "Friendship Group" an adult Christian Education class for developmentally-challenged adults.  The article is available for download, and we've decided to post it here as well.

New Job Openings Available

If you know of someone looking for a job, there are several new job openings listed on our Open Positions page.

Alaska Pastor Looking for Pulpit Supply or Exchange

Dixie Anders, a Presbyterian pastor from Alaska will be in Minnesota during June as part of her doctorate program at Luther Seminary.  She is looking to either do pulpit supply at a local PTCA church or take part in a pulpit exchange with a local pastor.  Anders describes Craig, Alaska (where she lives) below:

"Sweetness and Hope" A Sermon by Phil GebbenGreen

Pastor Phil GebbenGreen, co-pastor along with his wife Julie of Edgcumbe Presbyterian in St. Paul gave a very powerful Easter sermon on how the resurrection of Jesus calls us to move through our own fear into the deep joy of being alive with Jesus Christ. Be happy, says Jesus to the women, Rejoice with me!

The church has been videotaping the sermons and are available at the church website and on GodTube.  Below is the Easter Sunday sermon.  (It's a partial sermon due to a technical problem.)

"The Year of Living Biblically" by David Stewart

The following appeared in the March issue of the Rainbow Record, the newsletter of Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church in St. Paul.

I am reading The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. I’m not yet finished, but it is fascinating, funny and very serious to hear his journey through the laws of the Bible. He’s having a very difficult time fulfilling all the “laws.”

Jacobs, who has Jewish heritage, but admits that he is non-religious, has gathered many resources and resource people to assist him on this journey. He literally has a stack of Bibles of different translations and Biblical commentaries from both Jewish and Christian sources. He has recruited experts and others with whom he consults regularly: an orthodox rabbi (originally from MN – who says that makes him a “Jewtheran”), a Hasidic friend, a retired Lutheran pastor, and a Catholic priest, among others. He decided to live about ¾ of year observing Old Testament and ¼ following the New Testament, which is based partly on the relative length of each part of the Bible and recognizes Jesus “the fulfillment of the law” Christology.

I’m not far into the book- about 3 months of his journey- but already a number of things are evident. Some Biblical Laws are very easy for Mr. Jacobs: not cutting his beard, wearing tassels on his clothes, kosher food observations and a few other admittedly outward signs of faith.

Other observations he rejects or tries to adapt because to do so would be to violate the civil law, such as beating and even stoning un-submissive children, or are just not very easily accomplished by a 21st century resident of NYC – agricultural requirements and the like. Some take a very clever approach, such as his multilayered payment plan for his child care provider to avoid owing a debt, or carrying a portable seat everywhere (subway and other public venues) to avoid sitting on a seat made unclean by a menstruating woman. His attempt to avoid any contact with his wife during her cycle was not solved so easily and created some relational strife. Some were mystifying – such as the non-mixing of fibers and foods – requiring an expert to determine what clothing was acceptable.

Some laws strained his personal strengths and abilities – keeping a workfree Sabbath, not reacting in anger, avoiding covetous envy, the prohibition against graven images. And some had a mystical effect upon the author – creating religious observation of the world even when he has not fully accepted the existence of God or a claim on his life.

Of course I read this with my own set of lenses – Christian, non-literal, anti-legalist and theologically progressive. I want to withhold judgment of his quest for fulfilling the whole of the Biblical code, in particular until he enters his NT observations, but I think I see already a pattern to his journey. He is finding a that religious attitude is satisfying. He is discovering the holy, the mystical, the spiritual component of life in ways he had never imagined before.

For example, he rejects creationism, having visited the creationist museum in Petersburg, KY, and interviewing several of the experts. Nevertheless he comments on the sense of meaning it gives him to think in terms of a few thousand years of human existence and a theology of creation based in “the Image of God”. I don’t think it has to be an either/or – either God’s image or pond scum, either Adam and Eve or Australopithecus.

I have not read the last chapter, but I think I see where Mr. Jacobs is headed – God is not in the laws, the observations, the literal rendering of the words on paper, but in the listening, the searching, the journey of relationship that occurs when we allow our hearts and minds to give God a chance to meet us – in our observations,in our flawed prayers, in our confusions, in our in ability to do anything that connects us to God, is when we simply discover that God is already present for us.

David Stewart is pastor of Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church in St. Paul.

Dialogue Series on the Environment Begins @ Shepherd of the Hill

Earth Day is commorated on April 20 and Shepherd of the Hill Presbyterian in Chaska has planned a series of dialogues on the environment and how people of faith can get involved in caring for God's creation.  Pastor Gordon Stewart has more to share:

JOIN ME April Fools Day with meteorologist Craig Edwards, National Weather Service Chief Meteorologist (recently retired) and MPR "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered" weatherman, for a power point presentation on Climate Change: Nature's Message.

Craig opens Dialogue's 2008 Spring Series, The Good Green Earth: Sustainability.  Other dates: April 15, April 29, and May 13.  For topics and speaker bios, go to www.shepherdofthehillchurch.com. The series will end with a practical look at how to become 'greener' with Terry Gips, President, Sustainability Associates and a round table discussion with business, church, and local government leaders.

Tonight's meeting begins at 7pm and is free. 

Event Updates

Just a quick update of events taking place at local PTCA churches, as well as other events happening in the community:

Chicago Choir to Perform @ Dayton Avenue on February 10

From Melissa Onyango-Robshaw, Minister of Administration at Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church in St. Paul:

 “Come share with us the music of the 70 member choir of Kenwood Academy High School from Chicago, directed by Kenneth Lenon. This spirited group will be visiting Dayton Avenue at the 10:00 am worship service on February 10th to share classical and gospel choral music. This is the first of a series celebrating Black History Month. For more information call Robert Morris at 651-227-7389.”