The first group session was interesting, even though we were quiet and uncertain around each other. I think we will be more forward this week (tomorrow evening). It is not surprising that I am on a different end of the religious spectra. My input to the homework and comments on other peoples essays is different. I am not on the touchy-feely side of ministry, but rather a concrete position involving my experience with faith (and physics).
The most important thing I learned was that I know very little about some topics. The biggest shocker was that I know nothing about hope. I was confusing hope with optimism and the two are very different. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Marie for sharing a personal encounter with hope. I have much to learn.
This week we have short essays on the structure of a worship service, where we the congregation strengthen their relationship with God. The objective is not to provide a lecture on history or ethics or morals or anything else. This was illustrated with an examination of two essays on the historical accuracy of the Birth Story. From my perspective, both essays were well researched and well-founded on customs that were present at the time. Both stories were on the teetering edge of being offensive to Christians to suggest that the Birth Story may not have happened as it is laid out in the Bible. I promised Marie that we will discuss our very different viewpoints Monday night.
I am on deck tomorrow night to practice {\em lectio divina}\, with a scripture reading. (I had to look up what this means.). I need to digest the passage a bit more to identify images that stand out to me. I am looking forward to the this.
So far I am averaging about eight hours a week, so this is on par with a university course. That is a lot of work, but I enjoy pondering the importance of our relationship with God.
Blessings.
