March 21st Prayer Service and Discussion
A warm front arrived! It was foggy and dreary when I entered Hospitality Hall for the Soup Supper. A full, boisterous house greeted me, far from dreary. There were great soups at tables and on the horizon (actually the kitchen counter area). The free will offering, as every Wednesday, was for another designated social service group
Engrossed in conversation with some new folks, I had to hustle to get to the Prayer Service on time. Roger Dick and Louise Jankowski led a reflective, insightful service, focusing on balance. It was vernal equinox day, the first day of spring, when the sun is directly above the equator. Days and nights are equal length all over the earth. We explored natural cycles and balance in our own lives. All creation is good and God is with us as we live on a spinning earth, which revolves around the sun, and races with the sun through space.
In the Adult Lenten Program, it was the "GEORGE (Wertin) AND PETE (Eichten) SHOW", loosely moderated by JULIE Madden. We explored Christology, focusing on:
-
High Christology - Christ is Son of God, and human; we are laden with sin; Christ saved us by dying on the cross; focus in the world is to save souls; tendency to be exclusive to literal believers
- Low Christology - Christ is human with a great realization of God in him; we have some realization of God in us; we are empowered by Jesus to transform the world to justice for all, inclusive of all believers; Eucharist mostly symbolic; God in all creation and all creation is good, to be preserved
Many questions were addressed, and beliefs expressed. The importance of acceptance of people who hold various Christology beliefs was emphasized. Late in the evening, the question of Low Christology in relationship to Easter and Christ dying on the cross was tabled as too complex for the limited time. Sounds like a great topic for another session. 
and
 |
 |
| Jerry Hartlaub commutes from New Brighton with his wife, Trish, to be refreshed and challenged at the "SJA spiritual oasis". He's a Sunday mass slide jockey and "worker bee" at many SJA events. For fun he has written a bunch of poetry, printed his first book, and invented lots of stuff in a 30-year bioengineering career. These days he teaches cardiac physiology (but he's mostly retired), serves on non-profit boards, does Junior Achievement gigs and plays softball. But most rewarding is providing child-care for two of the world's smartest, cutest grandchildren.
|
Back