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History of the Church Part II  Fr. Justin Grose
July 6, 7, 8
Tue., Wed., Thurs.
July 12, 13, 14,
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All Sessions will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be held in the John XXIII Center on the Lower Level. |
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Faith Sharing Resources
Books, booklets, DVDs and videos are available in the Parish Resource Center/Library or may be ordered through the SCC Office or at Amazon.com. Resource Room location shown in [BRACKETED CAPITAL LETTERS
The Teaching of the Twelve: believing and practicing the primitive Christianity of the ancient didache community
Tony Jones, 7 chapters with reflection questions, Paraclete Press, 2009. Designed for group or personal reflection and sharing. [SPIRITUALITY]
"Before the New Testament was written, much less compiled, the early Christians had to figure out what their community of faith would look like. The Didache (DID-ah-kay) is a document that gives us a glimpse into those early years before creeds (Council of Nicea- AD 325) were written and church hierarchies and orders were put into place (Constantine- AD 313) and most likely before any of the Apostle Paul's letters were written.
The document was not considered to be sacred and was not added to the cannon of the New Testament, but that does not make the contents unimportant. The writing has very little to do with theology- what to think about God; instead the focus is on how believers should live with each other."
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Please let me know if there is any way I can assist your Small Church Community.
Blessings,
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 In the Good Old Summertime
It may be summer but the parish center is buzzing with activity. Not only are three new folks joining the staff as we bid most grateful farewells to Fr. Steven,
Maureen DeAuon, and Ed Dill, but there are big events happening!! Without doubt, many of you are looking forward to Fr. Justin's six-night presentation in July as he completes his fascinating course on the History of the Church. There will also be a family-friendly ice cream social in August. Everyone will be invited to bring school supplies to the social to assist struggling Arvada families prepare for the school year. Also in process is a new Spirit of Christ information booklet that should be available in early fall.
I hope that during the summer months you will have some time for reflection, especially if you are not meeting formally with your small community. In a recent interview, Fr. Ron Rolheiser, author of numerous books on spirituality, commented on challenges posed by contemporary culture: A pervasive deficit of interiority; individualism and isolation; the frightening pace of change. Rolheiser cites our extremely busy, pressured, technologically and informationally driven culture, where folks are constantly on their computer or cell phone or iPod. A lot of times today if you ask a person what's really deep on his mind, he hasn't thought about it in a long time. . . A growing swath of people today find living in a rapidly shifting global village to be less exhilarating than alarming. A lot of fear is predicated on an unconscious sense of "where's it all going?" If you don't have deep roots, that can be pretty frightening, he said.
Small Church Communities give us the opportunity to step out of the race, to slow down, to sort out and to reflect on what's really deeply important in our lives. Rolheiser quotes the early church fathers: God wrote two books. God wrote the Bible, and God wrote nature. You have to learn to read both.
May you be graced with many opportunities to "read" each one during God's glorious gift of summer.
Blessings,
Barb Howard
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A Prayer For
Small Church Communities
The members and friends of this small community -- you and I -- are tangled up with one another, woven together in a unique fabric. Sometimes we understand why we are here. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we talk about being in this place together. Sometimes we can't.
But we keep showing up on a pretty regular basis because there is more of something here than any place else for us. And that something is essential to our well being. That something is community -- religious community. Common concerns, common needs, common principles -- these bind us together as an extended family.
We need each other and so we come to this place, to work and dance and laugh and cry and think. May this place ever be the workshop of our finest endeavors and the cradle of our highest hopes and noblest dreams. We call ourselves a Small Church Community not because this place is, in itself, a holy ground but because what we do here, and say here, and are here, make it so. So let it be. Amen |
A 21st Century Parable
As he approached the intersection, the light turned yellow. He did the right thing, stopping in the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman behind him was furious. She honked her horn and screamed in frustration, as she missed her chance to get throught the intersection, dropping both her cell phone and lipstick in the process.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.
He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, making an unseemly hand gesture to the guy in front of you and cursing a blue streak at him. I noticed the "What Would Jesus Do?" bumper sticker, the "Choose Life" license plate holder, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally . . . I assumed you had stolen the car.
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There's Still Time...Deadline July 30th
Assemble a layette kit for a Haitian Mother
A kit consists of 6 cloth diapers; 2 shirts or one-piece body suits; 2 baby wash cloths; 2 gowns or sleepers; 2 diaper pins; 1 sweater open in front, and, 2 receiving blankets. Each kit should be wrapped in one of the two receiving blankets and pinned closed. Items that migh be hard to locate can be found at Target and JoAnns. (The layette kits are expensive so folks can divvy up the items to complete a kit.)
Donations of complete kits or single items for a kit can be delivered to Arvada United Methodist Church on 68th and Carr to the UMW Layette Kit Project. Kits need to be turned in by July 30th. Contact Marian Griffen at 303-422-2736 for more information.
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