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Above the Fog PLTS Newsletter December 2012 |
Enjoy a Week of Renewal at PLTS: June 24-28, 2013
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You are invited to a week of renewal of classes, daily worship, stimulating conversation, and restorative time. You will be in the company of old and new colleagues in ministry and lay people interested in theology in the wonderful setting between the Bay and Tilden Park. The Week of Renewal at PLTS offers thought provoking classes in the morning and afternoon and much, much more around the area, including:
- Walking or golfing in Tilden Park
- Glorious time around the marina and fantastic views
- Excellent food, baseball, opera, the symphony and all other benefits of San Francisco by BART
Outstanding Classes
Mornings 9:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Reclaiming the "E" Word
Tom Rogers, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
How might our witness in the world to the Good News be enhanced as Lutherans if we reclaimed 'evangelical' as central to our identity? What would culturally sensitive evangelism look like? In addition, this class will explore the connection between evangelism and justice as a full expression of an 'evangelical' faith.
Prophets Then and Now
Steed Davidson, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
This course explores the social location, function and office of the prophet in the ancient world as the basis for understanding a modern conception of prophetic preaching. The aim of the class is to integrate the preaching tradition of the prophet in its broadest sense into the routine of pastoral work.
Justice for a New Day: Anarchism and Christianity
Victor Thasiah, California Lutheran University
As the church continues to do justice, what can it learn from social movements like Occupy Wall Street? What is the connection between recent anarchist interventions and the church's work for justice? Are there new ways for the church to show up in public space?
Afternoons 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
The Global Luther
Jane Strohl, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
An African Lutheran Bishop once observed that "for us the date the first white missionary landed in Africa is more important than 1517." The Lutheran faith has not just been carried to other lands; it has taken root there and borne new evangelical fruit. We will explore the story and witness of some of these churches in Asia and Africa.
The Economy: Jesus,Luke/James/USA/El Salvador
David Balch, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
These discussions will be informed by Biblical material, the perspectives Dr. Balch gained on sabbatical last spring in Argentina, Puerto Rico, and El Salvador, and a book by Hacker and Pierson entitled Winner-Take-all Politics. This is a critical time to reconsider the church and theology in fashioning a just economy.
Special Events
- Monday, 12:30 p.m. - Lunch in Sawyer Dining Room
- Tuesday, 7 p.m. - Informal wine and cheese with President Anderson in Sawyer 7
- Wednesday, 7 p.m. - Dessert and conversation with Faculty
- Thursday, 4:45 p.m. - Eucharist in the Chapel, followed by dinner with President Anderson at 5:45
- Case conference for those interested. TBD
Daily Schedule
- 7:30-8:30 a.m. - Continental Breakfast outside the chapel
- 8:30-9:00 a.m. - Morning Prayer
- 9:15-12:15 p.m. - Morning Classes
- 1:30-4:30 p.m. - Afternoon Classes
Costs
Tuition for One Class: $275
Tuition for Two Classes: $400
Hospitality: $75 (includes 5 breakfasts, Monday buffet lunch, and regular morning coffee or tea)
Monday buffet lunch only: $15
Box Lunches: $11 each
Housing: Costs range from $20/night to $70/night. See below
Housing
PLTS Dorm - single: $40 per night
PLTS Dorm - double: $20 per person, per night
PLTS Canyon Room w/ private bath: $70 per night
CDSP Dorm w/ shared bath: $45 per night (1 twin, 1 double, or 2 double)
Deadline to register is May 31, 2013.
Contact Gretchen McDonald with any questions.
This promises to be a rich week for learning, prayer, conversation, and rest. We hope you will join us!
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Chapel Sermon Highlights: Herb Anderso, Amber Malone, & Lizette Larson-Miller
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"Spilling yourself is not just a description of falling in love: it is about our life as followers of God. It is the way of the two widows in our lessons today. And we are all like widows in the world. Our situation is perilous and our resources few. Still we spill yourselves in study and love and work because what we do matters to God who has called us to this work."
Read more of Herb Anderson's sermon
"Just the other day, I looked out my front window and saw a schoolgirl, maybe twelve years old carrying what looked like a Mayan pyramid, made of shoes boxes, painted a sort of sand color (good for her, a Mayan pyramid might be the only type of diorama that makes sense made out of shoes boxes - it is already kind of stair-stepped, you know!) A+, kid! Anyway it had marigolds and tiny little skeletons and skulls all over it...and I stifled my first thought, which was that she needed some serious pastoral care....and was pleased instead to realize that her cultural study project at school this fall must have to do with the Día de los Muertos. The day of the dead!"
Read more of Amber Malone's sermon
"Perhaps this unsettling abundance of colors, of focus, of message, of practice, is the perfect reminder that living sacramentally, living liturgically, is not neat - coming to Christ is not tidy, living in Christ is not simple, standing up to face our redemption is not easy. This is a messy business and Advent a perfect opportunity for the praxis of holding the complexities of salvation in tension."
Read more of Lizette Larson-Miller's sermon
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Student Spotlight: Kaitlin Winter-Eulberg &
Maryalice Burleigh
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Kaitlin Winter-Eulberg is a first-year student here at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Her blog, A Luther Lens on Berkeley, tells of the many adventures that come with moving to California, living in the quirky place that is Berkeley, being a full-time seminarian, and juggling life as a vibrant and excited young woman. Her poetic phrasing and insight are wonderful to read.
Mary-Alice Burleigh was a high school history teacher for over thirty years. Her natural interest in politics led her to run for city office in Kirkland, Washington. She was elected and served for eight years, the last two as mayor in this glorious northwestern city.
One night at home, as she was reviewing the latest batch of council materials, she said to herself, "Enough. I need to be somewhere else." What arose in her heart, with encouragement by her pastors at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland, was to begin seminary; It didn't matter that others her age were looking to retire.
Mary-Alice enrolled at the School of Theology and Ministry within Seattle University, and completed two years there, as well as a CPE unit at Harborview Hospital. Then she came to PLTS to complete her "Lutheran year." Her greatest challenge, she says, was passing Greek (she blames her diminished memory bank!).
Because Mary-Alice already had the vocation as a teacher, she anticipates focusing on adult education at the congregation she hopes to serve in the Northwest. Just as in civic life, she says, a congregation thrives with the full participation of its "citizens."
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Coexistence of Science and Theology: Ted Peters | |
Faculty member Ted Peters gave a thought-stimulating presentation on the new models of Science and Theology, and how the two can exist harmoniously with each other. Stop by and have a listen!
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| Paula Fitzgerald, MDiv '96
Paula Fitzgerald is actively writing two blogs. The first blog, In Lieu of a Mid-life Crisis, contains her spiritual, emotional, and physical health self-check-ups. She discusses the areas in which she seeks change, which could be through eating better foods, de-cluttering her house, or doing a "spiritual inventory". Paula says her long-term goal in seeking her own mid-life changes is "to affect a change in [herself] that affects change in another, that affects change in another..."
Her second blog, Adventures in Lakeschooling, is about navigating the adventures of homeschooling with three children. Having moved to a city outside Chicago, bordering one of the great lakes, Paula and her family are still recovering from drastic but exciting changes in their lives. Paula's two blogs are a real treat for us all!
Barbara Foltin, MDiv '01 "What I've Learned about Stewardship"
Excerpted from Sierra Pacific Synod newsletter
"Over the course of a year of stewardship themes, Bible studies and temple talks, our leadership experienced epiphanies. Lynne Twist's book, The Soul of Money, was pivotal in moving us from a scarcity mentality about the resources God has given us to a sense of enough. Twist explains that openness is key, whether money flows or trickles at this point in our lives. There's no excuse to turn the tap off, cutting ourselves off from the flow of life."
Read more of Barbara Foltin's "What I've Learned About Stewardship"
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Adrian Bonaro, MDiv.'08, and Anna Bonaro, MDiv. '11, welcomed the birth of their baby boy Beckett on November 10, 2012.
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The Advent Devotional Project
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In August of 2012, a group of ELCA clergy and leaders decided to pool their gifts and talents and create a unique devotional tool for Advent. What you have before you is the combined efforts of pastors, diaconal ministers, seminarians, and people in a variety of leadership capacities throughout our ELCA and from across the country.
The plan for the project went like this: Each contributor would select a day or days for which to write a devotional and prayer. The readings for each day were taken from the daily readings appointed by the Revised Common Lectionary. No theme was established ahead of time; this was intentional as we decided it would be interesting to see how the Holy Spirit would move amongst us and, for the most part, the only contact any of us have with the others is through Facebook. The entries were gathered together into one document. We hope that our efforts will be used by God to inspire, to challenge and to direct during this time of preparation as we wait once more to celebrate how God has come, is coming and will come again-breaking into the world in new and unexpected ways in order to bring heaven and earth back together again.
The Advent Devotional Project can be found here.
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To make a donation to PLTS, please click here, or send checks to: PLTS Annual Fund, 2770 Marin Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94708
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