At the Redeemer, we know that asking deeper questions and exploring issues of faith helps us grow both as individuals and as a community.
Throughout the year, we offer a variety of speakers and learning series, providing opportunities to gather and learn together; details are provided here as well as through our eNews. A warm welcome awaits all who join – parishioners, friends and members of the wider community.
Summer Reading Groups
The book Learning@Redeemer chose for the summer reading groups this year was the newly released Romans Disarmed: Resisting Empire; Demanding Justice, by long time friends of the Church of the Redeemer, Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat.
On Monday evening, September 16, 6 to 8:30 PM, members of the three reading groups and others who have read the book on their own are invited to come together for a closing session with the authors. A light supper will be served, followed by a discussion of our impressions, and what we will be taking away from the book and the group experience of discussing it. Please register to assist in planning the meal.
About the book:
Globalization. Homelessness. Ecological and economic crisis. Conflicts over sexuality. Violence. These crisis-level issues may seem unique to our times, but Paul’s Letter to the Romans has something to say to all of them. Sylvia Keesmaat and Brian Walsh unpack the meaning of Romans for its original context and for today. The authors demonstrate how Romans disarms the political, economic, and cultural power of the Roman Empire and how this ancient letter offers hope in today’s crisis-laden world.
Romans Disarmed helps readers enter the world of ancient Rome and see how Paul’s most radical letter transforms the lives of the marginalized then and now. Intentionally avoiding abstract debates about Paul’s theology, Keesmaat and Walsh move back and forth between the present and the past as they explore themes of home, economic justice, creation care, the violence of the state, sexuality, and Indigenous reconciliation. They show how Romans engages with the lived reality of those who suffer from injustice, both in the first century and in the midst of our own imperial realities.
Contemplative Radical: The Legacy of Thomas Merton
Amidst a monk’s life of silence and prayer, Thomas Merton (1915-1968) authored over fifty books. Deeply rooted in the contemplative tradition, he spoke prophetically on issues of war, race, and the economy. He was a chaplain to the peace movement of the 1960s. A pioneer of interfaith dialogue, he formed relationships with Buddhist, Hindu, Sufi , and Jewish mystics and theologians.
His voice remains immediate and compelling today. His insistence that social action requires a grounding in contemplative vision makes him an ideal saint for Church of the Redeemer.
Join us for four Wednesday sessions at 7 pm at Church of the Redeemer, as we explore Merton’s legacy and how he points us toward the future. Please register to help us prepare to welcome you.
September 18 – Thomas Merton: Global Visionary – with Michael Higgins
October 16 – Woods, Landscape, City: The Prophetic Spirituality of Thomas Merton – with Paul Pynkoski
November 20– Thomas Merton and Wisdom-Sophia: Awakening to the Feminine Face of God – with Christopher Pramuk
January 15, 2020 – We Are Already One: Indigenous Peoples and Race in Thomas Merton – with Paul Dekar
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 – Thomas Merton: Global Visionary – with Michael Higgins
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=q8jolkbab&oeidk=a07egii7dun3d532066
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 – Woods, Landscape, City: The Prophetic Spirituality of Thomas Merton – with Paul Pynkoski
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=q8jolkbab&oeidk=a07egg15by4627b520a
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 – Thomas Merton and Wisdom-Sophia: Awakening to the Feminine Face of God – with Christopher Pramuk
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=q8jolkbab&oeidk=a07egii86v37dbe9415
Wednesday, January 15, 2020 – We Are Already One: Indigenous Peoples and Race in Thomas Merton – with Paul Dekar
http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=q8jolkbab&oeidk=a07egii8yhb03330865
