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Exploring Our Faith:
Sundays @ 9:00 am
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Fossil Fuel Divestment:
A Christian Call for Action
Sunday, Nov 23 at 9:00 am
Bloom Education Center
Divestment. . . What is it? Why do it? What are our choices? How can it prevent climate disasters and their disproportionate effects on those living in poverty? There is a global divestment movement afoot right now. The World Council of Churches (over 300 churches, representing some 590 million people in 150 countries) called for divestment in July 2014. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who saw the direct impact divestment movements had on apartheid in South Africa, has called for divestment from fossil fuels. Christians of conscience all over the world are challenging us to take our financial investments out of fossil fuels and reinvest in companies and funds that support a sustainable future. Let's talk about what we can do together to help God's creation and those who are most vulnerable to climate catastrophes. Information, resources, and websites will be provided.
Karen Hanson is a member of Grace St. Paul's. She considers herself a citizen of the world community and a lover of God's creation. Karen is not a financial expert, but sees the potential for creating real change through divestment from fossil fuels if enough large organizations participate. |
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Exploring Today's Lectionary
Sunday, November 30 at
9:00 am in the
Bloom Education Center
One Sunday a month we provide an opportunity to discuss the Bible readings for that day in more depth in a small group setting. Come join us for a thoughtful but always lively conversation about scripture.
Facilitated by Catherine Penn Williams, co-chair of Adult Spiritual Development. |
 The Winter Solstice: Why Does It Matter to Christians?
Sunday, December 7 at 9:00 am
Bloom Education Center
The Winter Solstice has held a powerful place in the rhythm of the year's calendar for centuries. Join us for a multimedia presentation that will invite us to consider:
- How do we view darkness? How does God view darkness?
- Why is the axial tilt important?
- When is winter? How does winter affect us?
- How do we determine a solstice?
- What does a goat have to do with the December solstice? What does fire have to do with the December solstice?
- How do the sun's movements affect how we site our structures?
- What does the god Saturn have to do with the winter solstice? What does Christ's Nativity have to do with the winter solstice?
- Other than that Galileo unpleasantness, what is the Church's interest in astronomy? Are Christians sun worshipers?
Presented by Dr Chuck Dickson, a longtime GSP member and frequent contributor to Adult Spiritual Formation at GSP.
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 Prayers, Poetry and Images
of Incarnation
2 Sundays, December 14 & 21 at 9:00 am Bloom Education Center Join us for this special Advent series as we contemplate the Incarnation through poetry, prayers and art. We will draw especially from A Widening Light: Poems of the Incarnation, edited by Lucy Shaw. Presenter Deacon Linda Hutson is a Spiritual Director and Retreat Leader.
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Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell
Friday, December 12 at 11:30 am in the Bloom Education Center
A marvelous tale of an adventurous life of great historical import. She has been called the female Lawrence of Arabia, which, while not inaccurate, fails to give Gertrude Bell her due. She was at one time the most powerful woman in the British Empire: a nation builder, the driving force behind the creation of modern-day Iraq. Born in 1868 into a world of privilege, Bell turned her back on Victorian society, choosing to read history at Oxford and going on to become an archaeologist, spy, Arabist, linguist, author (of Persian Pictures,The Desert and the Sown, and many other collections), poet, photographer, and legendary mountaineer (she took off her skirt and climbed the Alps in her underclothes). She traveled the globe several times, but her passion was the desert, where she traveled with only her guns and her servants. Her vast knowledge of the region made her indispensable to the Cairo Intelligence Office of the British government during World War I. She advised the Viceroy of India; then, as an army major, she traveled to the front lines in Mesopotamia. There, she supported the creation of an autonomous Arab nation for Iraq, promoting and manipulating the election of King Faisal to the throne and helping to draw the borders of the fledgling state. Gertrude Bell, vividly told and impeccably researched by Georgina Howell, is a richly compelling portrait of a woman who transcended the restrictions of her class and times, and in so doing, created a remarkable and enduring legacy. GSP Reader's Group meets on the second Friday of each month at 11:30 am.
Contact Deacon Linda Hutson through the church office at 520-327-6857 for more information about the group.
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SpiritSong: Meditative Worship
in the Tradition of Taize
Sunday, Dec 14, 6:00-6:45 pm in the Chancel
(2nd Sunday of every month)
If you have participated in a Taize-style worship you know about the soft lighting, the banks of candles, the moving Taize chants, the silent meditation time, and the deep spiritual awareness that comes from this remarkable experience. Facilitated by Roger Pierce, with Jane Click on piano. Come and try the quiet. Experience how your spirit is fed by the beauty and power of SpiritSong.
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We are in the process of planning programs for 2015. Let us know what classes you would like to attend or teach!
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