Past Journey of Faith Events

Although our Journey of Faith program has been in place since 2008, this archive begins in August 2012, with the launch of our website. This entire archival section may be navigated in sequence by either scrolling down to the bottom of each page and clicking on the Next>> text or by clicking on a listing in the Article Index at the top of each page.

JANUARY 2020

January 8 | Steps on Our Journey Forward, Part 4 | The Transition Team/Search Committee guided us on the final leg of our visioning process. We developed a ministry plan of action for the ongoing mission of St. Paul’s UCC based on our core values, looking three to five years ahead.

January 15 | Transition Together Event: Identifying Our Expectations of Clergy Who Serve as Partners in Ministry with Us | Interim Lead Minister Cindy Mueller, along with the Transition Team/Search Committee, facilitated a conversation around this topic so that we might more clearly articulate our expectations of a new Lead Minister and our current Associate Minister. How might we be in partnership with them? How might we partner with them in ways that enrich this beloved community?

January 22 | Pursuit of a Call from Traditional to Humanitarian Medicine | Dr. Aidan Gromoll--a pediatrician from Wisconsin, Associate Minister Clare Gromoll’s sister, and a friend of St. Paul's UCC--spoke about her journey from traditional medicine in the US to the humanitarian field. After completing her pediatric residency, she worked as a pediatrician in Illinois until 2013, when she opted to leave her position to volunteer in settings that are resource-poor. She initially participated in several short-term missions in Haiti. She’s spent the past four years providing care for refugees and internally displaced persons in the following countries: Germany, Greece (six times), Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia, Iraqi Kurdistan (twice), Bangladesh (four times), Lebanon (twice), and Honduras. Aidan discussed motivation, challenges, rewards, practical issues, and future plans.

January 29 | Forces Driving Guatemalans to Emigrate, Impediments Being Built to Stop Them | In July 2019, guest speaker Wayne Bjorlie traveled for a week in Guatemala with a group under the auspices of Mayflower UCC. Their core objective is always to observe first-hand the effects on the indigenous population of racism and government-sponsored discrimination. For many, this was not their first trip. Their journey together was aimed at illuminating some of the causes of migration to the U.S., since the issue was then front-page news here. Wayne discussed some of the group’s observations and show slides.

DECEMBER 2019

December 4 | Caring for Yourself through Holiday Stress | Lori Peiffer guided our conversation. Lori is a clinical psychologist, active member of our congregation, and parent of high school- and college-age sons. The holidays are a busy time and might not always be “the most wonderful time of the year.” We considered what can make the holidays stressful. We also took time to identify specific challenges we face in this season and discuss specific ways of caring for ourselves as we move with intentionality through what can be a stressful time.

December 11 | Steps on Our Journey Forward, Part 3 | As we work together to transition toward calling our next Lead Minister, we move into the phase of discovery that we call Visioning. During this important time, we gather to understand where we have been and what experiences we’ve shared on our way.

December 18 | The Lifesaving Church: Faith Communities and Suicide Prevention | We gathered with guest facilitator Dr. Rachael Keefe to talk about how to be a Lifesaving Church, reviewing the risk factors and warning signs for suicide as well as what to do when we encounter someone who might be suicidal. Participants were encouraged to examine their own theology around suicide and decide if changes are needed.

NOVEMBER 2019

November 6 | In-reach: Envisioning Our Congregational Care Ministry | We are growing in faith, working for justice, and offering radical hospitality. We also aim to embody love by caring for one another. This program was part of our program to organize our continued and new congregational care efforts: care companion visits to homebound members, meal trains, cards to match our prayers for wellbeing, ride-sharing for those in need and to be more Earthwise. Rev. Clare Gromoll co-facilitated a conversation with guest Carolyn Swenson. Carol is volunteer manager for Help at Your Door and has focused her career on nonprofit work, specifically with the senior population.

November 13 | Finding Grace: A Conversation with Jay Bakker | Jay Bakker is the son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, televangelists at the height of their popularity in the 1980s. As a teenager, Jay witnessed the backlash against his parents when their ministry ended in scandal. Jay now lives in Minneapolis, where he is pastor of a progressive Christian community called Revolution (“a community of grace and provocation”) that meets in a bowling alley and has a worldwide online audience. A published author, Jay speaks to congregations and other groups all over the country about faith, grace, and his experiences with the underbelly of life and Christianity.

November 20 & 24 | Transition Together: Who Are We? | Transition Together Events allow space for members to be in conversation about all that is transpiring here at St. Paul’s UCC and looking to our future together in a 3-part series. We spent time identifying who we are, what strengths we possess, and what challenges we face as we come to better understand our core values.

OCTOBER 2019

October 2, 6:15 pm | All-Church Movie Night | It’s a Wonderful Life | We watched this classic Jimmy Stewart film, which we revisited in worship throughout the month and in book study groups on October 9, 16 & 23.

October 9, 16 & 23 | Book study | Integrating Money and Meaning: Practices for a Heart-Centered Life | Money touches all parts of our lives—biological, psychological, and spiritual. It does so in positive and negative ways, and mostly in ways that live in the murky area in between. The trick is not to deny any of them. Examining our relationship with money and aligning our money lives with our spiritual lives is crucial work. We delved into this topic at Journey of Faith as we reflected together on the book Integrating Money and Meaning: Practices for a Heart-Centered Life, which examines characters from It’s a Wonderful Life.

October 30 | Transition Together | What Does the “Size” of Church Tell Us about a Particular Congregation? | Throughout our history, we’ve been more than one size church. How have things changed as a result of those transitions? What type of church did you grow up in? How do congregations of different sizes organize themselves? Do the members of these different-sized churches “look” different? Do the minister and members have different roles in each?

SEPTEMBER 2019

September 4 | “Why Not Just Search for a New Lead Minister?” | The Rationale Behind Having an Intentional Interim Period Between Settled Ministers | The program was repeated on September 7, 9:30–11:00 am. Rev. Cindy Mueller, our Interim Lead Minister, explained why we do what we do during an interim time while also helping us better understand some of what to expect throughout the interim period.

September 11 | Immigration | At its 2016 Annual Meeting, the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ voted to become an Immigrant Welcoming Community. In that resolution, all local UCC churches were invited to become Immigrant Welcoming Congregations. At the 2019 Annual Meeting, a resolution was passed calling the Conference and its local congregations to urge the State Legislature and the Governor to pass a law designating Minnesota as a Sanctuary State. Susie George led us in a discussion about how we can be a church with open arms and a faith community who will advocate for immigrants.

September 25 | Reparations | At the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ, we passed a resolution that says the Conference will work toward seeing reparations given to the Native American and African-American communities by establishing a designated fund to support efforts that work toward this goal to enhance racial justice. Guest speakers Moussa Foster and Gary Kwong led us in conversation.

JULY & AUGUST 2019

July 10 & 17 | The Animate series | On July 10, our topic was Community; on July 17, Prayer.

July 10 through August 21 | Active Hope | How do we call forth our best gifts for the healing of the world? Large-scale problems like the climate crisis, massive inequalities and injustices, mass extinctions, rampant consumerism and waste can seem impossible to solve, leaving us feeling powerless. Macy and Johnstone invite us to live an alternative story, one of gratitude, grief, interconnectedness, and ultimately, “active hope.” Such hope has roots deep in our souls and connects us to one another in a “commitment to act for the sake of life on earth.” Active hope just might change the world—and will almost certainly change you.

Other Wednesdays

July 24 | Understanding & Exploring Church 3.0 | How are church and community done outside the four walls of the building?

August 28 | All-Church Cookout at Lake Josephine | Our annual congregational picnic at this park. A fun evening outdoors for all!

JUNE 2019

June 5 | Getting All-Out Dirty About Being Green | United Methodist pastor Rev. Tyler Sit shared his vision for New City Church (Minneapolis), which he founded in 2015 as a faith community centered in environmental justice—from the ground up. New City Church seeks to be good news both for the people in its multiracial and multi-ethnic neighborhood and also for the Earth, which it nurtures through a network of backyard farms.

June 12 | We Are a Global Mission Church! | We explored the global ministries outreach of the United Church of Christ, done in partnership with the Christian Church Disciples of Christ, learning where we have ministries and why our work is different from traditional missionary efforts. Specific focus was given to the work of Minnesotans Tom & Monica Liddle in East Timor. Led by Anita Bradshaw, designated associate conference minister of the Minnesota Conference of the UCC.

June 19 | Poverty Simulation | How would you live on $1,500 a month for a family of four? What painful choices might you have to make? We touched on the statistics of poverty in Minnesota and then participated in an experiential learning exercise to get some sense of what it’s like to live on a poverty income.

June 26 | Dodge Nature Center All-Church Potluck Picnic | People of all ages gathered for this annual event at Dodge Nature Center. We enjoyed each other’s company in a beautiful setting.

APRIL & MAY 2019

April 24 | Climate Conversation | Julia Nerbonne of Interfaith Power & Light led us in a values-led discussion on climate change that engaged participants by sharing stories of connection. Such conversations have sparked local action in communities across Minnesota, led by dedicated volunteers using a heart-based, values-based conversation model that opens up dialogue and exploration and can deepen a community's connection.

May 1, 8 & 15 | The Seasons of Grief: Predictable and Unpredictable Losses, a three-part series led by educator and writer Ted Bowman.

May 1 | Disruptive Changes and Their Impacts | Disruptive changes related to a range of losses (death, diagnosis, dismissal, divorce, and disaster) and the grief that accompanies them will be our focus. What is helpful when disruptive changes occur?

May 8 | Supportive Care for Grieving People: Care for Self, Family, and Others | Everyone grieves. But everyone does their grieving a little differently. In this practical session, three concepts will be presented, discussed, and practiced: comfort, confidence, and competence.

May 15 | Honest Hope Even While Grieving Losses | Holding onto hope when grieving is not easy. Honest and reasonable hope is, however, achievable and easily accessible. Resources for hope promotion will be included.

DECEMBER 2018

December 5 | Enter Advent, Enter the Circle of the Church Year| Storyteller Carolyn Peterson led us into a sacred story called "The Circle of the Church Year." The story invited us to see and better understand our liturgical seasons and their accompanying colors. Rev. Clare Gromoll led us in exploring a piece from the United Church of Christ’s Advent devotional booklet, Come, Lord Jesus.

December 12 | Mary’s Magnificat: An Advent Hymn| Rooted in their own experiences as well as reflections from diverse theologians including Martin Luther and contemporary feminists, participants explored the text of Mary's revolutionary song of salvation (Luke 1: 46–55). Our time together included singing some versions of the Magnificat as well as viewing various artists' renditions of the Visitation scene which gave birth to Mary's song. Led by Mary Kaye Medinger, founding director of Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality in Saint Paul.

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2018

In October and November, we focused on some of the best-known parables of Jesus. In her stimulating six-week video series Short Stories by Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish scholar of the New Testament at Vanderbilt University, asks two main questions: How do we hear the parables through an imagined set of first-century Jewish ears? And how do we translate them so that they can be heard still speaking?

October 3 | Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son | According to Luke, who was writing for an educated Greek audience, these narratives are about sinners repenting and God offering forgiveness and reconciliation. But this may not be how the original Jewish audience might have interpreted them. Maybe instead the parables are about paying attention: to our blessings, our community, and our family members.

October 10 | The Good Samaritan | To understand the parable as the original audience did, we need to think of Samaritans less as oppressed and more as the enemy that does the oppressing. And that leads to the question: can we acknowledge the enemy’s humanity and potential to do good? Or would we rather die than be saved by our enemy?

October 17 | The Pearl of Great Price | Who among us hasn’t spent a portion of our lives seeking something—our pearl—job, degree, love, only to find that these pearls are unsatisfying when there’s always something newer on the horizon? What do we keep and what do we let go of? And do we know true value when we see it?

November 7 | The Mustard Seed | Don’t ask when the kingdom of heaven will come or where it is. The kingdom of heaven is already present, though not fully formed, in our world. It’s found “in our own backyard,” in the generosity of nature and the daily working of men and women.

November 14 | The Laborers in the Vineyard | According to Levine, this parable is not about who will get into heaven, but rather who has shelter and enough to eat on earth. When we get a leg up, are we willing to extend an arm? Is it better to be “fair” or to be generous?

November 28 | The Widow and the Judge | The problem, says Levine, is not ultimately the court. The court represents a larger systemic concern: the human desire for vengeance, a desire that knows no gender or class boundaries, a desire that sucks everyone into its wake.

SEPTEMBER 2018

September 5 | From the Auction Block to the Mic Drop | Black people in the US were the first imported Humanists. They continue to assert their basic humanity each day as they challenge the hegemony of traditions associated with American racism. Learn why the movement of Black secularists and humanists is growing in the US. Led by Rev. Karen Hutt, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and Vice President of Student Experience and Culture at United Theological Seminary.

September 12 | Hinduism 101: What You Really Need to Know | Neha Markanda will debunk common myths about Hinduism as she explores what the tradition is and what it is not. Neha (Nay’ha) was born in India, moved with her family to South America as an infant, and then to the US at age 7. She is co-founder of the Hindu American Temple School and serves as the Strategic Planning Chair for the Hindu Society of Minnesota, both in Maple Grove.

September 19 | Buddhism: A Non-Theistic Religion (isn’t that an oxymoron?) | An overview of the many Buddhist traditions, basic common views, and teachings. The session will include brief meditation instruction and a glossary to manage all that vocabulary! Led by Rev. Katherine Engel, an ordained interfaith minister. Katherine has been meditating and studying Buddhism for 20 years and is the Director of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Minneapolis.

September 26 | One Baha'i's Journey of Faith | David Sterling’s search for the path to lasting and meaningful world peace dates to his pre-school years during World War II. At age 30 he found the Baha'i faith and committed himself to sharing Baha'u'llah's blueprint for a global effort to unify people of all faiths and none. David is a member of the Baha’i community of Saint Paul.

AUGUST 2018

August 1 | Decluttering as a Spiritual Practice | Overstuffed closets, a desk piled high with files and project notes, a stuffed email box—clutter comes in many forms. We considered ways to free ourselves from all the “stuff” in our lives that can make us feel trapped and stuck. Led by Marjorie Huebner and Senay Kindler.

August 8 | Two Special Prayer Practices & Chant | There are many ways to pray. We gave special focus three types: One wasCentering Prayer, a contemplative practice similar to meditation practices from other religious traditions. Centering Prayer takes us into deeper silence. A second is known as Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. This practical and powerful practice helps us face difficult people or situations that stand in our path. Finally, we learned why Chant is a form of prayer and meditation. Led by Norma Rae Hunt and Judith Melander.

August 15 | Exploring the Labyrinth: Walking Meditation | Ancients created labyrinths thousands of years ago. More recently, labyrinths surfaced to help center and orient pilgrims on their life path. In the Middle Ages, labyrinths of stone were laid into the floors of European cathedrals. Faithful people who couldn’t afford a journey to the Holy Land followed the path of the labyrinth to God in the center. We learned some basics about how to enter a canvas floor labyrinth and experienced this walking meditation. Led by Laura Larson and Norma Rae Hunt.

August 22 | Remember the Sabbath: A Counter-Cultural Spiritual Practice | Wayne Mueller, author of the book Sabbath,writes: “In the relentless busyness of modern life, we have lost the rhythm between work and rest. All life requires a rhythm of rest… We have lost this essential rhythm.” We explored the power for change that Sabbath-keeping makes possible and have experiential opportunities to enter into a Sabbath ritual. Led by Norma Rae Hunt and others.

JUNE & JULY 2018

We used the Living the Questions 2.0 DVD series to spark reflection and conversation on a range of topics.

June 6 | A Kingdom without Walls | The good news of the gospel tells of a radical hospitality where boundaries, barriers, and walls are overcome by a grace that knows no bounds.

June 13 | Social Justice: Realizing God’s Vision | Being a person of faith demands balancing spiritual pursuits with action. In a society that
is often unjust, inequitable, and whose very structures are responsible for generating untold suffering and poverty, we are compelled to pursue social justice as an expression of hope in realizing a better world.

June 20 | Incarnation: Divinely Human | The meaning of the Incarnation has been debated since the beginning of Christianity. Although often associated with Jesus alone, the notion of incarnation can be understood most fully when it also includes Jesus’ followers, called like Jesus to enflesh the Spirit in divinely human ways.

June 27 | Prayer: Intimacy with God | The idea of prayer as the primary method of interaction with God is best thought of as a way of life rather than an activity reserved for specific times, places, and formulas.

July 11 | Compassion: The Heart of Jesus’ Ministry | Jesus was not primarily a teacher of correct beliefs or right morals. He was a teacher of a way that transforms people from legalistic rule-followers into compassionate disciples who put people first.

July 18 | Creative Transformation | The essence of human nature is to take part in the dynamic and imaginative process of creation; transforming us, our relationships, our institutions, and our world.

July 25 | Embracing Mystery | Christian practice is being re-visioned, re-tooled, and reclaimed by those who are living the questions of their faith. They’re attentive to ancient ways, comfortable with ambiguity, and open to the unknowable and indescribable mystery of the Divine.

MAY 2018

May 2 & 9 | A Journey to India | Presenters: Rev. Norma Rae Hunt, Bob and Becky Galkiewicz

Over the course of two Wednesday evenings, Norma Rae, Becky and Bob recounted the sights and experiences of their trip to India last January. They write: “As part of a United Theological Seminary course, 13 of us (including two professors, four students, one UTS staff member, and their friends and relatives) spent 10 days in India as we visited Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Baha'i, Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian religious sites. India is a complex, beautiful country of friendly people filled with a deep sense of spirituality. It is also a large third-world country, and this aspect challenged us in ways we could not anticipate. Let us share with you our wonder and reactions to experiences ranging from the grandeur of the Taj Mahal to the humbleness of a car-top temple. Along the way, learn a little about the faith traditions we witnessed, and come see some of the souvenirs we brought back to accompany our memories and photos.”

May 16 | Behind the scenes at Feed My Starving Children: Moving beyond "the single story" | Presenter: Katie Koranda

Many in our community are familiar with the mission of Feed My Starving Children, having packed meals and sat through orientation and closing sessions.  As the digital content specialist at FMSC, Katie Koranda handles their blog and social media channels and is passionate about moving beyond what has come to be known as "the single story," a dangerous practice that simplifies people into groups and unintentionally promotes stereotypes. Questions Katie regularly asks herself in her work include if she is exhibiting a white savior complex or telling stories with dignity. In her talk, Katie shared stories from her  travels with FMSC, how she has grown as a storyteller, and how and why FMSC truly is more than aid. Katie Koranda is the digital content specialist for Feed My Starving Children and a member of St. Paul’s UCC.

APRIL 2018

April 4 | Healthy Relationships! | Karin Egge (life coach, consultant, and educator) and her colleague Amy Josefa Ariel (rabbinical candidate, fellow consultant, and educator) led us in an engaging and interactive look at creating intentional and loving sibling, co-worker, friend, parent-child and self-love relationships.

April 11 | Judaism 101 | This session quickly covered Jewish beliefs and values and the actions that express them—keeping kosher, observing holidays, lifelong learning, life cycle, social justice, and more. Guest presenter Steve Lear is one of the founders of the Speakers’ Bureau of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.

April 18 & 25 | An Inconvenient Journey of Faith | The film An Inconvenient Truth (2006) chronicled Al Gore’s efforts to sound an alarm about global warming. Last year, in An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Gore returned to share the many ways our situation has worsened for lack of action, but also the reasons for hope—including technological breakthroughs and occasional political victories. Where does climate change fit on our journey of faith? How does Earth’s anguish lay claim to us? And where do we invest our hope? In these sessions with David Weiss, we watched clips from An Inconvenient Sequel and unpacked the movie’s message in conversation with the Bible, our faith, and each other.

LENTEN BOOK STUDY | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018

About 45 members and friends participated in small groups, reading and discussing Marcus Borg’s Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018

January 10 | Reformed Grace, Deformed Church: An Introduction to the Reformation | Phillip Romine, Director of Admissions at United Theological Seminary, helped us explore questions and convictions at the heart of the Reformation. He also addressed fundamental distinctions that have shaped what our Protestant/Reformed churches have become: What's the difference between being Protestant and being Reformed? Who were Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrych Zwingli? And what does any of this have to do with what it means to be Protestant, Reformed, UCC, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist today? Together we pondered this question: What is the most important question that our church must address?

January 17 | The Reformation, part 2: The Basics | We continued our exploration of the impact and relevancy of the Reformation, using 500: A Study Guide for 500th Anniversary of the Reformation,written by the UCC Stillspeaking Writers’ Group. In this session, we learned about concepts of the sovereignty of God, salvation by grace through faith, and the priesthood of all believers.

January 24 | The Reformation, part 3: The Bible | We continued our exploration, learning how the Reformation found energy and inspiration in Scripture as accessibility to the Bible expanded.

January 31 | The Reformation, part 4: Hot Buttons | John Calvin’s highly charged teachings on “total depravity” and “predestination.”

February 7 | The Reformation, part 5: Summing Up | The concept of being “both saint and sinner,” Martin Luther’s anti-Semitism, and the Protestant principle that no one can know the mind of God.

DECEMBER 2017

December 6 & 13 | “Watch: Exploring Advent Devotionals”

Jesus implored his disciples: “Watch, pay attention, stay wide awake, for the hour is coming…” (Mark 13: 35). While watching and waiting for Christ’s coming in the season of Advent, we spent two sessions exploring the “Watch” 2017 Advent Devotional produced by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group of the United Church of Christ.

NOVEMBER 2017

November 8 | Bible: A Book Like No Other | We returned to the popular Animate: Faith DVD series for an interactive session on our relationship with the Bible. Why read the Bible? Why do we keep coming back to this book with its strange narrative full of plagues and miracles and destruction and rebirth, in search of some new revelation? What is it about the Bible that makes it worth repeated reading? What gets in our way as we try to make sense of it?

November 15 | Introduction to the Enneagram | The Enneagram is an ancient system of wisdom developed as a blueprint for deep self-observation and self-discovery. The word comes from the Greek words ennea, meaning 9, and gram, which means something drawn or written. The Enneagram looks at nine personality types to help us discover where we are stuck in negative habits—spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and relationally—that imprison us from being all that God created us to be. With guest speaker Rev. Leslie Neugent of Wayzata Community Church, we learned more about this tool of liberation.

November 29 | 28 Days of Advent | During the four weeks of Advent, Martha Wegner challenged herself to live, act, and write according to each week’s theme: hope, love, joy, and peace. Each day, she shared her experience on a blog. In Journey of Faith, Martha shared her insights into how everyday acts of kindness can change a life. Martha Wegner is  a writer and speaker, living in the Twin Cities. Her books include Dear David: Dealing with My Son’s Addiction One Letter at a Time and A Word in Edgewise: Life in between Raising Kids, Keeping a Home, and Staying Sane.

OCTOBER 2017

October 4 | The Legacy: How we have come to be who we are. How we can come to be who we wish to be. Guest presenter Okogyeamon shared an innovative approach to antiracism work. Okogyeamon co-founded ASDIC Metamorphosis (short for Antiracism Study Dialogue Circles) with Margery Otto in 2004. Okogyeamon writes, teaches, and facilitates antiracism curriculum for ASDIC workshops, dialogue circles, and trainings.

October 11 | Mindfulness Experience | A mixture of mindfulness practice and information about the benefits of developing both formal and informal mindfulness practice, with psychologist Elizabeth Hayes.

October 18 | Visiting and Supporting Immigrants in Detention

Who are the roughly 400 undocumented immigrants currently in ICE detention in Minnesota county jails awaiting release or, more likely, deportation? Conversations with Friends (CWF), an all-volunteer group, works to make life in detention a bit more bearable for many of them through its programs, including visits and pen pals. Our guest speaker was Steve Kraemer, the director of CWF.

October 25 | It's Just Us: Chapter 2 | Irene Harris shared her experiential research on the effect that role models in the same social role and social class can have in addressing mental health stigma, as well as future routes to a new model for addressing stigma to reduce health care disparities. Irene is a practicing counseling and research psychologist whose work has been focused on altering models of mental health care to address stigma and make treatment socially acceptable and accessible.

SEPTEMBER 2017 | Taking another look at the Ten Commandments

Many of us have only a vague awareness of what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, and how they speak to us in the present. Join us on Wednesday evenings in September to learn how these ancient laws continue to be relevant in our 21st-century lives.

September 13 | We considered the back story of the Ten Commandments: Who was Moses, and why was he in Egypt anyway? How did God communicate with him? Why are there two versions of the Ten Commandments in the Torah? Why do they matter to us today? We’ll also discuss the first commandment, the law of reflection: “I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.” All of us have idols we worship, but are any a substitute for a living relationship with the Living God?

September 20 | We looked at the second commandment, the law of respect: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” In the Old Testament, every great call by God is marked by the giving of a new name, and the Hebrew people never used the name of God at all! We’ll also discuss the third commandment, the law of remembrance: “Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.” Part of life is listening to the music of the soul. Work is important, but reflection is the essence of being human and sabbath days are meant to be different from the rest in order to provide us that time of reflection. Do we use it well enough?

September 27 | We reflected on the fourth commandment, the law of caring: “Honor your father and your mother.” As families get smaller and offspring begin to live far away from parents, the question of what will happen to our sages when they can no longer take care of themselves becomes a major social issue. How can we reclaim a sense of honoring our parents in our society today? We conclude with the fifth commandment, the law of life: “You shall not kill.” Those who believe that this commandment forbids only criminal killing must realize that lists of criminal offenses change over time. Should we concentrate on when killing is allowed, or should we concentrate on affirming life?

AUGUST 2017

August 2 | Sulfide Mining: Threat to Minnesota’s Clean Water and Moral Values | Paula Maccabee, Advocacy Director and Counsel for WaterLegacy, returned with an update on copper-nickel mining in Minnesota. Proposed mines threaten three main watersheds—Lake Superior, the Boundary Waters, and the Mississippi River. Sulfide mining poses huge risks to clean water, climate change, human health, environmental justice, and sustainable rural economies in Minnesota. In fact, most of what we “know” about regulation of water pollution in Minnesota is wrong. Now, more than ever, values-based activism is needed to protect the state’s resources and communities.

August 9 | Medical Foster Homes for Veterans | The US Department of Veterans Affairs has a national mission to help veterans remain in the community, aging in place, even providing such care through the end of life. Medical foster homes provide an ongoing, caring, home-like setting for veterans while also supervising medical care and giving support for people who can no longer live alone. The VA in turn provides ongoing in-home education and support to the caregivers who share in giving individualized care to the veterans. Foster homes must meet state license requirements; monthly reimbursement is given specific to the individual care needs. Presenters joined us from the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.

August 16 | A Poem and a Podcast: Ways We Tend the Spirit | Where do you find spiritual sustenance? Are you a fan of "On Being"? Do you start your day with a poem from poets.org or a meditation from Richard Rohr? Are you all about The Handmaid's Tale, or do you prefer Nova—or Anne Lamott? With Lizabeth Bougie, we shared some ways we tend the Spirit. Lizabeth Bougie is the Director of the Resource Center for Churches, a network of faith communities pooling their wisdom to equip leaders for vibrant ministry. The Center gathers the recommendations of its users to share outstanding web, video, print, and other resources for faith formation and all areas of church life.

JULY 2017

July 2017 was movie month for Journey of Faith.

July 12 | Tender Mercies Mac Sledge (Robert Duvall), a once-famous country western singer, wakes up broke, alone, and hung over in a tiny Texas motel run by widowed Rosa Lee. Having nowhere else to go, Sledge takes a job at the motel, and through the kindness and faith of Rosa he changes his self-destructive ways. A simple story simply told, Tender Mercies is a warm, persuasive tale of redemption.

July 19 | Sullivan’s Travels Written and directed by Preston Sturges, Sullivan’s Travels is one of Hollywood’s all-time greatest satires. An idealist filmmaker (Joel McCrea) decides to make a socially responsible movie instead of his typical comedic fare. Realizing he can’t accurately direct a screen tragedy unless he’s lived it first, he decides to hit the road disguised as a hobo. A heartwarming masterpiece, this film illustrates the importance of laughter in the world.

Wednesday July 26 | Before the Flood This epic documentary follows Leonardo DiCaprio as he travels the world to examine firsthand the effects of climate change and to learn more about possible ways to prevent catastrophic damage that could make the Earth unsustainable for human life. During his journey, he speaks with such influential figures as President Barack Obama, Pope Francis, and tech innovator Elon Musk, and makes a speech before the United Nations calling for greater action on this issue. Mindy Ahler and Paul Thompson, representatives from Citizens’ Climate Lobby, joined us for the screening and discussion.

JUNE 2017

June 7 | Since God is Still Speaking, What is God Saying about Immigration? | Why are there 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States? What does the Bible say about welcoming the stranger? How is the United Church of Christ involved? What is an Immigrant Welcoming Congregation? What is a Sanctuary Congregation? Diane Haines, chair of the Minnesota Conference Immigration Team, helped us reason together about the reality of immigrants in the U.S. and about God's call to Christians as we seek to respond to their presence in our midst.

June 14 | The Christian Mysticism of Julian of Norwich | Julian of Norwich was a 14th-century English mystic who received a series of 16 visions as she lay near death at age 30. We delved into the life and teachings of this enigmatic figure, the author of Revelations of Divine Love, who is perhaps most famous for her oft-quoted reflection: “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

June 21 | Embracing God’s Promise: News from the Minnesota Conference UCC Annual Meeting | Every June, the Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Conference UCC brings together clergy and laypeople to share in decision-making, learning, and worship. The theme for 2017 was church vitality. Rev. Norma Rae Hunt was the invited preacher for the meeting’s Sunday worship service. In this session, we heard from SPUCC’s delegation. What did they learn? With whom did they connect? How did the experience change them?

June 28 | Ojibwe Spirit | While doing research for his book The Chippewa: Biography of a Wisconsin Waterway (2017, Wisconsin Historical Society Press), Rich Cornell had a problem. How would he contact and interview the elders of the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) tribe? Their reservation was flooded when the Chippewa River was dammed in 1923, creating the 13,000-acre Chippewa Flowage. Rich was fortunate to meet Dr. John “Little Bird” Anderson, who served as first chair of the LCO and first president of LCO Ojibwa Community College. After Dr. Anderson passed away in 2016, Rich edited the filmed interview as a tribute. Rich will showed us the film and led a discussion on Dr. Anderson’s thoughts on Ojibwe culture and beliefs.

MAY 2017

Ancient Stones and Living Stones | A Two-Part Series

May 17 | Ancient Stones of Israel and Palestine | SPUCC members Becky & Bob Galkiewicz traveled to Israel and Palestine in January as part of a group of 12 from the Minnesota Conference UCC, witnessing both the ancient stones (archaeological remains) and living stones (human voices speaking to faith in today's world) in these lands. This session featured pictures of the Holy Sites and secular places they visited, including Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea area, the River Jordan, towns around the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of the Beatitudes, and Nazareth—walking (perhaps) on stones that Jesus and the prophets trod!

May 24 | Living Stones of Israel and Palestine | It’s important for us as world citizens, Christians, and Americans to understand what life is really like in Israel and Palestine. In this session, Becky and Bob shared conversations they had with both Jewish and Palestinian “living stones,” including their trip-long guides, two Palestinian Christians.

APRIL 2017

Food Ethics | A Two-Part Series by the Earthwise Committee

April 26 | Food and Spirituality: Centering the Future of Agriculture on Regenerative Design | Taking care of creation is fundamental to the quality and healthiness of the food that nature delivers for us. The origins of our food and how it was grown are directly associated with the enriching of our spirits. Main Street Project members Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin and Niel Ritchie presented their innovative poultry-centered regenerative agriculture system and the strategy behind this earth-healing design.

May 3 | Food, Inc. | The Earthwise Committee showed a portion of the film Food, Inc. by Robert Kenner. The film focuses on food from a farming perspective, looking at factory farming methods and corporate interests and the resulting impact on our health and the environment.

LENT 2017

Several groups read Lillian Daniel’s Tired of Apologizing for a Church I Don’t Belong to. She argues that it's time for Christians to stop apologizing and realize that how we talk about Christian community matters. With disarming candor laced with just the right amount of humor, Daniel urges open-minded Christians to explore ways to talk about their faith journeys that are reasonable, rigorous, and real. Groups met in March and early April on Sundays or Wednesday evenings.

FEBRUARY 2017

February 1 | Arts and the Spiritual Journey | Guest speaker Wilson Yates led us in exploring how the arts can be crucial companions on the spiritual journey. We explored different ways the arts can engage us spiritually: the role in worship, in gaining historical insights into the Christian faith, in raising religious questions about our human situation, in serving as prophetic in the face of injustice, in becoming sacramental in their power to pull us onto religious ground and allow us to experience the Holy, and in providing us a vision of the Christian life. .

February 8 | Church: An Imperfect Family | This segment from the Animate Faith DVD series invited us to take our changing notions about what it means to be a family and let them seep into our understanding of the church. Perhaps it’s the messiness, the dysfunction, and the joy that come from complex relationships that make church worth hanging on to. Members of the Adult Faith Formation Team guided our exploration.

February 15 | Altering Expectations: Changing Stigma Associated with Mental Health Challenges | Psychologist and St. Paul’s UCC congregant Irene Harris shared multiple perspectives on stigma with a focus on the effects of stigma and the way it's perpetuated in our culture, as well as perspectives on stigma management that often continues long after a mental health challenge has been resolved.

February 22 | Building an Infrastructure of Opportunity | Randi Roth, Executive Director of Interfaith Action of Greater Saint Paul, spoke on her organization’s vision that people of faith will relieve the effects of poverty and address its causes through the transformative work of thousands of volunteers. She talked about building an “infrastructure of opportunity,” based on the work of North Carolina poverty researcher David Dodson.

JANUARY 2017

January 11 | My Trans Faith | Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson shared his experiences and life lessons. He hopes to inspire people to look beyond perceived limitations and to embrace the fullness of life. The process of discovering his transgender identity and his subsequent spiritual transformation was initiated by the death of his mother in 2009. His personal journey of discovery has led to the formation of organizational partnerships and a worldwide ministry. Rev. Richardson serves as Minister of Faith Formation at Linden Hills UCC.

January 18 | Following My Call: The Life of a Seminary Student | Peggy Ludlow shared her call story, how she got to seminary, and where she is on the journey toward ordination. Peggy is a Member in Discernment at St. Paul's UCC, meaning she is in covenant with our church while she completes her seminary degree. She will graduate in May from United Theological Seminary.

January 25 | My Journey: A Calling into Ministry | Brien Aadland explained how he felt called into ministry, the journey to where he is today, and where he is in the ordination process. Brien graduated with his Doctor of Ministry in 2015, and has been busy doing pulpit supply at area United Church of Christ Churches. Brien is in covenant with St. Paul's UCC and is grateful for the church and their support.

ADVENT & DECEMBER 2016

November 30 | A Good Place to be Depressed: How our church can be a healing place for those living with depression | Our faith teaches us forgiveness and compassion. It teaches us to live in hope. People living with depression and other mental illnesses are trying hard to learn and practice these values. Thus through its values and teachings, the church can be a healing place for those living with mental illness. Rev. Bob Griggs helped us understand what we can do as church members to help overcome the isolation and stigma associated with this disease.

December 7 | A Brief History of Christmas | We love Christmas but often find the hectic pace and commercialism frustrating. In this talk, Geoff Olson covered how Christmas got to be the way it is (including a few "I'll bet you didn't know that" facts) and ended with a few thoughts on how to make Christmas more meaningful.

December 14 | Meditation: A Way of Christian Prayer | Advent is a time to awaken more fully to the presence of God. Meditation is a form of prayer that leads to our awakening. We move beyond words, thoughts, and images and open ourselves to God’s mysterious presence within us. From this place of prayer, we engage in our work in the world. This session with Sister Susan Oeffling and Deborah Chernick included background on meditation in the Christian tradition, an introduction to a way of meditating, an experience of meditation, and time for questions and discussion.

December 21 | A Light in the Darkness | A beautiful meditative Christmas service on the longest night.

NOVEMBER 2016

November 2 | El Día de los Muertos | Guest speaker Rebekah Crisanta | Our program fell on what is called El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, which coincides with All Souls Day. It is a joyous holiday for remembering and honoring those who have passed. In homes, people create altars (ofrendas), and graves are cleaned. This holiday teaches us new ways to honor our deceased and to face death. More info at http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/support/dodhistory.html.

November 9 | A Celtic Pilgrimage | This video with John O'Donohue is a must-see documentary with one of Ireland's greatest poets and scholars. O'Donohue walks us through the breathtaking landscape of western Ireland while weaving ancient wisdom with personal history and stunning imagery. The video reveals the Ireland that gave rise to the spiritual wisdom of the Celts and inspired O'Donohue throughout his remarkable life.

November 16 | Ojibwe Tales | In this session, we searched with respect for themes common to Ojibwe culture and our own, emphasizing the ideas of spirituality and justice. We’ll hear two stories of life lessons: First we heard The Beginning, which teaches us the Ojibwe creation story, the value of humility, and why the loon laughs. Then we learned about The Great Law, how the Ojibwe honored connectedness centuries ago (and continue to honor it), and why the rose has thorns.

OCTOBER 2016

October 5 | Doing Justice: Moving from Issue Education to Strategic Impact | We explored the work of the Kaleo Center for Faith, Justice & Social Transformation at United Theological Seminary and its four missional priorities: Igniting Prophetic Imagination, Preparing Faithful Leaders, Catalyzing Justice, and Advancing the Praxis of Social Transformation. Guest speaker: Steve Newcom, director of the Kaleo Center.

October 12 | On the Camino: Life Lessons from the Way of St. James | Guest speaker Heather Lawrence has said, “This spring I had the opportunity to become a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain. I took a month off from my ‘real’ life to walk part of the 500-mile, 1,000-year-old pilgrimage ending in Santiago de Compostela. I knew that it would be a life-changing journey, but I had no idea how much the experience would teach me about myself, my faith, and my connection to the world around me.”

October 19 | Keep Calm with Tai Chi | Tai Chi for Health, a series of 12 safe, easy-to-learn movements, offers relaxation, mental focus and calm, relief from joint and muscle pain, body awareness for fall prevention, and other positive health benefits. Dr. Paul Lam, a family physician and Tai Chi practitioner in Australia who lives with arthritis, developed Tai Chi for Health in consultation with Tai Chi and arthritis experts about 30 years ago. He now leads workshops for teachers around the world. Bruce Tyler will help you learn two or three movements and enhanced breathing techniques to take home and try out. We’ll also hear a short introduction to the history and development of Tai Chi. Bruce’s classes are interactive and movement-oriented, so wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing, and be prepared to relax and breathe.

October 26 | Feed My Starving Children | Intergenerational service trip to the FMSC facility in Eagan.

SEPTEMBER 2016

September 7, 14 & 21 | Embracing Spiritual Awakening | This summer we experienced two sessions featuring Diana Butler Bass, hearing of past Religious Awakenings and the current one our culture is witnessing. In September, we discussed how behaving, belonging, and awakening will very likely add new shapes to religion in America in the coming decades.

September 7 | We define our behavior by deciding what practices we’ll engage in. As Christians, we aim to practice love of God (devotion) and love of neighbor (ethics) in concert with the greatest commandments. But do we take the time to ask Why? andHow? Is it possible that practice is more like a craft than a program?

September 14 | What does it mean to belong? In our youth we might think of belonging by answering, “Whose am I?” As we grow older, we often change that question to “Who am I?” And if we consider faith journeys, we might ask, “Where am I?” We considered how we construct ourselves by relating to other people and to God.

September 21 | There have been three previous periods of great religious and spiritual awakenings in America. These occurred right before the American Revolution, in the early decades of our new republic, and around World War I as the US became an industrial world power. We are now in the midst of a fourth awakening that encompasses technology, diversity, and interfaith relationships. Do we as individuals and as a church embrace this awakening, reject it, or simply watch from the sidelines?

September 28 | Protecting Minnesota’s Waters from Sulfide Mining Pollution | Imagine a Northern Minnesota landscape of polluted wetlands and streams, drinking water contaminated with heavy metals, fish contaminated with mercury, and wild rice on its way to extinction. This could happen if Minnesota’s first proposed sulfide mine, the PolyMet NorthMet project, is allowed to go forward. We learned more about the human and environmental health impacts of open-pit sulfide mining from environmental lawyer Paula Maccabee. Paula is advocacy director and general counsel for WaterLegacy, a grassroots citizens group formed in response to the threat of sulfide mining in Minnesota.

MAY 2016 | Stories of Resiliency

May 4, 11 & 18 | Stories of Resiliency. Where do you find strength during a difficult time? What fills you up even when the events of your life seem to be draining you? How do you lean on God when you need to the most? During this series, members of our community will share their Stories of Resiliency. As we listen to their stories, we’ll have an opportunity to reflect on the ways our faith and community provide a deep well to draw from when we need God’s strength. This series is coordinated by the Health & Wholeness Committee.

APRIL 2016 | Stories of Food & Faith

April 6 | Food and the Environment. All We looked at how our food is affected by the environment and how the environment is helped or hurt by farming practices, because all of us are tied to the earth by the food we eat.

April 13 | Food and Water as Environmental/Social Justice. Only 10 percent of what makes for “health” has anything to do with doctors or doctors’ offices. Food, water, education, environment—these are referred to as social determinants of health. They account for the other 90% of what makes us healthy. A lot of the decisions made by communities and their elected leaders in turn determine how healthy this world we construct around us actually is, or isn’t. During the hour, we looked at three social justice dimensions around food and water: the policies that make “obesogenic” sugary drinks so widely available and cheap; lead contamination of public water supplies in Flint and other US cities; and the routine use of human antibiotics to fatten livestock.
April 20 | Just Eating: Practicing our Faith at the Table. Our topic was Food Sharing as Sacrament. We focused on communion and the ecotheological connections to that sacrament.
April 27 | Intergenerational trip to Feed My Starving Children

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 | Lenten Book Study

Through five weeks of Lent, we met in small groups to discuss Rabbi Harold Kushner's Nine Essential Things I’ve Learned About Life. From the beloved author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, this book is a collection of deeply moving and illuminating reflections on what it means to live a good life. Chapter headings include God Does Not Send the Problem: God Sends Us the Strength to Deal with the Problem; Forgiveness Is a Favor You Do Yourself; Some Things Are Just Wrong: Knowing That Makes Us Human; Religion Is What You Do, Not What You Believe; Leave Room for Doubt and Anger in Your Religious Outlook; and To Feel Better About Yourself, Find Someone to Help.

JANUARY 2016 | Deepening Understandings of Islam

January 13 | Guest speaker: Zafar Siddiqui of the Islamic Resource Group. The IRG builds bridges of understanding between Minnesota Muslims and the broader Minnesota community. We explored basic terminology, demographics, and the differences between religion and culture as well as learning about Muslims’ beliefs, practices, and religious celebrations. We also explored similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity.
January 20 | Meeting our Muslim Neighbors. On this evening, Dr. Bilal Murad (a cardiologist at United Hospital) facilitated our conversation. Several of our Twin Cities area Muslim neighbors of varying ages and walks of life shared with us how faith has impacted their life journeys. Our visitors also responded to questions about their faith journeys as they engaged us in conversation.
“Prior to her position at United, Gail worked at the Minnesota Council of Churches, where she directed Interfaith and Ecumenical programming. She also co-chaired the Muslim Christian dialogue with the Islamic Center of Minnesota and co-facilitated the Twin Cities Interfaith Network. She is a frequent speaker and panelist on interfaith programs and a 2009 recipient of a Building Bridges award from the Islamic Resource Group in Minnesota.” (www.unitedseminary.edu)
January 27 | Islamophobia Funding. Guest speaker Gail Anderson, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities Director of Interfaith and Intercultural Initiatives, offered an overview of the forces funding Islamophobia.
February 3 | Toward Interfaith Justice and Inclusivity. Ms. Anderson facilitated a discussion in which we seek to answer the question What can individuals and churches do to create a more just and inclusive world?

DECEMBER 2015

December 2 & 9 | Our UCC Involvement in Global Ministries

December 2 | East Timor
December 9 | Turkey

December 16 | Advent Ponderings

NOVEMBER 2015 | Spiritual Caregiving & Ambiguous Loss

November 4 | Chaplaincy as Spiritual Caregiving
November 11 | Specialized Ministries: Pastoral Visitation and the UCC’s Council for Health and Human Service Ministries
November 18 | Unclear (Ambiguous) Loss and the Myth of Closure with special guest Pauline Boss, PhD.

OCTOBER 2015 | Ecojustice & Faith

October 7, 14 & 21 | Renewal: Stories from America's Religious Environmental Movement
October 28 | Feed My Starving Children (Intergenerational)

SEPTEMBER 2015

The video series Living the Questions 2.0 deals with important questions of Christian faith in an accessible, appealing manner. Theologians, pastors, and lay people explore faith questions and draw connections between our own time and that of Jesus and his disciples. At each gathering, we viewed two videos and briefly discussed them in small groups.

September 16 | Invitation to Journey
September 23 | Thinking Theologically
September 30 | Lives of Jesus

JULY/AUGUST 2015

Our guest on July 8 & 15 was John Noltner, photographer and peace activist. For 20 years John has told stories with his images, producing work for national publications and Fortune 500 Companies. In 2009, he began A Peace of My Mind, a project that explores the meaning of peace through portraits and personal stories. In a world that asks us to focus on the things that can separate us, A Peace of My Mind encourages us to explore our common humanity. More info at www.apeaceofmymind.net.

July 8 | A Peace of My Mind: The Calling
July 15 | A Peace of My Mind: The Conversation
July 22 | The New Interfaith Reality: The opportunities and the challenges
July 29 & August 5 | Lynn Scott, Operations Manager at ARC Retreat Center of Stanchfield, MN, led us in a 2-part series on Christian mysticism, looking at the broader theme and focusing on influential mystics such as Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Merton.
August 12 & 19 | Jesus and Buddha: Practicing Across Traditions

JUNE 2015

June 3 | Yoga as physical mindfulness
June 10 | The 8 limbs of yoga: An overview
June 17 | Bringing Compassion to All Parts of Ourselves
June 24 | Expanding Internal Calm and Deepening Spiritually with a Practice of Self-Compassion

MAY 2015 | Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity

We took a deep and challenging look at racial inequity, watching and discussing this film. Designed for dialogue, it works to disentangle internal beliefs, attitudes, and prejudgments and builds skills to address the structural drivers of social and economic inequities. The current conversation is not only shallow, but actually harmful. We continue to primarily focus on individuals, when institutional and structural inequities are the bigger problem.

Topics for each week:

May 6 | History, Culture & Unconscious Bias
May 13 | Racial Privilege & Interpersonal Relations
May 20 | Institutional & Structural Racism

Learn more about the film at www.world-trust.org.

APRIL 2015

April 8 & 15 | Earth: The Operator’s Manual
April 29 | Feed My Starving Children (Intergenerational)

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015

February 4 | Feed My Starving Children. An intergenerational service trip to pack food boxes at Feed My Starving Children in Eagan.
February 11 | Introduction to Godly Play
February 18 | Ash Wednesday service
February 25 to March 29 | An Altar in the World: A Lenten Small Group Book Study

JANUARY 2015

January 7 | The Beatitudes: An Introduction

January 14 | The Beatitudes According to Luke

January 21 | The Beatitudes According to Matthew

January 28 | Radical Inclusivity: Empowering the Special Needs Community Through Worship

DECEMBER 2014

December 3 | Disturbing Complacency: Money, our Mustard Seed. With guest speaker Rev.Lisa Bodenheim, pastor at Clark Memorial UCC in Mendota Heights. Session 1 of 2.
December 10 | Film: Charting Christmas.
December 17 | Disturbing Complacency: Resistance, Removing our Blinders. Session 2 of 2.

NOVEMBER 2014

Rev. Dr. Clyde J. Steckel was our guest speaker. Our topic: A Shared United Church of Christ Faith: Then and Now.

November 5 ~The Beginnings of a Shared UCC Faith.
November 12 ~ The Preamble and the UCC Statement of Faith.
November 19 ~ A Shared UCC Faith Today.
November 26 ~ On break for Thanksgiving

OCTOBER 2014

Animate: faith series | Using an engaging video series featuring progressive Christian theological voices, Bob Galkiewicz and Clare Gromoll led us in 3 weeks of discussion. Then we learned from leaders of local agencies whom we support.

October 1 ~ Jesus | The Revolution of Love.
October 8 ~ Salvation | Abundant Life Now. .
October 15 ~ Cross | Where God Is.
October 22 ~ Project Home, St. Paul Area Council of Churches, featuring Sara Liegl, Director of Project Home.
October 29 ~ Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, featuring JRLC Executive Director Brian A. Rusche.

SEPTEMBER 2014

Music & Church History 101 | Our organist, Geoff Olson, shared the journey of sacred music and church history for three Wednesday evenings. This was a continuation of his 2-part series in August.

JULY BIBLE STUDY

On the four Sundays in July, we explored the Gospel According to Matthew and its particular perspective. Leadership was facilitated by Rev. Norma Rae Hunt.

SUMMER PROGRAMMING

June 4 | Exploring Spiritual Practices: Chant, Lectio Divina, and Examen
June 11 | Labyrinths: Peaceful Paths of Prayer
June 18 | Film: The Atheism Tapes: Interview with Playwright Arthur Miller
June 25 & July 9 | Creativity Abounds (Intergenerational)
July 16 | Film: Chasing Ice
July 23 | Film: Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
July 30 | Feed My Starving Children (Intergenerational)
August 6 & 20 | A History of Music & the Church: Plato to Marthin Luther
August 13 | Film: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth

MAY 2014 | Earth Stewardship

May 7 | Reflections on the holiness of mindful eating
May 14 | Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light
May 21 | Film: Carbon Nation

April 30 | Feed My Starving Children. An intergenerational service trip to pack food boxes at Feed My Starving Children in Eagan.

LENT 2014 | The Way of the Cross: The Path to New Life

On five Wednesday evenings in Lent, we reflected on how Jesus’ journey toward and beyond the cross intersects with our own journeys. Joan Chittister’s book The Way of the Cross: The Path to New Life spurred discussion about how our lives might become more fulfilling. Chittister's book and our meditations were based on the ancient Christian spiritual practice of the Stations of the Cross—15 moments along Jesus’ journey from condemnation to resurrection. Bob Galkiewicz, Tami Molkenbur, Gail Westby, Jan Zitnick, and Steve Zitnick led us on this interactive Lenten journey.

IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2014 we delved into the Living the Questions DVD series Painting the Stars: Science, Religion and an Evolving Faith, which celebrates the communion of science and faith. Rev. Norma Rae Hunt and Clare Gromoll co-facilitated.

February 5 | Evolutionary Christianity
February 12 | Imagining a Future
February 19 | An Evolving Spirituality: Mysticism

We also offered the Painting the Stars series on Sunday mornings from 9 to 9:45.

February 26 | Faith Isn’t Just for Sundays: Practicing Our Faith at Home

DECEMBER 2013 | The Nativity Story

We met three Wednesday evenings to view the film The Nativity Story (New Line Cinema, 2006). Each time we watched part of he film to reflect on and discuss the miraculous events of God’s incarnation and the powerful models of faith for us today.

NOVEMBER 2103 | The history and futire of the United Church of Christ and St. Paul's UCC

Rev. Dr. Clyde J. Steckel was our guest speaker on November 6 and 13. An Emeritus Professor of Theology, Clyde taught at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities from 1970-95. From 1979-88 he was Academic Vice President and Dean. He has written several books, including New Ecclesiology and Polity, United Church of Christ,published by Pilgrim Press in 2009. In the Minnesota Conference UCC, he served as Interim Conference Minister from 2001 to 2003. Steckel’s book on the history of the Minnesota Conference UCC, Fifty Years of Covenant Keeping, was published in 2012. In the national UCC, he served on two theological working groups, was a founder and co-editor of Prism: A Theological Forum for the United Church of Christ and served on the Board for Homeland Ministries.

November 6 | The First Fifty Years of the United Church of Christ
November 13 | The Next Fifty Years of the United Church of Christ
November 20 | St. Paul’s UCC in the Context of 56+ years of the UCC

OCTOBER 2013

October 2 | UCC Coffee Project & CROP Hunger Walk
October 9 | Film: Gold Fever

On October 16 and 23, Bob Galkiewicz and Clare Gromoll led on a journey into a DVD series called animate: faith, which seeks “to create an accessible, captivating exploration of big questions of the Christian faith.”

October 16 | God | Faith Is a Quest
October 23 | Religion: Spirituality Is Not Enough
October 30 | Feed My Starving Children (Intergenerational)

MORE THAN MONEY MATTERS – a free workshop!

In October we offered More Than Money Matters, an interactive, values-based money management workshop developed by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in response to requests from congregations such as ours. This free workshop was designed to help participants reach goals and manage personal financial resources in accordance with their values. A Thrivent Financial representative presented four sessions in collaboration with our Ministry of Faith Formation and our Stewardship Committee.

Sessions occurred on four Sundays, 8:45-9:45 am.

October 13 | Stewardship and Values
October 20 | Setting Goals
October 27 | Credit and Debt
November 3 | Finding Money to Save

SEPTEMBER 2013 | Three Simple Questions

During September we drew on the compelling study series Three Simple Questions: Knowing the God of Love, Hope, and Purpose, based on the work of retired United Methodist Bishop Rueben Job. Our time together included spiritual practices, video clips, discussion and accessible creative practices.

Sept. 11 | Who Is God?
Sept. 18 | Who Am I? Who Are We Together?
Sept. 25 | Praying and Living the Questions In this concluding session, we explored applications of the three questions in our own lives.

AUGUST 2013

August 7 | Creativity Abounds! (Intergenerational)
August 14 | Being UCC in a Wider Context: 2013 General Synod Gathering
August 21 | Creativity Abounds! (Intergenerational)

JULY 2013

July 10 | Empty Hands, Open Hearts: An Immersion Experience in Kenya (Intergenerational)
July 17 | Earth Stewardship
July 24 | The Lorax (Intergenerational)
July 31 | Feed My Starving Children (Intergenerational)

JUNE 2013 | Our Relationship to the Land

June 5 | Veggie Adventure! What is Community Supported Agriculture?
June 12 | Symphony of the Soil (Intergenerational)
June 19 | Iona, Ancient Threads of a Bright Love
June 26 | Iona, a Spirituality from the Fringes

MAY 2013

May 1 | Mental Health and Spirituality
May 8 | Feed My Starving Children (Intergenerational)
May 15 | Preparing for Our Sabbatical - The Sabbatical Support Team (Bob Galkiewicz, Kathy Hull, Judith Roska, Bob Galkiewicz and Lead Minister Norma Rae Hunt) led a discussion about our upcoming four-month clergy/congregational sabbatical.

APRIL 2013

April 3 | Visitors from Pilgrim Point Camp
April 10 | Our Whole Lives: An Overview
April 17 | Strategic Plan and Sabbatical Leave Updates
April 24 | Welcoming Neighbors Who Handle Mental Health Concerns

MARCH 2013 | Continuation of our "Final Gifts" small-group book sessions (please see February 2013 below for more information):

March 6 | Final Gifts | Week 3 of 5
March 13 | Final Gifts | Week 4 of 5
March 20 | Final Gifts | Week 5 of 5

FEBRUARY 2013

February 6 | Beyond Pretzel Poses: Yoga’s 8-fold Spiritual Path
February 13 | Intergenerational Ash Wednesday Worship Service
February 20 | Final Gifts | Week 1 of 5 - During the season of Lent, adults and youth age 14 and above considered together the themes of dying, death, and new life. As we pondered the suffering, death, and new life found in Jesus, we used the book Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying to explore our own experiences of dying and death. Each week, individuals gathered in the same small group of 4-5 people to discuss a portion of the book. Space was made for all group members to have opportunities to speak and moments of silence for internal processing. Rev. Norma Rae Hunt and Student Minister Clare Gromoll facilitated the large group portions of these gatherings, and an experienced facilitator facilitated each small group. An excerpt from the back of the book: “In this moving and compassionate book, hospice nurses Maggie Callahan and Patricia Kelley share their intimate experiences with patients at the end of life, drawn from more than twenty years experience tending the terminally ill. Through their stories, we come to appreciate the near-miraculous ways in which the dying communicate their needs, reveal their feelings, and even choreograph their own final moments; we also discover the gifts—of wisdom, faith, and love—that the dying leave for the living to share. Filled with practical advice on responding to the requests of the dying and helping them prepare emotionally and spiritually for death, Final Gifts shows how we can help the dying person live fully to the very end."
February 27 | Final Gifts | Week 2 of 5

JANUARY 2013

January 9 | Feed My Starving Children
January 16 & 23 | Letting Your Life Speak: renewing your sense of purpose in the world
January 30 | Exploring Emerging Church Themes

DECEMBER 2012

December 5 | The Promissory Language that Breaks Dispair
December 12 | Exploring the Season of Advent

NOVEMBER 2012

November 7 | Post Election Prayer Service .
November 14 | ARC Retreat Center
November 28 | Grief of Loss as Divine Judgement

OCTOBER 2012 | A series based on Walter Breuggemann's Embracing the Prophets in Contemporary Culture

October 3 | Moses, Pharoah, the Prophets, and Us
October 10 | The Prophets as Uncredentialed Purveyors of Covenant
October 17 | Moral Coherence in a World of Power, Money and Violence
October 24 | The Shrill Rhetoric That Breaks Denial

SEPTEMBER 2012

September 12 | Switzerland led by Brian & Amanda Aadland
September 19 | Antibiotics/Livestock & The Common Good led by David Wallinga
September 22 | Visit to Feed My Starving Children in Eagan
September 29 | Prophets and the Prophetic Voice led by Bob Galkiewicz

AUGUST 2012 | Ethics and Amendments | A series exploring the state constitutional amendments that would be on the ballot in November

August 1 | The Love and Marriage Task Force invited a group from the Beth Jacob Synagogue in Mendota Heights to tell their stories and give their perspectives on what the Marriage Amendment means to them. The program included information on the Marriage Amendment, open discussion and information on how to get involved and talk with others about the issue.
August 8 | The Love and Marriage Task Force presented the documentary "In Sickness and in Health," a moving film that follows several same-sex couples who sued the State of New Jersey for the right to marry.
August 15 | This meeting was an informational session on the Voter ID Amendment

November 8 | Bible: A Book Like No Other | We return to the popular Animate: Faith DVD series for an interactive session on our relationship with the Bible. Why read the Bible? Why do we keep coming back to this book with its strange narrative full of plagues and miracles and destruction and rebirth, in search of some new revelation? What is it about the Bible that makes it worth repeated reading? What gets in our way as we try to make sense of it?

November 15 | Introduction to the Enneagram | The Enneagram is an ancient system of wisdom developed as a blueprint for deep self-observation and self-discovery. The word comes from the Greek words ennea, meaning 9, and gram, which means something drawn or written. The Enneagram looks at nine personality types to help us discover where we are stuck in negative habits—spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and relationally—that imprison us from being all that God created us to be. Join guest speaker Rev. Leslie Neugent of Wayzata Community Church to learn more about this tool of liberation.

November 22 | No program

November 29 | 28 Days of Advent | During the four weeks of Advent, Martha Wegner challenged herself to live, act, and write according to each week’s theme: hope, love, joy, and peace. Each day, she shared her experience on a blog. Martha will share her insights into how everyday acts of kindness can change a life. Martha Wegner is  a writer and speaker, living in the Twin Cities. Her books include Dear David: Dealing with My Son’s Addiction One Letter at a Time and A Word in Edgewise: Life in between Raising Kids, Keeping a Home, and Staying Sane.

October 2, 6:15 pm | All-Church Movie Night | It’s a Wonderful Life | Join us for an evening watching this classic Jimmy Stewart film. An optional dinner will be at 6:00 (requested donation $7–$8), and the film will run from 6:15–8:30. Please sign up or call the church to let us know if you’ll be having dinner. We’ll revisit the movie both in worship this month and in book study groups on October 9, 16 & 23.

October 9, 16 & 23 | Book study | Integrating Money and Meaning: Practices for a Heart-Centered Life | Money touches all parts of our lives—biological, psychological, and spiritual. It does so in positive and negative ways, and mostly in ways that live in the murky area in between. The trick is not to deny any of them. Examining our relationship with money and aligning our money lives with our spiritual lives is crucial work. We’ll delve into this topic at Journey of Faith as we reflect together on the book Integrating Money and Meaning: Practices for a Heart-Centered Life, which examines characters from It’s a Wonderful Life. Please sign up for a book group as we explore this topic using the lens of the film. Books are available for purchase for $15.

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Journey of Faith

Evensong service

Food ethics

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