Dear friends in Christ,
It is a joy to give thanks for you, and for the classes we have shared here. Saint Thomas is a special place for many people to grow in their understanding of their faith.
On the first week of the new church year, there will be two classes. On Sunday, November 30, the Bible study on Ecclesiastes will pick up at chapter 5. We welcome newcomers every week. You can be gloomy like Ecclesiastes, or not; I like to think of the class as a big tent in that way. But it isn’t in a tent, it’s on the fifth floor, and we have coffee and tea in the room. We meet at 10am.
Then on Tuesday, December 2, the Aquinas on faith class will have its final session. The question for the week has to do with the “effects” of faith. Aquinas asks if fear is a proper effect of faith. There is some scriptural warrant for calling it such, but does it make sense to fear what one believes in? And he asks if (and how) the heart is purified by faith. We welcome newcomers, and there is no expectation of advance reading. The class meets in Andrew Hall from 6:30 to 7:30pm.
Looking ahead: I will have one Thursday class this month, not next week but the week after (December 11), at 12:40pm. In that class I will repeat some of what has been going on in the Sunday class. And then on Monday, December 15, we’ll have the final seminar on Dante’s Divine Comedy. Our text is Paradiso cantos 18-33—which takes us to the ineffable and rapturous beatific vision. Anyone who reads the text is welcome to the seminar.
Looking to 2015: It is a pleasure to announce that the Rector’s Christian Doctrine Class will begin on Tuesday, January 13, meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. for fourteen sessions altogether (weekly, mostly, through early May), taught by Father Turner with assistance from yours truly. This class provides preparation for joining Saint Thomas, particularly for those who would like to be confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church. But it is also a refresher course in the basics of Christian faith, and is open to anyone interested.
I’m also glad to announce some 2015 dates for the monthly book seminar, Good Books & Good Talk. (All these are Mondays, 6:15 to 7:45 p.m.)
· January 26, What Happened to Sophie Wilder by Christopher Beha
· February 23, Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
· April 27, The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor
Finally, a personal note. Last Sunday was a first for me in the following respect. I preached at the 9 o’clock mass, had a class at 10 o’clock, and was enjoying being the deacon at the 11 o’clock mass. I finished reading the Gospel, walked to the pulpit, took a few steps up, and saw something terrifying: my sermon text was not there! I turned impulsively to go up to my office to get it, but immediately realized I had no time to do so. So I preached what came to mind, from memory.
If you’d like to read what I had prepared to say, it is on the website here: But if you click on the audio file at the bottom of the page, you can hear what I in fact did say.
It was, shall we say, “interesting”! It is not something I intend ever to do again. But it allows me to end as I began, with thanks for you. And for God.
Peace.
