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Theology Update for the Week of October 23

Dear friends in Christ,

The Sunday class on the Revelation of Saint John the Divine enters a new phase this week, as we read in Chapter 4 how John was taken up into heaven and saw the throne of God. (William Blake’s artistic depiction of what John saw can be found here; Albrecht Dürer’s rather more literalist interpretation is here.) The class is held at 10 a.m. on the fifth floor.

The Fall Theology Lecture, delivered by the Very Rev. Dr. Andrew McGowan, Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, will be titled “The End of Sacrifice: Violence, Ritual and Redemption.” Mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 15 at 6:30pm.

On Wednesday, November 2, Professor Jeremy Waldron will begin a new class titled Creation and Covenant: Our Stewardship of the Created World. This series of discussions over three successive Wednesday nights (November 2, 9, and 16) will examine the biblical depiction of creation and our place in it, the implications of God’s covenantal relation to us regarding the created world (e.g., Genesis 9:8), and the responsibilities that arise out of our stewardship of creation. The classes will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Father Spurlock’s Bible Study continues today at 12:40 p.m., as the group makes their way through the gospel of Luke. Between that gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, also written by the evangelist, Luke is responsible for over one-quarter of the writing in the New Testament. The class meets in the dining room of the parish house.

Next week the Christian Doctrine II class will begin its study of the service of Holy Eucharist in the Book of Common Prayer, as it is celebrated at Saint Thomas Church. We will meet in the church itself and physically walk through the service. If you were recently confirmed or received into the Episcopal Church, or transferred into Saint Thomas from another parish, please be in touch with me about this class.

Yours in Christ, Joel