Theology Update for the Week of June 2

Theology Class: “Eve, Adam, and the Garden: Feminism and Ecology in the Creation Stories”

For our Sunday June 2nd Theology Class at 10am on the Fifth Floor, we welcome guest teacher, Helen Goodkin, who will present a class entitled “Eve, Adam, and the Garden: Feminism and Ecology in the Creation Stories.” Her presentation will feature the two very different creation stories in Genesis which have significantly influenced western ideas and western culture. Yet, with regard to the role(s) of women and humanity’s relationship to the created earth, the stories have often been misunderstood. Using slides from the history of art, we will look carefully, and critically, at what the Genesis texts actually have to say about Eve, and thus womankind, as well as humankind’s responsibility to the “garden,” or as the Prayer Book says: ‘our island home.’ Come prepared to be surprised!

Following a career in healthcare, Helen Goodkin received a Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies cum laude from the General Theological Seminary. Her thesis on the healing stories in Luke was awarded the Sutton Prize for Best Thesis. She stayed at General for several years as Director of Lay Education. Today she leads the regular Wednesday Afternoon Bible Study at the House of the Redeemer, as well as regularly presenting adult education programs on the Bible to churches in New York and the metropolitan area.

Everyone is welcome to join us on the Fifth Floor of the Parish House for the class. Coffee and tea will be provided.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Happy (still) Easter,

Matthew Moretz+
Associate Rector

Evening Theology Class with Fr. Spencer: “Tongues of Fire.”

God spoke and Creation happened. Jesus spoke and the sick were healed. The Apostles spoke and the church spread. And we too are sent to preach the Gospel, to share the Good News. Author Jonathan Merritt, in his book “Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words Are Vanishing–and How We Can Revive Them,” argues that the language of faith is an endangered form of speech in our culture. As our society has become more secular, it can be difficult to talk about our faith with others. The meaning of and premises behind religious words like “grace” and “sin” and “salvation” can no longer be automatically assumed in conversation. We may also have our own personal reticence about “speaking God.” Jonathan Merritt’s book provides a starting point for a conversation about what we mean when we say these sacred words and how we might speak more comfortably about our faith in our everyday lives.

Please join Father Adam Spencer for a concluding Evening Theology Class, on the Fifth Floor of the Parish House, for the last Tuesday night of the series, June 4, from 6:30-8:00pm as we explore our own language(s) of faith together.

“Learning to Speak God from Scratch” will be available for purchase in the Saint Thomas Church Bookstore.