Summary of the March WRG meeting lead by Karen Forbes.
Our Saturday, March 4th Retreat, we welcomed women in person today and online. After our opening prayer and the Hour by Hour, we read the lectionary for today from the Forward Day by Day.
Psalm 55. We discussed the Psalm in terms of the context of the Old Testament, times of war and betrayal. We related to betrayals by friends and how families can be estranged. We discussed “Let Go and Let God” and especially forgiveness, not living in the past, and moving on from hurts by others. In our Intentional Lent, we discussed how we strive to pray for our enemies and to let God help us to let go.
Deuteronomy 11: 18-28. The sign on your hand, and the emblem on your forehead is part of a tradition still practiced. The commandment to Love the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and holding fast to him is present to us in Lent. These communities were small and had to defend themselves. The “war” imagery has been used as the justification for people to take others land now and throughout history; the weaponization of religion. We talked about the impact of this in the current war in Ukraine. It also brought up the question of “What would I do?” given the circumstances of the Ukrainians; how we would personally respond to the war.
Hebrews 5: 1-10. In Bible Study Fr Doyt has said that the Book of Hebrews was written by Priscilla. It was not considered plagiarism to say that it was Paul’s letter to the Hebrews. We discussed how Melchizedek was the first High Priest not of a lineage. This passage also brought us into discussion of the Covenant we have with God, and that it goes both ways; and how important that Covenant is in our development as Christians.
John 4: 1-26 In the story of the Samaritan woman at the Well. In this Jesus revealed himself to her as The Messiah. He seldom spoke of his being The Messiah except to the Apostles. Jesus, in disregarding societal rules of Jews of not talking to Samaritans, shocked the Samaritan woman in asking her for water. We discussed the symbolism of this being Jacob’s well. Jesus knew about her and her life and offered her “living water” of which no one would thirst. We also discussed how all worship had been done in the temple and Jesus tells us that worship will not be on the mountain or in Jerusalem but everywhere. We all look for the “living water” offered for eternal life.
It was mentioned that you can download an app for the Forward Day by Day to have it on your phone.
The beauty of the Chapel of St Ignatius was discussed, and we learned about its history and the wonderful statue of the Virgin Mary. In our enthusiasm for this, we discussed going to visit the Chapel after a meeting later this year, perhaps May or June.
We discussed Shannon Polson, a past parishioner, and her theme of the Grit Factor. She has a newsletter and here is the link to subscribe to it http://www.shanonpolson.com
We also discussed the movie with the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu where the Dalai Lama decides he can participate in communion with Desmond Tutu. It is available to watch.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14779306/ This came out of the discussion of the Forward writing. It discussed an international service with a Buddhist, and Muslim and a Christian and how God was present in all of it.
Other books mentioned:
- The Church Cracked Open by Rev. Stephanie Spellers – The Church Cracked Open
- What Are Biblical Values John J. Collinsis Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School
- The Great Divorce by CS Lewis – please note Jonathan’s minyan on this book will start around April 6th. Those interested should email Jonathan directly: jonro@rprime.com – thanks.
Doyt’s series of the Reredos & Art in the church:(147) Worship: How it Works & Why Space Matters | December 17, 2020 – YouTube
