In honor of our seventh annual NWYM Peace Month in January 2016, this year’s theme, Sabbath as Peacemaking, invites us to “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” The Sabbath is the seventh day, the day on which God rested in the creation story, and the day we’re invited to set aside for our own rest, and space for our animals, servants, and land to also rest, according to the instructions in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

For American Christians, this may be the one of the Ten Commandments most ignored, and arguably for some good reasons. Sabbath laws were discarded in the United States throughout the early 20th century, and many of us would probably agree that the state should not have to legislate our enactment of Sabbath practices.  Still, we must ask ourselves some queries:

Do personal and communal practices of Sabbath hold an important place in our spiritual life today? Should they?

What might these practices look like, and what do they have to do with peacemaking?

During the five Sundays of January, Silverton Friends Church will explore the practice of Sabbath as an act of peacemaking. And thus, we will be asking “What does it look like to practice Sabbath?” especially in our culture, where we’re pressured to always be on the go. We look forward to exploring this important topic together as a meeting. Join us in January for these topics. 

Sunday Topics:

• January 10: The Gift of Sabbath
  • (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus20:8-11; 31:12-17)
• January 17: The Rhythm of Sabbath (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend)
  • (Exodus 16:22-31)
• January 24: The Freedom of Sabbath
  • (Deuteronomy 5:12-15)
• January 31: Jesus and Sabbath
  • (Luke 13:10-17; Mark 2:27-28)
• February 7: Experimenting with Sabbath
  • (Luke 4:16-27; Hebrews 3-4)