Due to weather cancellations next Sunday (Jan. 22) our Meeting for Study Hour returns at 9:30am (meeting every other Sunday). This quarter we are offering two classes:

Option 1: Quaker Conversation about Race (facilitated by Kate Pattison and Mark Rediske). This is a continuation of the class we started last quarter.

We have embarked on a  journey to learn about race in America, to understand the history of our country (Oregon specifically), how systems of oppression and privilege touch everything we do, and identify the intersections with our faith and life as a follower of Jesus. We are learning about the Black Lives Matter movement, understand how social media has changed what we witness, and how Jesus encountered oppressive powers and social constructs. Everyone is invited to participate and we will use a variety of resources to inform the discussion and learning.

Option 2: *NEW* The Voice of Matthew (facilitated by Pastor Bob) This is a conversation-based study on the text from “The Voice of Matthew” by Lauren F. Winner.

The Voice of Matthew is a unique retelling of the life of Jesus from the perspective of a Jewish believer who wants to connect the past with the future. The writer of this retelling is Lauren Winner, a young Jewish woman who has become a follower of Jesus. She is an extremely talented writer and a lecturer at Duke Divinity School that brings an intellectual edge to the biblical story. At the heart of this retelling is an accurate rendering of the traditional Bible text with historical and cultural expansions of the story that are placed in italic type to help the reader differentiate the expansions from the Bible text. 

Each Sunday we will look at a single chapter of Matthew and discuss the text’s implication for our daily lives.

PLEASE NOTE, on the opposite Sundays of our Meeting for Study we offer our Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship at 9:30am in the *new* green room. Come join us in a time of “expectant listening” and silent worship. Our next Unprogrammed Meeting will be this Sunday, Jan 15.