When the Saints Go Flying In – May 10- June 14 @ 7:00pm

By Joseph Yoo

Our spring Wednesday evening study is a book by a friend of Suzanne’s who is now an Episcopal Priest. I fell in love with this book and wanted to share the wit and wisdom that Joe shares in his first book. It is available on Amazon. This will study will be a hybrid study, both online and in person. Subscribe to the CUMC emails for the Zoom Information. For the first meeting, we will cover the Intro and Chapters 1 & 2. Below is from the description from Amazon.

When the Saints Go Flying In…

• Is a resounding testament that there is no separation between the so-called secular and religious realms.
• Reminds us that God’s love and mysterious presence are found in every corner of our world.
• Is for anyone who may be struggling on their journey of faith or seeking the affirmation that they matter to God even if God may not matter to them, yet.
• Is for anyone looking at the world today and asking questions that may not have clear, precise answers.
• Is for those who feel overwhelmed when confronting the messiness of the world.
• Offers an invitation to not be afraid of the mess but courageously enter it, for it is precisely in the messiness and brokenness of this world that God is found.
• Is an invitation to search for God, only to discover that God has been with us this entire time.

Wednesday Evening Study on Zoom 6 Weeks
August 18– September 22 7:00pm
Subscribe to emails for Meeting ID and Passcode

Jesus provided his disciples teachings for how to follow Torah, God’s word; he told them parables to help them discern questions of ethics and of human nature; he offered them beatitudes for comfort and encouragement. But sometimes Jesus spoke words that followers then and now have found difficult. He instructs disciples to hate members of their own families (Luke 14:26), to act as if they were slaves (Matthew 20:27), and to sell their belongings and give to the poor (Luke 18:22). He restricts his mission (Matthew 10:6); he speaks of damnation (Matthew 8:12); he calls Jews the devil’s children (John 8:44).

In The Difficult Words of Jesus, Amy-Jill Levine shows how these difficult teachings would have sounded to the people who first heard them, how have they been understood over time, and how we might interpret them in the context of
the Gospel of love and reconciliation.