Update - May 14

What a retreat! I hope that everyone who attended had as good a time as I did. One thing I can say, I am SO sleepy right now.

I can't wait for the next one. A HUGE thanks goes out to Ellen for all the organizing she did and for those who drove and helped pack and helped cook and prepare food and drink and who helped clean, etc... The activities were fun, the weather was fantastic, our relationships were deepened, our surroundings were beautiful and there was lots of laughing - can't beat that. Brad's time with us added even more and truly brought the entire event back around to our reasons for it all. Thanks, Brad.

So, when are we going on our next one?!

This coming Wednesday, Amy leads us in Part 2 of our study on 1 John. Here are some notes from Part 1...

The First Epistle of John (1 John)

Who was John writing to?
-Either churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) or Parthia (modern day Iran)
-Churches he was associated with, yet absent from

Some themes found in First John:
-Love, light, truth, life, sin among Christians/AntiChrist

About this "letter by John"
-It may not be a letter, it has many characteristics of a Sermon and lacks some qualities of a letter (opening, closing).
-It may not be written by John, some believe it was written by a follower of John, relying on what he had learned from John.
-As little as we know about the author, we know even less about the intended audience, but many of the themes can be applied to our lives today.

What was going on when John wrote this letter?
-Written around 90 CE (Middle Roman Age)
-After initial persecution of Christians by Nero
-Possibly in response to docetism (the belief that Jesus did not come to earth in bodily form)

What else do we know about John?
-The John who wrote, or highly influenced this letter, was the same John who was among Jesus' closest disciples and also wrote the Gospel of John, two other letters and Revelation.

Amy lifted up these questions/thoughts during our discussion of the first chapter:
-What is light?
-What does it mean to walk in the light?
-How does "confession" play into our sin? Is it difficult? -Accountability...
-What does it mean that Jesus' blood washes away our sins?
-What do we think of Jesus as Advocate?
-If we're truly following God, can we live our lives without sin?
-We are not truly complete - we always have farther to go.
-To what extent can we follow the examples of Jesus?

Amy gave us these questions to ponder before THIS Wednesday's meeting:
-In what ways are we witnesses to Jesus and the resurrection, 2000 years removed?
-In what ways can I choose to walk in light instead of darkness this week?
-Am I more likely to try to act as if I don't sin, rather than humbly confessing my sins (even to God)?
-Am I a person who claims to walk in the light, while deceiving myself because I hate others (to some extent or other)?
-How do my actions towards others reflect my relationship with God?

See you on Wednesday!

-Rachel, Smash Ball Champion #3

Update - May 1

Hi all!

We had a really nice meeting last Wednesday with Mary Garbesi who is the Director of Caring Ministries and Spiritual Formation for the church. We began the evening talking more about "renewal" our theme for this month. Mary then talked about three words: being, doing and having and we discussed the order of those ideas and how culture makes it difficult to imagine it this way rather than having, doing and being. It was a very interesting discussion. Mary also shared some history and information about the Labyrinth and the practice of walking it.

This coming Sunday, May 6 is the next Labyrinth walk at church and you're all invited to walk it while it's open (10:30 - 12 noon {last entry at 11:15} or 2 - 4:30 pm {last entry at 3:45 pm}) and experience it for yourself. Mary is very interested in any feedback you'd be willing to share after your experience. It's different for everyone.

She also talked a little about Christian Meditation (a group practices this at our church every Wednesday evening).

Be sure to review the upcoming meetings and activities listed to the right and click on the calendar button if you'd like a more detailed view and description.

Please remember to email Ellen if you haven't already told her that you plan to attend the bridge retreat at Malibu Creek State Park on May 11 - 13!!!

This Wednesday night = Game Night!

Sunday = the Labyrinth Walk

See you all soon,

Rachel