Saturday, November 29, 2014

Next Meeting Tuesday December 2, 7-9 -- the voicein the wilderness and the root of Jesse

Hi everyone  - I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
I'm Looking forward to seeing you all Tuesday night for our next meeting.  We'll be looking at two New Testament images that come from Isaiah -- the "voice crying in the Wilderness,"  in Isaiah 40, which New Testament writers understood to be fulfilled in John the Baptist, and the shoot that comes out from the "root" or "stump" of Jesse -- a prophecy in Isaiah 11 that Paul interprets as bringing hope to "all the nations".  So we'll be dipping into all 4 gospels (they all have John the Baptist at the beginning of the story) , Isaiah, and perhaps even Romans 15, in our ongoing adventure of  looking at this conversation between Old Testament and New Testament.

See you Tuesday!

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Rabbi Ita Paskind coming on November 4

Hi everyone -- Just want you to remember that we have a special guest on Tuesday November 4, Rabbi Ita Paskind of Congregation Olam Tikvahl.  Isaiah is a big book but Rabbi Ita has agreed to share with us some insights on how the Jewish tradition understands the prophecies and themes in Isaiah that we've been talking about.  It is always a great treat to have her with us so if you're coming for the first time or have been coming and want to bring a friend this would be a good time!  Looking forward to seeing everyone on November 4!


Monday, October 20, 2014

Next meeting Tuesday October 21, 7-9

Hi all - just a reminder that the group is meeting this Tuesday October 21 (first and third Tuesdays and going forward). Ginny is leading and Joel will be taking care of food this week so please come and bring yourselves for good discussion, fellowship and prayer.  - I am traveling, but will look forward to seeing you all next time.  As usual we will be meeting at Rodman House - see post and directions here


 ALSO remember  Registration  is now open for our  retreat  at the  Lost River . Cost is $ 149 per person for the weekend, Including 2 nights and all meals - not a bad deal, but I know it may still be a stretch for some of you. However, the folks at the VBC has told me to make sure that no one is deterred by finances - there is a scholarship fund available so please  register  if you'd like to come and than let me know how much you'll need from the scholarship fund . I'l bleading the  retreat , possibly with a co-leader-- I'm playing with and the topic is "What it means to live in hope."   

Please excuse any wierdness in this post as my computer seems to want to translate it into Turkish and then back into English. Anyway I am having an amazing time in Istanbul and am looking forward to seeing you all on November 4 when Rabbi Ita will be with us to talk about interpreting Isaiah.  

Looking forward to hearing how this week goes, and to hearing all about it next time.  

KATHY

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Next Meeting Tuesday October 7

Hi everyone - looking forward to seeing you this Tuesday, October 7 -- now we're on track for first and third Tuesdays going forward. We will be looking this week at the predictions in Isaiah of the birth of a child who will be the Messiah and Redeemer -- how those predictions were understood in Isaiah's time and how they inform the stories of Jesus' birth in Matthew 1 and in Luke 1 and 2.  The Isaiah texts we'll be focusing on are in Chapters 7 and 9 of Isaiah, where the prophet is dealing with a time in Israel's history when everything seems to be falling apart and no one knows what is going to happen.  So there are words of assurance in Isaiah 9 which begins, famously, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. . . . "  Let's look together at these classic texts from Scripture and see what they have had to say to people then and now - and what they have to say to us.

If you're new, you can find directions to Rodman House, our meeting place, here  -- or just by scrolling back through a couple of posts on this blog.  Feel free to be in touch with me if you have any questions!  Looking forward to seeing everyone at 7 on Tuesday night.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Next Meeting Tuesday September 23 at Rodman House

Hi everyone - I'm looking forward to seeing you all this Tuesday 9/23, 7-9 

This week we'll be looking at Isaiah, chapter 6, the vision and call of Isaiah and the message he's told to carry which can be challenging. This is the passage referred to in all 4 gospels and Acts so we're going to have to wrestle with it a bit.  

Light refreshments will be available for all our meetings and you can feel free to bring something that you'd like to eat or share, as you wish - but there will always be food to start our meetings.  We gather at 7 for food & conversation, then move to Bible study and close with prayer, on our way by 9. Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday.  

Our meetings this year are at Rodman House, on the campus of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, it's easy to miss because it just looks like a house along Beulah Road though it is on the campus of Holy Comforter. It is right opposite MacArthur Rd. - right before you get to the driveway into Holy Comforter if you're coming from Chain Bridge Rd.  If you're using a GPS you can put in 543 Beulah Rd. SE but know that the house is right on Beulah Rd (not back by the church).  There's a photo of the house with a previous post here.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

1st Day on Isaiah - "They shall beat their swords into plowshares" -Next Meeting Sept 23

(Please read this whole post as it contains retreat info in the next para)
I really enjoyed our first meeting - great to see those gathered again, and hope to see the rest of you next time!   We talked about the many ways to read the Bible as "Scripture" - i.e. as a word from God, and how that sometimes takes us to places we hadn't expected.  I do hope that as we continue this study of the conversation between the book of Isaiah and the New Testament, you will keep in mind 2 of my favorite passages:  Isaiah 2 (illustrated by this photo of the statue at the UN of a man "beating a sword into a plowshare), and Isaiah 40 -- a poem of comfort for people returning from a long exile.   There are a lot of dark places in the books of the prophets, especially in the first part of Isaiah, but there are also these poems of promise, which are always important to keep in mind as we read.

Our next meeting will be at Rodman House on the campus of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church on September 23 (see previous post with a photo of the house so you don't get lost). Feel free to be in touch in the meantime!


ALSO remember Registration is now open for our retreat at Lost River.  Cost is $149 per person for the weekend, including 2 nights and all meals -- not a bad deal, but I know it may still be a stretch for some of you.   However, folks at VBC have told me to make sure that NO ONE is deterred by finances - there is a scholarship fund available so please register if you'd like to come and then let me know how much you'll need from the scholarship fund.   I'l be leading the retreat, possibly with a co-leader-- and the topic I'm playing with is "What it means to live in hope".   

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Rodman House - our new meeting place

Hi again everyone.
Here's a photo of Rodman House - our meeting place starting September 9.  As you can see it's easy to miss because it just looks like a house along Beulah Road though it is on the campus of Holy Comforter. It is right opposite MacArthur Rd. - right before you get to the driveway into Holy Comforter if you're coming from Chain Bridge Rd.  Probably you'll be able to find it on GPS using - it's right next to 543 Beulah Rd. SE Vienna, on the grounds of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church --  but just wanted you to know what it looks like.  We'll be meeting on the lower level - you can go down the driveway next to the house and park there.

If you're new and need more in the way of directions/info about the group, please feel free to email me at kathleen.staudt@gmail.com   I'd love to hear from you!   I'm also on facebook.

See previous post for a little about what's ahead in our study of Isaiah.

Also SAVE THE DATE: November 14-16 for our retreat at Lost River retreat center in West VA.  More info about this at our first two meetings!


Friday, August 15, 2014

Countdown to our first meeting September 9 - Rodman House at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church.

Hi everyone
I'm really starting to look forward to seeing everyone when we gather again on September 9 to pick up another season of Bible Study.   We will be meeting at "Rodman House," a house on the campus of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church,  543 Beulah Rd., Vienna.  More on this soon.

As agreed, this year's topic will be the book of Isaiah, focusing mainly on passages that appear in the New Testament.  I'm finding that as I remembered, this book of the Bible in some ways tells the "core story" of the whole Bible, coming out of the way that the people of Israel understood God's action when they found their temple destroyed and a large part of the population exiled into Babylon in the sixth century BCE.  It contains some of the most beautiful poetry about the mercy of God in the whole Bible, especially in the later chapters that celebrate the return of the people to Jerusalem,  where they came to understand in a new way their identity and role in the world.   I'm hoping that by looking closely at some of these passages in Isaiah we'll find some new insights into what it means to think of ourselves as the "people of God" in any era, and how that deepens and challenges our sense of identity and our opennesss to hope and to growth in the spiritual life.


 I found a handy list of quotations from Isaiah in the New Testament at this website: http://www.simplybible.com.au/f591.htm   -  a good guide to some of the passages we'll be talking about. I'm also hoping to be able to invite a rabbi and perhaps other readers of Isaiah to talk to us about all this over the course of the year.  Lots of questions. Lots to learn.


We will be meeting SEPTEMBER 9,  SEPTEMBER 23, and then, beginning OCTOBER 7, we'll meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. We start at 7PM with food and conversation, followed by Bible Study and ending by 9 with shared prayers.


Also please save the date for our fall retreat, November 14-16 at Lost River retreat center.  I'll be sharing some further info about that at our first meeting!


Looking forward to seeing everyone on September 9!


KATHY

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Summer Plans and looking ahead

Hi everyone

We had our last "official" study meeting of the spring last week, and people seemed to like Rodman House, so I'll be working with folks at Holy Comforter to see if we can make that our venue in the fall.  We agreed that beginning in September we will meet on TUESDAY nights -- In September it will be the second and fourth Tuesdays, so September 9 and 23, and then going to first and third Tuesdays starting in October to avoid the holidays - so October 7 and 21, November 4 and 18, December 1 and 15.  We will be looking at passages from the prophets, especially the book of Isaiah, that also turn up in the New Testament, using that as a way in to this important and interesting tradition in Hebrew Scripture.

To start out summer plans:  You are all invited to my house for a cookout on June 28, starting at 5 PM.  I will email directions soon and if you don't get them please feel free to email me to ask.

We also have other ideas in the works for get togethers over the summer- peach-picking, rafting, getting together for dinner out at local restaurants. Watch for emails and feel free to propose something -- everyone seems to be up for staying in touch in fun ways over the summer, with a break from study but continuing to have time together.


Sunday, June 1, 2014

Monday June 2 Meeting at Rodman House, on Beulah Rd. on campus of Holy Comforter Episocpal Church

Hi everyone -- Just to confirm that our next meeting will be held at Rodman House, on the campus of Holy Comforter Episcopal Church  543 Beulah Rd., NE in Vienna.   The house is right near the road, if you're coming from Church St. to Beulah, on your right just before you get to the church's main driveway.  Feel free to call if you can't find it.    Or email me at kathleen.staudt@gmail.com  
We will be looking back at our time with the Gospel of Mark and also looking at some key passages from Mark 15-16, the story of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus .  We'll also talk a little about plans for next year so bring ideas/preferences/things you're curious to explore more deeply in Bible study and we'll see if we can come out with a plan.  We will meet from 7-9 for food, fellowship, study and prayer.  Hoping to see you all Monday night

Sunday, May 18, 2014


Hi everyone - looking forward to seeing you Monday May 19 7-9 at Caffee Amouri.  We'll be looking at some stories in Mark 14 and also brainstorming a bit about the rest of the spring and plans for the summer.

We'll be reflecting on 3 stories in this part of Mark's gospel:  The anointing of Jesus by an unnamed woman;  Jesus' relationship with his disciples the night before he dies (especially in the garden of Gethsemane) and Peter's denial of Jesus.  Familiar stories to some of us, new to others -- and we'll talk together about what Mark's take on them is, and how they speak to us now.

Hope to see you all Monday night!

 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Caffe Amouri - our new venue for the spring

Hi everyone. We will be meeting this Monday March 5, 7-9, at Caffee Amouri.  We all really enjoyed hanging out there last time, and talking about the resurrection.  This week we'll flip back to Mark 11-12, Jesus' comments about Caesar, the temple, and authority -- a chance to reflect on what this gospel might have to say to us about authority structures we live with in our own time.

Hoping you can join us!  

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Post-Easter Meeting at Caffee Amouri Monday April 21


Hi everyone. This week we'll be meeting at a different venue - we thought we'd try Caffe Amouri at 107 Church St. in Vienna.  Let's meet up there at 7 Monday night April 21st.  I checked the last Monday I was in Vienna and it looked pretty quiet in the evening hours so we'll find a quiet corner for visiting. Our theme for the evening, as I imagine it is "What just happened?" - a chance to talk a little about the Easter story in Mark - how it compares to the other versions of the story - -how each of us reacts to the story as we have just heard it wherever we were worshipping on Easter Day.
(There's also a gathering for dinner on Thursday April 17 at Amphora in Vienna at 7PM.  Cameron is coordinating that -- you can connect with her via me, at the email on this website,  or just show up at 7 Thursday night).

I hope to see many of you at Caffe Amouri on Monday. In the meantime, everyone have a great Easter!





Monday, March 17, 2014

Getting back on track - meeting March 24

Hi everyone - well, the snow day interfered once again with our meeting - twice in a row!  Some of us met for dinner tonight (St. Patrick's Day) and agreed we'd like to schedule an "extra" meeting next week, March 24, to pick up where we left off on Bible Study.   Here's the new schedule, which should help us get into our Bible study  the way we hoped to before all the snow came!

Dinner at 7 - study starting around 8 - sometimes a little earlier, followed by prayers. We finish by 9.

Mach 24:       Reading:  Selections from Mark 4-7:  parables and challenges in Jesus' teaching and actions,  The disciples who don't "get it" in Mark's gospel. 

April  7:          Reading: Mark 8: 27-9:1   (Ch 7 in commentary):  "Who do you say that I am?

April 21:         Reading: Mark 15-16 (Ch 13 in commentary):  "What just happened?"  Three versions of the Easter Story in Mark 

May     5:         Reading:  Mark  11-12 (Ch 9 in commentary):  Caesar, God and the Temple -- how to live faithfully amid so many authority structures.  
                        
May  19:          Reading:  Mark 14:  (Ch 11 in commentary) Jesus' death as a clue to the meaning of the gospel. 

June 2:            Reading:  Mark 15-16    (Ch 12 and 13 in commentary) – Review and celebration, and looking ahead to next year. 

Other events in June TBD

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Parables - and plans for the semester

Hi Everyone
Hoping you are planning to join us this Monday to continue our study of the Gospel of Mark.  We will continue the good conversation we started last time by looking especially at Mark 4: 1-20,  where Jesus tells the "parable of the sower."  This will be a great chance to talk about what parables are and where they take us when we read the Bible.  Also to explore this language about the "kingdom of God" and what that might mean for us, and how we might express it differently in our time.  And of course we can start with any questions you may be bringing about the gospel of Mark, or our approach to Bible Study, or really anything.


Here’s a list of what we’re going to be doing and when.   The commentary is the Journey Through the Bible commentary on Mark (available from me or here.  I still have a couple of copies available to lend or sell.   Dinner is at 7 and we try to start our study time around 7:45/8:00 and go 'til 9. 


March 3:          Reading:   Focus on Mark 4, esp. 1-20 (Ch 3 in commentary)
                     
March 17;       Reading:    Focus on Mark 6 esp. 6b-56  (Ch 5 in commentary)
                       

April  7:          Reading: Mark 8: 27-91   (Ch 7 in commentary)
                      

April 21:     (the day after Easter, so we’re skipping ahead to the Easter story &          doubling back)  Reading :  Mark 15:42-16:20  (Ch 13 in commentary)
                       


May     5:         Reading:  Mark  11: 1-12:24  (Ch 9 in commentary)
                       

May  19:       Reading:  Mark  14: 1-72  (Ch. 11 in commentary)

June 2:           Reading:  Mark 15-16    (Ch 12 and 13 in commentary) – Review and celebration, and looking ahead to next year. 


OTHER EVENTS IN JUNE TBD. . . . .

Friday, January 31, 2014

February 3: Getting into our study of the gospel of Mark

  Hi everyone:

We've had some good times the last couple of meetings, celebrating life events and honoring our move to our new location, meeting at Vienna Baptist in the church parlor going forward.

We will begin to focus a little more this week on our study of the gospel of Mark. I'll be drawing on the approach in the commentary in the Journey through the Bible series, and I'll have copies for people who want them and also a few just for reference when we gather.  Do bring your favorite Bible when you come.


This week we'll be looking at the first big story in Mark, the story of Jesus exorcising the demon in Mark 1:21-28,  and talking about what we do with that, what it means in its context, what it means to us, what it tells us about who Jesus is, who God is,  and what is going on here -- and whatever else people want to talk about!

The commentary is not required;  neither is homework.  But on the other hand, if you want to try a daily Bible reading practice connecting to our study, I will be making some suggestions about how to go about that.  And we will eat together, pray together.  Do come -- check us out,  bring a friend.  Explore with us what the gospel is saying to us now, in our time and culture.


Looking forward to seeing everyone on February 3, 7:00-9:00  at VBC -- or as soon as you can get there!


Thursday, January 2, 2014

First Meeting of the New Year - January 6, 2014 at VBC

Happy New Year, everyone!  Just a reminder to all that we have a new time, venue and topic to begin the new year.  Our first meeting will be Monday January 6 at Vienna Baptist, in the lounge on the main floor, next to the office. I (Kathy) will bring dinner and we can sign up for the rest of the semester's dinners. January 6 will be social time, mainly, with a look ahead to our spring study topic, which will be the Gospel of Mark.

Looking forward to seeing everyone. If you're new, please feel free to get in touch with me (Kathy) or call Ginny Richardson at VBC.   Please note that even though we are meeting at Vienna Baptist, the group includes people from a number of different denominations and church-going (or not) habits -- all are welcome!

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.