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.

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.

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".   

Registration link is here:  https://secure.accessacs.com/access/eventlogin.aspx?id=4k0HaVoFucs9sddMjF+UxA==&site=90698&ReturnUrl=events%2fwz_people.aspx&ChurchID=5612&EventID=72547&sn=90698

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!

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

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.

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