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!

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!

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."   

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 

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

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!