The Church at Colossae is the topic at SWCC
What is your church like? How does it compare and how should it compare with the earliest churches in New Testament times? Pastor Darrell Wenzek will speak on Sunday at South Whidbey Community Church at the Deer Lagoon Grange Hall in Bayview. His topic will be “The Church at Colossae,” based on Colossians 1:3-8.
Morning worship begins at 10 and is preceded by an adult learning forum at 9 a.m., with Stan Walker leading an inductive study into Paul’s Letter to the Church at Ephesus and Art Angst leading a study into the Gospel of Luke. These are open classes to which everyone is invited.
Immediately following worship, there will be a church potluck and a quarterly congregational meeting, also at the grange. Visitors can come and enjoy good food and find out what the church is about.
At 8:30 a.m. today, there will be a men’s breakfast, also at the grange. Chef Steve Hochenedel will prepare a meat-lovers breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs and French toast. All men are invited at no cost, but donations are accepted.
SWCC is a local independent, non-denominational church and gathers for worship each Sunday at the Grange at 5142 Bayview Road.
For further information about the church and services, call 221-1220.
‘Imagination’ inspires at Unity
Joining Jim Freeman at the Sunday service for Unity of Whidbey will be talented musician Talia Toni Marcus and platform assistant Joy Williams.
In light of the theme of “Imagination” for this month’s Unity of Whidbey study, Freeman will discuss the importance of not only clarifying what we are imagining, but why. Are we influenced by the conditions of our lives, or our interpretations of those conditions?
The service is at 10 a.m. and all are welcome.
Unity of Whidbey is located in its new chapel at 5671 Crawford Road in Langley.
Sermon shows how to claim your freedom
Everyone is welcome at the Christian Science service on Sunday to celebrate “God the Preserver of Man.”
“To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, today is big with blessings” (“Science and Health”).
A practical approach to meeting your material needs is to access the freedom and power you receive by acknowledging God as your creator: Claim your freedom from sickness and from feelings of inferiority. “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.” (Psalms 32:7)
The service is at 10:30 a.m. at the Christian Science Church, 5910 Highway 525 (just north of Bayview and across from Useless Bay Road).
Lessons from the Bible at UUCWI
Many modern liberal religious thinkers have struggled to understand the variety of literal and metaphorical meanings expressed in the Bible. At the Sunday service for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island, Rev. Kit Ketcham will speak about the meanings this ancient text can have for skeptics and liberals such as Unitarian Universalists.
All are welcome. The service is at 10 a.m. Sunday at 20103 Highway 525, just north of Freeland. Check www.whidbey.com/uucwi for more information.
Forums continue at St. Augustine’s
Ted Brookes will present the next adult forum at St. Augustine’s in-the-Woods as the Freeland church continues its graduate-level theology series on early Christianity.
The topic for Sunday’s program is “The Apostle Paul.”
Next to Jesus himself, the most important figure on the development of early Christianity was the Apostle Paul. Paul, a former Jewish Pharisee, converted to Christianity and began an intense missionary campaign to win over gentiles to faith in Jesus. After starting churches in major urban areas around the Mediterranean, Paul wrote them letters, some of which became books in the New Testament. These writings show a profoundly theological mind, as Paul develops his understanding of the salvation God has provided through Christ’s death and Resurrection, which comes to all people based on faith.
The forum is at 9:15 a.m. Sunday.
Future topics are “The Beginning of Jewish-Christian Relations”
(June 20) and “Anti-Jewish Use of the New Testament” (June 27).
Understanding Islam and ‘Islamophobia’
To further peace through a deeper understanding of our neighbors, Olof Sander of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship at St. Augustine’s in-the-Woods, has been diligently planning a community event to be hosted at St. Augustine’s from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
The interfaith, interdenominational event will feature Jamal Rahman of Interfaith Community Church in Seattle.
Rahman is a Muslim Sufi minister originally from Bangladesh. He is co-founder and co-minister at Interfaith Community Church in Seattle, and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. He is the author of “The Fragrance of Faith: The Enlightened Heart of Islam,” and a coauthor of two new books, “Out of Darkness, Into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Quran with Reflections from Jewish and Christian Sources,” and “Getting to the Heart of Interfaith: The Eye-Opening, Hope-Filled Friendship of a Pastor, a Rabbi and a Sheikh.”
What is it about Islam that arouses fear and anger in the West? What is it about Islam that draws so many people to its fold? In the class being offered at St. Augustine’s, Rahman will lead an exploration of these issues by focusing on the basics of this religion, including its Three Principles and Five Pillars.
The event will include lecture, group discussions, a question-and-answer period and Muslim Sufi spiritual practices. There is no cost to attend the event, but bring a brownbag lunch (snacks and beverages will be provided). Free childcare will also be provided onsite.
For more information, e-mail olofgis@gmail.com.
Jewish community holds family potluck
Join the Whidbey Island Jewish Community for Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh at a family friendly potluck gathering at 6 p.m. Friday, June 14 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation meeting hall in Freeland.
Bring a dish and beverage to share, along with a place setting.
Music adds a welcome celebratory tone; instruments and melodies are encouraged. Donations will also be gratefully accepted.
For more information, visit WIJC at www.wijc.wordpress.com.
