Unite in prayer at Christian Science
The Christian Science service on Sunday, June 6 explores how we can appreciate the spiritual, infinite governance of our creator in our daily lives and how we can apply that to all the needs of Earth.
“Creation is ever appearing, and must ever continue to appear from the nature of its inexhaustible source” (“Science & Health”). This includes creative solutions to difficult environmental challenges we face today. “For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.” (Psalms 86:10)
Come join the service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday and unite in prayer to acknowledge the joy and clarity of understanding that the spiritual foundation provides in your life and environment.
The church is at 15910 Highway 525 (just north of Bayview and across from Useless Bay Road). Everyone is welcome.
Universalists talk about sacred texts
“Sacred Texts: Stories that Illustrate Great Truths” is the topic this Sunday for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island.
Rev. Kit Ketcham will consider some of the beautiful, poetic and meaningful literature from numerous religious traditions. 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.
Congregation holds monthly EvenSong
On the second Wednesday of each month, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island holds a quiet, contemplative candlelight evening gathering of song, meditation and readings.
This month, the congregation will consider the benefits of including Sabbath time — time for rest and renewal — in our lives. All are welcome.
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 am. to 3 p.m. June 12.
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.”
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and is now the second largest religious denomination in the U.S. 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 a lecture, group discussions, a question-and-answer period, and Muslim Sufi spiritual practices.
There is no cost to attend the event, but bring a brown bag lunch (snacks and beverages will be provided). Free childcare will also be provided onsite.
For more information, e-mail olofgis@gmail.com.
Summer series starts at SWCC
South Whidbey Community Church begins its Summer Sermon Series with a study of the New Testament letter to the Church at Colossae.
Sunday morning’s sermon is “Introduction to Colossians,” by Pastor Ron Wedeking, based on Colossians 1:1-2.
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.
At 8:30 a.m. Saturday, June 12 there will be a men’s breakfast, also at the Deer Lagoon 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 gathers for worship each Sunday at the Deer Lagoon Grange, 5142 Bayview Road. For details, call 221-1220.
Adult forum tackles challenging topics
St. Augustine’s in-the-Woods has announced the June topics for its Sunday adult forum program.
This month, the Freeland church will continue its graduate-level theology series on early Christianity with four very interesting and challenging lectures.
Specific forum subject matter and dates are provided below. All adult forums are on Sunday with each one starting at 9:15 a.m. On June 6 is “Oral and Written Traditions about Jesus.” Ted Brookes will present. The goal of this lecture is to show how the Gospels came into being. These are our earliest accounts of the words, deeds, death and resurrection of Jesus. Not all of the early Gospels made it into the New Testament, however, and many that were once available have since been lost.
This lecture discusses how four authors, living decades after Jesus, recorded traditions about Jesus that had been circulating orally over the intervening years. It asks whether these traditions faithfully recorded the events that transpired during Jesus’ life, and explores the extent to which the traditions had been modified in the retelling.
Future topics are “The Apostle Paul” (June 13), “The Beginning of Jewish-Christian Relations” (June 20) and “Anti-Jewish Use of the New Testament” (June 27).
Doug Benecke gives the sermon at Unity
Doug Benecke will be the speaker on Sunday at Unity of Whidbey. Benecke will give the talk “God Seems To Be … A Verb!” Who or what is God? Who are we? What if this God we try to define, and pin down, could be better understood as a process rather than a product, better known as a blossoming rather than an entity, could be less a noun than a verb?
Join Benecke, a songwriter and speaker, along with violinist Talia Toni Marcus, for a creative exploration of these themes.
Unity meets at 10 a.m. Sunday at 5671 Crawford Road, Langley. All are welcome.
