invitation to create community in a divided world · question through our theme, invitation to...

WestminsterPresbyterian Church2019 Education Offerings Invitation to Create Community in a Divided World

Where can we look for hope in a world that is polarized, broken and often in despair? Education for Faith and Life, 2019-2020, addresses this question through our theme, Invitation to Create Community in a Divided World. You are invited to join the conversation as we seek ways to create community where each person is valued and respected. We seek to deepen our faith in ways that create community and bring healing and wholeness to our lives, our com-munities, our nation, and our world. Sunday and Wednesday classes will offer challenges, encouragement, perspectives and – hope.

Our year begins in collaboration with the Social Justice Forum as we welcome Senator Tina Smith who will speak about her priorities and values as she serves the people of Minnesota.

At our Saturday Seminar, September 14, Rev. Dirk Ficca from the Twin Cities Social Cohesion team will be with us along with his colleagues to help us with a vision for community. As our Wednesday classes focus on Deepening Faith for Community, we’ll talk about the possibilities for growing in faith and putting that faith into practice. On November 15, Parker Palmer with be with us along with musician Carrie Newcomer for an evening presentation, What We Need is Here: Hope, Hard Times & Human Possibility. Palmer will also speak on November 16 at the Town Hall Forum where he will be joined by Sondra Samuels of the Northside Achievement Zone.

Leading up to that weekend, Dr. Mary Hess will facilitate a conversation on Palmer’s book, Healing the Heart of Democracy – The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit. The All-Church Book Read in January will join the conversation on community with Virgil Wander, by Leif Enger. Enger will be with us to talk about his book.

Adult Education at Westminster includes Social Justice Forum and Virtues, Values Ethics & Character on Sundays, Living the Faith in the 21st Century on Wednesdays, and various Bible and book studies. Your participation will deepen your faith, stretch your mind, and equip you to respond to the Invitation to Create Community in a Divided World.

Blessings,

Rev. Kathy MichaelAssociate Pastor Emerita

Friends

Education for Faith & Life

Invitation to Create Community in a Divided WorldSpecial Forum 4Saturday Seminar 4Sunday Classes 4-7Wednesday Classes 7-10Calendar 8-9 Special Event 10

Additional OpportunitiesSocial Justice Forum 10Virtues, Values, Ethics & Character 10Family Matters 11WOW 11The New Old Adventure 11 Living Faith in the 21st Century 12 WestConnect 12 Small Groups 12 Traveling Seminars 12Officer Training (Phase I & II) 12Westminster Forum & TownTalks 12

FacultyBiographies 13-15

As things may change, please confirm exact room details closer to the date of the class at westminstermpls.org/events. Another catalog with our winter/spring offerings will be available December 1, 2019.

4 | Forum, Seminar & Sunday Classes

Leadership for Well-Being & the Common Good Coming Together Sunday | September 8 9:15 am | Senator Tina Smith | Westminster Hall

Join Senator Tina Smith who will speak about her legislative priorities, how she expresses her values in public service, and her sense of public service as a vocation. This is a joint Social Justice Forum and Adult Ed offering.

Saturday Seminar September 14 Trust is on the Way: The Work of Social Cohesion 9 am-12:15 pm | Rev. Dr. Dirk Ficca & Maia Uhrich, M.A, M.S.W.

Trust, goodwill and resilience. Those are hallmarks of a socially-cohesive society. And those are three qualities in short supply these days. Look at any corner of our society. Everyone seems at odds with each other: citizen and immigrant, urban and rural, gay and straight, religious and secular, the haves and the have-nots, the well-off and the vulnerable. With the current polarization in the country, creating the conditions for improved human relations has never been more important. Unless we find ways to get along, and to work together, we are not going to thrive, let alone survive, as a society.

But there is good news in all of this. The trust, good will and resilience needed for people and communities to get along and work together can be cultivated – intentionally.

Dirk Ficca and Maia Uhrich will teach us about the work of the Twin Cities Social Cohesion Initiative, working partnership with Westminster and the Minneapolis Downtown Congregations, to weave the social fabric of the metropolitan community, bridging divides across disparities, diversity, and polarization.

Sunday ClassesSeptember 15 Praying Our Hearts Open in a Divided World 9:15 am | Dr. Mary Hess | Westminster Hall

The Lord’s Prayer invites us to seek forgiveness for our ‘debts’ and to forgive those who are indebted to us. Some churches use ‘trespasses’ or ‘sins,’ but the underly-ing meaning is clear, and in a world divided by vicious forms of polarization, we are ever more in need of this fundamental grounding to which Jesus invites us.

Sunday Classes | 5

In this session we will explore what it can mean to open our hearts in prayer to God in this time and place. September classes complement the Westminster Gallery exhibit on The Lord’s Prayer.

September 22 Hebrew Roots of the Lord’s Prayer9:15 am | Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman | Westminster Hall

Jesus teaches his disciples to pray out of his own Jewish roots. This class explores those roots to shed new light on a prayer that many of us know by heart. We will also look at the role of prayer in the life of the Hebrew people.

September 29Finding Community through Prayer in Unexpected Places9:15 am | Dr. Dirk Lange | Westminster Hall

This class will show us how prayer created community and hope for Christians in Communist East Germany during a time of significant and dangerous repression. How can prayer bring hope to us in our own time?

October 6 Community in South Africa9:15 am | South African Choir | Westminster Hall

A special performance by the South African Choir at worship will be preceded by a time with them as we learn about the formation of Community in a country with a deep and brutal history of division.

October 13 & 20 The Roots of Christian Community: What We Can Learn From the First Churches9:15 am | Matthew Skinner | Westminster Hall

A large part of the Christian Bible is devoted to considering what makes Chris-tian faith a corporate or communal faith and what should be distinctive about how Christians live out their faith together. From its beginnings, Christianity has sought to express itself through communal values that reflect Jesus’ own exam-ple in life and death – rejecting dominance, extending hospitality, surrendering privilege, and pursuing reconciliation. Creating community was hardly easy for the first generations of Christians, but it sets them apart from the wider society in which they lived. In two sessions, we’ll explore some of the relevant biblical material, not simply to learn our history, but to reclaim the transformative power of community for ourselves.

October 27 Life Together: A Rabbi Looks at Challenges Facing America9:15 am | Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman | Westminster Hall

Creating Community in a Divided World is a challenge for all people of good will. Community is a fundamental value in Judaism. With the rise in anti-Semitism adding to the breach of trust and respect in our nation, Rabbi Zimmerman will offer perspective and wisdom as we all hope for a renewed sense of life together.

November 3 Trust: Foundational for Creating Community9:15 am | Dr. Dirk Lange | Westminster Hall

For 20 years Dr. Lange was a brother at Taize’ in France. This class will explore the essential quality of trust in forming any type of community. Taize’ is an example of openness and compassion as people trust each other with their true selves.

November 10 Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?9:15 am | Rev. Kathy Michael | Westminster Hall

This interactive class will reflect on the rich learning in the fall classes and explore the possibilities for where we go from here.

November 17 An Inclusive Vision for Minneapolis9:15 am | Rev. Doug Mork and Maia Uhrich, M.A, M.S.W. | Westminster Hall

How can the Minneapolis Downtown Congregations participate in and help lead a community-wide effort to articulate a dynamic and shared moral vision for the city of Minneapolis? How, in the process, can such an inclusive and soul-search-ing effort build trust relationships and a sense of resilience needed to realize that vision? These leaders of the Social Cohesion Initiative will help us explore the necessity of community for social change.

November 24 No Adult Education — Fair Trade Fair

December 1 Advent: A Community in Waiting9:15 am | Dr. Melanie Ohnstad | Westminster Hall

This class will draw on the rich musical resources of Advent to realize the depth of community as we await the coming of the Christ Child.

6 | Sunday Classes

December 8 Christmas in Community: The Gifts of Song9:15 am | Dr. Melanie Ohnstad | Westminster Hall

This class continues the musical inspiration for the seasons of Advent and Christ-mas, and the songs and carols that bring us together.

Wednesday Classes September 11, 18, 25Freedom & Community with Karl Barth6:30 pm | Dr. Amy Marga | Meisel Room

20th Century theologian Karl Barth writes about community, “To build means to put together. Human beings need to be put together. Whoever sees people with-out [seeing] fellow human beings, does not see them at all.” In the years prior to World War II, Barth saw the dangers of division and objectifying people who were ‘not like us.’ While our divisions may have different names, we need to hear from this theologian about how we can mend the breach in our own society.

October 2, 16 Gathered to be Sent: Worship as the Practice of Faith6:30 pm | Rev. Mary Halvorson | Meisel Room

These classes will explore creative and ancient ways to deepen our spiritual life together on Sundays. What draws you to worship? For what do you yearn? How do you experience the presence of God? What new worship practices would be bold, courageous, and address spiritual hunger? Explore these questions, led by a pastor who has served the same congregation for over 26 years in a place of con-stant change and transition, in the heart of the University of Minnesota campus.

October 9 Weaving Community in a Wounded World6:30 pm | Rev. Kathy Michael | Meisel Room

What do Henri Nouwen, Parker Palmer, Joan Chittister, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the author of the Fourth Gospel have in common? Come and see how commu-nity threads through the fabric of the Christian Tradition that speaks to us today.

October 23, 30 Forgiveness as a Means to Creating Community6:30 pm | Dr. Margaret McCray | Meisel Room

Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote that there is no future without forgiveness. We are all culpable in perpetuating divisions in our society. Not until forgiveness is given and received can true community form.

Wednesday Classes | 7

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November 6, 13, 20 Healing the Heart of Democracy 6:30 pm | Dr. Mary Hess | Meisel Room

With the Presidential election only one year away, this book discussion will chal-lenge readers, in the words of the author, Parker Palmer, to have “the courage to create a politics worthy of the human spirit.” Dr. Hess will facilitate a conversa-tion based on Palmer’s book. Copies will be available for purchase in October.

Special Event! November 15What We Need Is Here — Hope, Hard Times, and Human Possibility 7 pm | Parker Palmer and Carrie Newcomer

This special event brings prolific author and educator Parker Palmer to Westminster Hall along with Grammy-award winning singer, Carrie Newcomer. Their program quotes Reinhold Niebuhr: “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love.” Tickets $35 online October 1.

December 4, 11 Racism: A Barrier to Creating Community6:30 pm | Dr. Amy Marga | Meisel Room

Racial disparity and injustice are antithetical to creating community. Dr. Marga helps us explore the challenges in our society – and in our own lives – where racism inhibits, and even prohibits community.

Additional OpportunitiesSocial Justice ForumSundays | 9:15 am | Meisel Room

Well-Being is the theme for Social Justice Forums this program year. Essentials to the attainment of well-being are the establishment of good living conditions and investing in human capital. This encompasses physical, social, mental, and spiritual health. Social Justice Forums will include current aspects of climate change, housing, substance abuse, mindfulness. We will explore issues from local, national, and global perspectives.

10 | Wednesday Classes

Additional Opportunities | 11

Virtues, Values, Ethics, & CharacterSundays | 9:15 am | Hunter Room

“Come, let us reason together…” This class provides weekly opportunities for dialogue and conversation around topics of faith and life. Participants share ideas and experiences as they grow together.

Family Matters - A Fellowship GroupSundays | 9:15 am | Bates Room

Family Matters is a place of welcome and connection for Westminster parents, providing both support and information about parenting in a faith-based setting. This fall we will discuss iGod’s Big Table – Nurturing Children in a Diverse World by Elizabeth F. Caldwell, retired Professor of Pastoral Theology. Contact Marie Kruskop, [email protected] for more information.

WOW (Westminster on Wednesdays) Bible Study for Men and WomenWednesdays | 9 am | Westminster

WOW includes time for coffee and fellowship, Bible study, and a weekly program featuring a wide variety of topics and speakers. Studies are from the Horizon Women’s Bible Study. Leaders are Sarah Brouwer, Shirley McKinney, Sally Stinson, Judy Kim.

Moms Group Wednesdays | 10:30-noon | Westminster

Moms with children of any age are invited to affirm one another along the parenting journey. Our intent is to provide a time and space for conversation and fellowship as well as a place to be mindful of our own spirituality. Child care is provided. This fall we will discuss This is Motherhood: A Motherly Collection of Reflections + Practices by Jill Koziol and Liz Tenety, cofounders of the Motherly online community. Contact Marie Kruskop, [email protected].

The New Old Adventure Various Wednesdays | 10:30 am | Various Locations

The New Old Adventure is for members who have sent their children on to a life of their own, have retired from the professional work, are facing a phase of life with new transitions and changes ahead, or are preparing a new life for themselves with their partner or alone.

September 11 | Aging Through the Lens of Scripture October 9, 16 | Housing Decisions November 13 | Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?

Living Faith in the 21st CenturyWednesdays | 5:30 pm | Bushnell Room

This interactive class explores what it means to live as faithful Christians today. Through study of books and other materials, participants grow through learning and conversation.

WestConnect Drop-in Bible Study2nd & 4th Wednesdays | 7 pm | Westminster

Young adults in their 20s and 30s are invited to this drop-in style Bible Study on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. Dinner and good conversation are provided. We will have our annual retreat at Camp St. Croix, November 9-10.

Discipleship Groups & Book StudiesVarious times & locations

Contact Mahin Hamilton in the church office for more information.

Officer TrainingPhase I, Called to Discipleship Sundays mid-November - mid-April | Westminster

In preparation for their term, newly elected officers (Elders, Deacons, and Trustees) study everything from Bible and theology to group dynamics, budgets, and meeting facilitation. In April they attend an overnight retreat to further build relationships with one another. Open to anyone seeking to seriously con-sider a call to ministry in some capacity. To audit the class contact Sarah Brouwer.

Phase II, Nurturing Spiritual Leaders Sundays January through Lent | Westminster

Officers who have already completed “Called to Discipleship” and are nearing the end of their term are asked to serve a second term. Those who answer this call, participate in Nurturing Spiritual Leaders, which includes a group book study with focus on spiritual leadership and facilitating covenant groups.

Westminster Town Hall Forum & TownTalksVarious times & locations

The Westminster Town Hall Forum provides unique opportunities to explore the key issues of our day from an ethical perspective. In just an hour, our guest speakers will expand your mind, inform your views, maybe even change your perspective. TownTalks was created to engage the next generation in conversa-tion and reflection on critical issues from a just and equitable perspective. Both series are held at Wesminster throughout the year. Free and open to all. To learn more, visit westminsteforum.org and towntalksonnicollet.org.

12 | Additional Opportunities

Faculty Dirk Ficca

Dirk Ficca is Executive Director of the Twin Cities Social Cohesion Initiative. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he served an inner-city congregation in Benton Harbor, MI, for 11 years. He then served for nearly two decades in various profes-sional capacities with the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. He currently is also a senior advisor to the Church of Sweden for its ‘World of Neigh-bors’ project on behalf of refugees and migrants in Europe. He lives in Oak Park, IL, with his wife Lynda, and has two adult children.

Mary Hess

Mary Hess is Professor of Educational Leadership at Luther Seminary. Hess re-ceived her B.A. degree in American Studies in 1985 from Yale University in New Haven, Conn. She received her M.T.S. degree in 1992 from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. In 1998, she received her Ph.D. in religion and education from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Hess’ most recent professional experi-ence includes serving on the editorial board of the premier journal in her field, Religious Education (1999-present), working with the Lexington Seminar and the Wabash Center, and serving as a core member of the International Study Com-mission on Media, Religion and Culture. She is a member of the Religious Educa-tion Association, the American Academy of Religion, and the Catholic Theological Society of America.

Mary Halvorson

Mary Halvorson has been pastor of Grace University Lutheran Church for 26 years. She is passionate about creative worship and liturgical imagination as well as the function of worship as a practice of faith.

Dirk G. Lange

Dirk G. Lange is Associate Professor of Worship at Luther Seminary. During the 1980s, as a brother of Taizé, he worked with church leaders and many lay people involved with the prayer groups in the Eastern European underground. During the early 1990s, he was engaged with the prayer and songs of Taizé. He is editor and contributor of “Ordo: Bath, Word, Prayer, Table” (OSL, 2006), an introduction to liturgical theology. He has been involved with the Renewing Worship project of the ELCA, serving on the editorial board for Daily Prayer as well as participating on the development panels for Holy Communion. He has published several arti-cles in the liturgical journal Worship as well as in several other scholarly journals. He is a member of the North American Academy of Liturgy (NAAL) and founder and convener of the seminar group on Liturgy and Postmodern Questions. He is also a member of American Academy of Religion (AAR), Societas Liturgica and the Academy of Homiletics. He has also served parishes in Atlanta and Philadelphia.

Faculty | 13

Amy Marga

Amy Marga is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Luther Seminary. A summa cum laude graduate of Concordia University, St Paul, MN, she received a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton Theological Semi-nary. She is the author of Karl Barth’s Dialogue with Catholicism in Göttingen and Münster (2010), the translator of Karl Barth’s The Word of God and Theology (2011), and a contributing translator to Barth in Conversation: Volume 1, 1959-1962, (2017). She is also the author of several essays about Karl Barth’s theology. Recently, she published “From ‘Herr Käthe’ to Here I Stand: A White Feminist Perspective on Martin Luther’s Life and Theology” in Touchstone Journal, Toronto, (2017). Her present research focuses on Feminism, and Mothering in the Chris-tian tradition. Marga is a trained racial justice facilitator through the Minneapo-lis YWCA and teaches a course on Race and Protestantism at Luther Seminary. She enjoys speaking on feminism, gender, race, and the Christian tradition in local congregations. She lives in St Paul with her husband, two boys, and a poodle.

Margaret McCray

Margaret McCray joined the Westminster Counseling Center clinical staff in 1994, served as therapist and executive director from 1999 to 2015 and is currently therapist and Clinical Director. Her practice employs the wisdom and efficacies of cognitive-behavioral therapy, systems theory and mindfulness/self-awareness. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, trained in Level II EMDR, and licensed to use the Prepare Inventory for pre-marital counseling. She is a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. Margaret has expertise in the areas of anxiety, stress, depression, relationship issues, LGBTQ issues, and grief and loss, among others. She works with individuals, couples, families and adolescents, focusing on here-and-now issues, but with enough exploration of the past to give depth to the therapy and to learn what the client brings that enhances or complicates their life and relationships. Margaret earned her B.A. at Vassar College, her M.Div. at McCormick Theological Seminary and her D. Min. at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Kathy Michael

Kathy Michael is Associate Pastor Emerita at Westminster. She served on the Westminster staff 1996-2015 in areas of pastoral care, leadership development, and adult education. In retirement she continues to lead Traveling Seminars for Westminster to areas of biblical, theological, and historical significance. Kathy received her M.A. and M.Div. degrees from Luther Seminary in St. Paul.

Melanie Ohnstad

Melanie Ohnstad is Minister of Music and the Arts and Organist Emerita at Westminster Presbyterian Church. She served Westminster from 1995-2019. Melanie received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of

15 | Faculty

Faculty | 16

Minnesota in June 1999. She earned the Master of Music in Organ Performance from Arizona State University and the Bachelor of Music from St. Olaf College. Prior to coming to Westminster, Melanie was the Assistant Organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis. She made three compact discs with the Cathedral Choir as well as with the Westminster Choir. Melanie has also served Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix as Organist-Choirmaster and St. Stephen Lutheran, Wausau, WI as Director of Music and Youth. She has special interest is integrat-ing theology and the arts.

Matt Skinner

Matt Skinner is professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. Before joining the seminary’s faculty, he earned graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. In his teaching and writing, he emphasizes the importance of knowing about the cultural settings of the New Testament writings, the ways these books tell their stories, and the Bible’s ongoing potential for fueling our imaginations about who God is and what difference God makes for the world. He explores the Bible’s connections to faith and life in his writings and other resources, including his most recent books, A Companion to the New Testament (3 vols.), and a weekly podcast for preachers that he co-hosts, Sermon Brainwave. Ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Skinner has a reputation as an engaging and accessible teacher in classrooms, conferences, and congregations.

Maia Uhrich

Maia Uhrich serves as a field practitioner for the Twin Cities Social Cohesion Initiative. She has a Master of Social Work and Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota. She has experience with both direct service work with families experiencing homelessness as well as policy advocacy and research at organizations such as MN Housing and Lutheran Social Service. For the past year, Maia has explored the ways social cohesion can impact housing instabil-ity across the Twin Cities metropolitan area. She believes in the power of deep listening to create social change.

Marcia Zimmerman

Marcia Zimmerman is Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel in Minneapolis. She is the only female to become senior rabbi of a congregation the size of Temple Israel which stands at nearly 2,000 members. In addition to her pastoral and liturgical duties at Temple Israel, she is involved with the interfaith community of down-town clergy. She has taught and preached at Westminster on numerous occa-sions and is a good friend to this congregation.

Westminster Presbyterian Church1200 Marquette Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403 612.332.3421 westminstermpls.org

invitation to create community in a divided world · question through our theme, invitation to...

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