Writer's Reading Circle with Marilyn McEntyre
Jul
31
to Sep 4

Writer's Reading Circle with Marilyn McEntyre

Online / zoom

6 Consecutive Thursday evenings, July 31-September 4, 2025 5-6:30pm PT
Dr. Marilyn McEntyre, facilitator
Enrollment limited to 15

The purpose of this six-week gathering will be for writers to learn from other writers. We’ll be looking closely at works of fiction, poetry, and reflective essays and creative nonfiction to help each other notice writers’ “brush strokes”—their approach to their craft, how techniques serve particular purposes, and how our own reading habits affect how we read what we read. We’ll draw upon the deeply subjective, receptive practice of lectio divina as we consider the truth of Emerson’s observation, “There is creative reading as well as creative writing.” We’ll gather online each week, each participant bringing a passage or poem that gave them a learning moment and help one another practice “writerly reading.”

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First Saturday Writing Workshop "Playing with Paradox"
Aug
2
9:00 AM09:00

First Saturday Writing Workshop "Playing with Paradox"

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

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Faith & Film "Babette's Feast"
Aug
8
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film "Babette's Feast"

  • First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Faith & Film presents Babette's Feast in honor of Sharon Gallagher - a film she loved

A mysterious French refugee transforms the lives of two devout sisters and their austere village when she spends her lottery winnings on an extravagant feast—an act of generosity that brings unexpected grace, healing, and joy to all who gather at the table.

Bring a friend to discuss this Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Film. See anew or revisit a classic, the favorite film of both Pope Francis and Phillip Yancey, a story where righteousness, sacrifice and bliss kiss. Sometimes, the greatest gift is the one you never expected. Discussion led by Sam Choi.

G, 1 hr 43 minutes, (1987), directed by Gabriel Axel

Free Admission. Co-sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley and New College Berkeley.

About the Faith & Film series:
In this series we will examine the potent and relevant medium of film in exploring themes of love, faith, conscience, evil, death, reception, grace, morality, identity, and our yearning for the sacred. Each month we will view a different film––each unique, compelling, and demanding––reflecting our current times. Each film is curated by those who love this artistic medium and will host a conversation following our viewing. Co-sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley and New College Berkeley.

Event details:
FPCB is located at 2407 Dana Street, Berkeley, and the event will start promptly at 7PM in Geneva Hall, Room G202. There is is free parking in the FPCB underground parking lot on Channing Way. Sign in with the parking space number at the kiosk in the first floor reception area of the church. From the garage, take the elevator up to the first floor for reception and then continue to the 2nd floor for the film gathering.

Location: First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, 94704

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Four-Day Sacred Icon Painting Workshop with Sharon Henthorn-Iwane
Aug
9
to Aug 17

Four-Day Sacred Icon Painting Workshop with Sharon Henthorn-Iwane

Location: Saint Mary Magdalen Church, 94709

Spiritual director Sharon Henthorn-Iwane understands iconography as a sacred art that "makes the invisible visible." Through this intensive workshop, Sharon will guide you through the traditional process of painting an icon of your own in egg tempera with genuine gold gilding on a gessoed panel. In addition to hands-on art instruction, Sharon will also provide some teaching on the role of icons in the history of the Church, and resources for ongoing exploration. No experience necessary. 

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The Church & Mental Health Challenges: Loving Neighbor As Thyself
Aug
30
9:00 AM09:00

The Church & Mental Health Challenges: Loving Neighbor As Thyself

None of us are immune or exempt from the pressures and systems adversely affecting mental well-being in our society. How is the Church to understand mental health? What does it mean for people of faith to care for those living with severe challenges? How can congregations collaborate with others in the City to do this well?  Our featured plenary speaker will be Steve Binnquist, with decades of experience serving men and women in San Francisco's tenderloin with Youth With a Mission. The plenary will offer gospel / practical perspective in both the morning and afternoon, along with two breakout sessions around related topics (congregational approaches, mental health resources and self-care). Come and participate in this conference to gain perspective, partners, and practical resources for “loving neighbor as thyself” in these fraught times. 

Registration (including lunch): General $45 / "Living Lightly" $25 / Students $15.

Please reach out to info@newcollegeberkeley.org with any questions.

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Group Spiritual Direction for Healthcare Workers
Sep
2
to May 31

Group Spiritual Direction for Healthcare Workers

An incredible opportunity for spiritual direction in small groups committed to spiritual friendship, contemplative listening, and prayer. Groups of four directees meet monthly for nine months throughout the Bay Area under the guidance of an experienced spiritual director.

$60/month per person (total of $540 for the 9-meeting program).

  • September – May

  • Time and location TBD by group members

    *Spiritual direction groups for undergraduate, graduate students, and seminary students are available.

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Group Spiritual Direction for Men
Sep
2
to May 31

Group Spiritual Direction for Men

An incredible opportunity for spiritual direction in small groups committed to spiritual friendship, contemplative listening, and prayer. Groups of four directees meet monthly for nine months throughout the Bay Area under the guidance of an experienced spiritual director.

$60/month per person (total of $540 for the 9-meeting program).

  • September – May

  • Time and location TBD by group members

    *Spiritual direction groups for undergraduate, graduate students, and seminary students are available.

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Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius /  GROUP Format / 2025-2026
Sep
11
to May 7

Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius / GROUP Format / 2025-2026

Online / zoom

Led by Susan Phillips, PhD & Sharon Henthorn-Iwane

The Spiritual Exercises were developed by Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. They offer a structure to daily living which elicits and encourages experiences of an ongoing relationship with God. The Exercises include learning to pray with our imagination and how to enter into the stories of Jesus so they intersect with our own lives.

The commitment includes weekly sessions of group spiritual direction (Thursdays, 9:30-11:30am) and monthly individual spiritual direction (30 min sessions), as well as attendance at two optional retreats. Retreatants will also commit to daily prayer.

If you are interested in this program, please email Susan Phillips at susansandersphillips@gmail.com to arrange a preliminary interview.

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Group Spiritual Direction / Sept 2025-May 2026
Sep
11
to May 21

Group Spiritual Direction / Sept 2025-May 2026

  • Google Calendar ICS

Location: TBD with group members.

Instructors: Spiritual directors supervised by Susan Phillips, PhD*

An incredible opportunity for spiritual direction in small groups committed to spiritual friendship, contemplative listening, and prayer. Groups of four directees meet monthly for nine months throughout the Bay Area under the guidance of an experienced spiritual director. Other groups grow out of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius program. Meetings will be held in person and/or online (TBD with group members).

“Group spiritual direction helps individuals grow in their faith, love others more fully, and participate in the mission of the church more effectively.” Alice Fryling, 2009

NOTE: Dates and Times
September 2025-May 2026, 2-hour meetings, day & time TBD with group members

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The Gift of Group Spiritual Direction
Jul
16
5:30 PM17:30

The Gift of Group Spiritual Direction

Online / zoom

Have you ever wanted to know more about spiritual direction—and how it might serve your faith and life? This conversation is for you.

People long to communicate with God. We want to know about God, but mostly we deeply desire to be in relationship with God. More than 15 years ago the New College Berkeley Board of Trustees decided to try to address that need by creating more programs that help people open their hearts to God in regular, honest ways.

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Faith & Film "Adolescence"
Jul
11
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film "Adolescence"

Location: FPC Berkeley

Faith & Film is experimenting with branching into multi-episode tv dramas by planning a discussion evening about the Netflix series, ADOLESCENCE. The series consists of 4 one-hour episodes, which is too much for us to show in an evening, so we are asking people to watch the series in advance at home. This is similar to how many people do book groups.

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First Saturday Writing Workshop "Critical Distance"
Jul
5
9:00 AM09:00

First Saturday Writing Workshop "Critical Distance"

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

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"Just Making" with Mitali Perkins: An Author Event by NCB's Radix Live
Jun
17
5:00 PM17:00

"Just Making" with Mitali Perkins: An Author Event by NCB's Radix Live

Online / zoom

A Guide for Compassionate Creatives.

Why should we make art while injustice and suffering wreak havoc? How can we justify making beautiful things? Author Mitali Perkins isn't afraid of hard questions about justice and art. She knows that the creative life can seem selfish. As the daughter of immigrants, she studied toward a career of eradicating poverty and knows the internal voice that challenges: "How dare you retreat to your studio to create?"

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Faith & Film "Princess Mononoke"
Jun
13
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film "Princess Mononoke"

Location: FPC Berkeley

Faith & Film presents Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke
One of the great achievements of animation by one of the most revered filmmaker/story tellers of the 20th and 21st Century. The most watched film in the history of Japan when it was released. Incredible hand animation matched by complexity of the profound philosophical narrative of Nature vs human progression, cycle of violence and pursuit of peace, spirituality and the interconnectedness of life, leadership, responsibility and sacrifice.
Often cited as the turning point in filmmaking and mature animation. Join us and bring a friend for an engaging discussion and review after! Discussion led by Sam Choi.

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First Saturday Writing Workshop "Keeping Time"
Jun
7
9:00 AM09:00

First Saturday Writing Workshop "Keeping Time"

Online / zoom

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

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From Solitude to Solidarity: Ron Dart on Evelyn Underhill and the Contemplative Path (NCB's Radix Live)
May
29
5:00 PM17:00

From Solitude to Solidarity: Ron Dart on Evelyn Underhill and the Contemplative Path (NCB's Radix Live)

Online / zoom

What does contemplation have to do with the everyday life of faith? And why does it matter now?

Words like stillness, centering prayer, silence, meditation, attention, and contemplation are finding renewed resonance in Christian conversation today. But what do they actually mean—and what do they mean for the rest of us? In this interactive online event, Ron Dart will help explain how the contemplative path is not a spiritual luxury for the few, but a vital calling for the many—a way of seeing, praying, and being that Evelyn Underhillmight have called "the education of the whole person."

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Faith & Film "Local Hero"
May
9
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film "Local Hero"

An American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected. 

Join us for this unique whimsical, fun, philosophical look at life, priorities, nature, community and personal evolution. 

The evening will be hosted by Sam Choi, Co-Director of the Faith & Film Series.

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Berkeley Palmer Lecture / Lisa Bowens, PhD
May
3
7:00 PM19:00

Berkeley Palmer Lecture / Lisa Bowens, PhD

We are pleased and privileged to welcome Dr. Lisa Bowens from Princeton Theological Seminary for the seventh annual Berkeley Palmer Lecture.  Join us for an evening of fellowship and insightful biblical scholarship for modern times.

Speaker: Dr. Lisa Bowens

American history and biblical interpretation are intricately connected. Many African Americans utilized scripture in their struggle for liberation and justice. This lecture will explore the writings of black interpreters of the Apostle Paul from the1700s to the mid-twentieth century and will demonstrate the significance of these interpreters for American history and for the church. Along with examining some of their writings we will explore the following questions: What can we learn from these interpreters? What can they teach us? Why do they matter?

Location: First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley

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First Saturday Writing Workshop "Imagine if You Will"
May
3
9:00 AM09:00

First Saturday Writing Workshop "Imagine if You Will"

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD / Online zoom

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

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Looking Back to Look Forward (Berkeley Palmer Lecture Lunch)
May
2
12:00 PM12:00

Looking Back to Look Forward (Berkeley Palmer Lecture Lunch)

A lunch conversation with Dr. Lisa Bowens of Princeton Theological Seminary
For students and faculty of UC Berkeley, GTU, and other schools

Many African Americans utilized scripture in their struggle for liberation and justice. This conversation is an opportunity to explore the writings of black interpreters of the Apostle Paul from the1700s to the mid-twentieth century and consider the significance of these interpreters for American history and for the church. At this free luncheon, Dr. Bowens will share a brief presentation on these themes, and then open the time up for conversation.

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Fight Like Jesus, with Jason Porterfield: An Author Event by NCB's Radix Live
Apr
14
5:00 PM17:00

Fight Like Jesus, with Jason Porterfield: An Author Event by NCB's Radix Live

Online / zoom

Join us for an online conversation with Jason Porterfield, author of Fight Like Jesus (2022), a book that challenges readers to embrace the radical peacemaking of Christ. In this interactive event, Jason will explore how Jesus waged peace throughout Holy Week, offering interesting insight into the events leading to the cross—and what they mean for peacemaking today. Sounds timely, right? Drawing from his years of ministry among the urban poor and his theological study, Jason will guide us in understanding how we, too, can cultivate God’s shalom in a world desperate for peace.

After discussing his book—which has been described as a compelling narrative of Holy Week and a practical guide for everyday peacemaking—we will invite questions from participants.

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Holy Week: Fight Like Jesus. Waging Peace in the Face of Empire
Apr
12
10:00 AM10:00

Holy Week: Fight Like Jesus. Waging Peace in the Face of Empire

An NCB Workshop Retreat

How did Jesus respond to political power and social injustice? What were his reactions to violence and oppression? And how are we called to respond to our own current political and social moment? In Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace During Holy Week (Herald Press, 2002), Jason Porterfield guides his readers on a gripping biblical journey through the final week of Jesus’ life, demonstrating how Christ consistently and creatively found ways of fostering peace despite violence, mistreatment and oppression. Join New Testament scholar Dr. Michael Barram for group bible study, followed by a response from local pastors and poets, for an eye-opening and hope-filled time of fellowship and breaking of bread.

Co-sponsored with Lyrical Opposition and Kairos San Francisco

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First Saturday Writing Workshop "A Well Spent Paragraph"
Apr
5
9:00 AM09:00

First Saturday Writing Workshop "A Well Spent Paragraph"

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD / Online zoom

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

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Learning from the Inklings in Wartime: When Civilization and Cultures are on the Brink
Mar
22
9:00 AM09:00

Learning from the Inklings in Wartime: When Civilization and Cultures are on the Brink

A New College Berkeley Conference

Join some of today's leading experts on the Inklings as we discuss the timely topic of global unrest and the lessons of war as seen through this legendary group of friends. Together we shall grapple with questions such as:

  • What were the Oxford Inklings up to when the winds of war were blowing?

  • What can we learn from Lewis, Tolkien, Barfield and Williams during two world wars and the rise of fascism in Europe?

  • When "the center cannot hold," how shall we then live?

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Faith & Film Series "The Forge of Friendship"
Mar
21
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film Series "The Forge of Friendship"

Join us for a very special preview screening of The Forge of Friendship, an upcoming documentary film series about the almost 40-year friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. With insights from the filmmakers, our special guests, sections of the new, about-to-be-released film series will be shown. This memorable Faith & Film event opens NCB's "Learning from the Inklings in Wartime" conference. 

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Faith & Film Series "The Zone of Interest"
Mar
14
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film Series "The Zone of Interest"

Join us for a viewing and discussion of The Zone of Interest (2023), a landmark film exploring moral complicity and apathy. Idyllic familial domesticity is juxtaposed with atrocity. Let’s discuss the psychological and moral spaces where the “zones of interest” allow individuals to justify action or inaction within oppressive systems and the broader societal implications. Bring a friend! Discussion led by Sam Choi.

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Centered-Set Church: An Author Event by NCB's Radix Live
Mar
13
5:00 PM17:00

Centered-Set Church: An Author Event by NCB's Radix Live

Online/zoom

Join our monthly Radix Live event, as host Matthew Steem invites Mark D. Baker to talk about his book, Centered-Set Church: Discipleship and Community Without Judgmentalism (IVP Academic, 2022). A "centered-set' is an alternative to either a "bounded-set" (churches with hard boundaries that can repel newcomers or make it difficult for them to join) or a "fuzzy-set" (churches with so much inclusion that they lack a vital sense of shared faith and identity). This Radix Live event will include a conversation between Mark and our two panelists, who have used a centered-set approach in their ministries, and time for your questions

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A Contemplative Lenten Retreat with Susan Phillips, PhD
Mar
8
9:30 AM09:30

A Contemplative Lenten Retreat with Susan Phillips, PhD

About the Retreat / Online zoom

The word “Lent” is related to Latin cognates meaning long and slow (“lente,” “lento”). Like Advent, Lent is a speed bump in the year, inviting us into reflection, confession, and prayer, a time of remembering God’s costly love for us. We enter the retreat seeking God’s Light in the darkness of war, political tensions, environmental devastations, social turmoil around the globe, and seeking God’s Light, too, in the privacy of our own hearts. 

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First Saturday (Friday this time) Writing Workshop "Writing Like a Weaver"
Feb
28
9:00 AM09:00

First Saturday (Friday this time) Writing Workshop "Writing Like a Weaver"

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD / Online zoom

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

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Bearers of God's Image: Beauty & Dignity Amidst Dehumanizing Polarization
Feb
15
10:00 AM10:00

Bearers of God's Image: Beauty & Dignity Amidst Dehumanizing Polarization

Division, fear and egregious behaviors abound in this political moment. Is there something in Christianity that points a way toward unity and harmony? Is there potential to make the task of political engagement more charitable, hospitable and, in a word, Christ-honoring? In this workshop, Dr. “Joey” Alan Le will examine the relationship between human dignity and the Imago Dei. The image of God can be understood as a collective appreciation of otherness. When Christians learn to see beauty for what it is — as being and as difference — then they can finally see all things and all people, even political adversaries, as God’s beautiful, valuable, and dignified creations. Come and join for some informed discussion and relationship-building around this timely, important topic. 

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Faith & Film Series "About Time"
Feb
14
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film Series "About Time"

For Valentine’s Day, Faith & Film is presenting “About Time”, a warmly moving romantic comedy written and directed by Richard Curtis, the writer/director of “Love Actually” and the writer of films like, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, “Notting Hill”, “Bridget Jones Diary”, and “Yesterday”. Richard Curtis movies, frequently derided by critics for being “sappy”, “oddly naff”, “baggy”, and “a flimsy bit of mildly romantic, putatively comic Anglophile bait”, are also much beloved and financially successful. Categorized as (what used to be called) “chick flicks”, (mostly male) critics deem them as mawkish and aesthetically weak-minded. So why is “About Time” so beloved by so many people? Would Jesus like “About Time”? Would Jesus like Valentine’s Day? Join us for a thematic movie!

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Faith & Film / "The Eyes of Tammy Fay"
Jan
10
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film / "The Eyes of Tammy Fay"

Fun, revealing, engrossing - Jerry Falwell, Jim Baker, Pat Robertson, Jimmy Swagger and Colonel Sanders - they’re all here. Bring a friend. Discussion led by Sam Choi.
“Just the ticket,” as stated by the London Evening Standard, to understand the evolutions of fiercely religious characters whose initial motives to help the poor and needy become compromised. A big tap into a cultural moment that has persistent reverberations we continue to feel today. A dutiful chronicle of televangelists ascension, power, wealth and decline and a complicated human at the center. 

“A riveting, unleashed and award-worthy performance from Jessica Chastain (Oscar winning role) playing a central character full of tension and contradictions” - Times U.K. 

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First Saturday Writing Workshop: "More About Metaphors"
Jan
4
9:00 AM09:00

First Saturday Writing Workshop: "More About Metaphors"

Instructor: Marilyn McEntyre, PhD

These 90-minute workshops will address a different topic each month. Each session will include a brief presentation, prompts, a bit of writing and workshopping time, and suggestions for developing a particular writing practice. Handouts offer guides for cultivating new dimensions of your writing. We will talk about language, faith, form, and what a lively, committed writing life entails. All levels of writing experience are welcomed!

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Faith & Film / "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"
Dec
13
7:00 PM19:00

Faith & Film / "Won't You Be My Neighbor?"

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? is Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville's (20 Feet from Stardom) documentary about the life and work of children's programming/public TV pioneer Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Through extensive footage and interviews with Rogers' widow, Joanne; their two adult sons; and a host of colleagues and friends -- including Yo-Yo Ma (whose son is one of the documentary's producers) -- Neville digs into the legendary man who remains a symbol of friendship, kindness, and make-believe for generations of adults. The film documents how Rogers, who hailed from Pittsburgh's upper crust and was trained and ordained as a Presbyterian minister, dedicated his life to service, faith, and young children.

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Advent in the Context of Empire: Awaiting Jesus’ Arrival, Then and Now
Dec
7
1:00 PM13:00

Advent in the Context of Empire: Awaiting Jesus’ Arrival, Then and Now

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke actually portray the birth of Jesus in quite divergent ways, emphasizing different themes that will resonate throughout their accounts of the messiah’s life, death, and resurrection. What the two infancy narratives have in common is an understanding that Jesus was born and lived his life entirely within the context of the world-conquering military and political power of the Roman Empire. Grasping that historical context really matters for those of us today who seek to understand the Gospels as we ourselves read from within a contemporary environment characterized by empire. Join biblical scholar Michael Barram and local pastors for a fascinating exploration of the Gospel birth narratives within their imperial contexts, and an engaging discussion about how those accounts can help shape and form our communities of faith for our own contextualized participation in God’s mission in the world today.

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Contemplative Advent Retreat / Prayer, Reflection and Readying for Pilgrimage with Christ
Dec
7
9:30 AM09:30

Contemplative Advent Retreat / Prayer, Reflection and Readying for Pilgrimage with Christ

Online/zoom

Christians are called people of the Way (Acts 9:2): We follow the Way, live the Way, and prepare the Way. Advent is an opportunity to reflect on this adventure into which God invites us.

Carve out time in the press toward Christmas to prepare your hearts for walking the Way in the year ahead. Join us for a morning of prayer, reflection, and readying ourselves to continue our great pilgrimage with Christ.

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