Adult Religious Education

ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

BUDDHIST MEDITATION GROUP

Rev. Marcia Curtis is leading a weekly Buddhist Meditation Group on Mondays from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. We'll be meeting in the Sanctuary. Everyone is welcome! Each session will include a guided meditation, a dharma talk or practice discussion, and a time for silent meditation.

Marcia began her meditation practice in 1987, and has been teaching Buddhist mindfulness meditation for more then 10 years, in UU congregations, a prison, and a psychiatric hospital. She also teaches the 8-week course in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and is willing to teach the course at BUC if there is sufficient interest. Please come to the weekly Monday night meditation session if you are interested... or call Marcia at 312-431-0387 if you are unable to attend a Monday evening session.

Voices of the Bible: Syllabus

Winter 2008-2009

Unitarian Universalist Community Church and Beverly Unitarian Church

Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons (revlevylyons@yahoo.com) - write to inquire about participation and class location.

We live in a country in which competing interpretations of the Bible are playing an ever increasing role in public policy and discourse. There is no escaping this fact. Both the Obama campaign and the McCain campaign use Biblical theology to lend authority to their positions. And debates about Biblical history and the beginning of the world rage at the epicenter of our culture wars.

As Unitarian Universalists, it is crucial that we try to understand these powerful forces at play in our world. We need to understand how Biblical interpretation works, what UU interpretive options are, and why it matters so much. This class is an exploration of Biblical interpretation as applied to the book of Genesis. We will read Genesis in three different translations and intersperse our reading of it with other texts that offer contrasting interpretive lenses. Through discussion, we will of course also add our own interpretations to the mix.

Class reading:

Genesis in one of these translations:

	Commentary on the Torah (translated by Richard Elliott Friedman)
	The King James Study Bible
	The Harper Collins Study Bible (New Revised Standard Version)
	The Five Books of Moses, Schocken Bible, Volume 1 (translated by Everett Fox)

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

"Abraham and the Psychodynamics of Childhood" from Jewish Renewal by Michael Lerner (Photocopies of this chapter will be provided.)

One more traditionally Christian article, TBD.

Reading and meeting schedule

(2^nd and 4^th Thursdays at 6pm, except Thanksgiving and Christmas)

Nov. 13th: Genesis 1-10 (Creation à the Flood)

Dec. 11^th: Genesis 11-21 (Tower of Babel à the birth of Isaac)

Jan. 8^th: Genesis 22 (the Binding of Isaac), "Abraham and the Psychodynamics of
Childhood", other text TBD

Jan. 22^nd: Genesis 23-32 (Sarah’s death à Jacob wrestling the Angel)

Feb. 12^th: Genesis 33-38 (Jacob and Esau’s reunion à Tamar’s story)

Feb 26^th: The Red Tent, parts I and II

March 12^th: Genesis 39-50 (Joseph in Egypt)

March 26^th: The Red Tent, part III

If you are interested in participating in this class, please email Rev. Levy-Lyons at revlevylyons@yahoo.com or leave a message at (773) 233-7080.