Study groups to begin at Faith United Church

The Wednesday Morning Study Group will read and discuss Barbara Brown Taylor’s newest book, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith for 12 weeks this fall. And we will also offer a Monday evening group.

Taylor is a preacher and seminary professor, but don’t let that scare you! She writes in a wonderfully down-to-earth way about the experiences of life, including finding God in the most extraordinarily ordinary things. Here’s a quote from the introduction to the book: “What is saving my life now is the conviction that there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart from the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them. My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul. What is saving my life now is becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real world. In a world of too much information about almost everything, bodily practices can provide great relief. To make bread or love, to dig in the earth, to feed an animal or cook for strangers — these activities require no extensive commentary, no lucid theology … In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life.”

Anyone can attend these ecumenical study groups which will meet at 10:15 a.m. Wednesdays from Sept. 22 to Dec. 15, or Mondays at 6:30 p.m. from Sept. 27 to Dec. 13. Cost of the book is $10. Call the church office at 238-2486 to sign up.