Education hour following the 9:30 am service and coffee.
E.L.C.A. Series, June 2018
Five Lutheran Theologians, an Agnostic, and an Anabaptist walk into a church. No, it’s not the opening line of a theological humorist’s stand-up routine, it’s St. James’ Open Space four-part series on the E.L.C.A.! Ever wonder about those four letters, about those four words – Evangelical. Lutheran. Church. in America.? Each week in June you can partake in a lively, funny, hopefully informative, and perhaps provocative conversation on each of these words. Join us as we reflect together on our varied experiences and understandings of each word, how they can reflect and shape our religious identity, and how we might navigate the various notions of these words in our contemporary lives.
6/17: C.– Church: “Of Christ, but In and For the World”
Polis, Agora, Ekklesia. City, Marketplace, Assembly. The brothers Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr were profoundly influential public theologians in 20th century American life. They each spoke to the church and on behalf of the church to politicians and policymakers about the intersection of religion, politics, ethics, and public life. What do the brothers Niebuhr have to say to help us be church in and for the world today? How can they help us articulate a pastoral and prophetic voice in the public square?
