January 22, 2020
Children of Our Parents, Children of God
Rev. Dr. Mark Lawson
7:00 - 9:00 pm
Fee: $20, or whatever you can afford
We can’t truly understand ourselves apart from seeing how we reflect our parents. Yet, our development involves differentiating ourselves from them. In this presentation, Rev. Dr. Mark Lawson will examine this truth, and then look to the gospels for clues about how Jesus grew in his own self-understanding, differentiating himself from his own earthly family in order to mature into his identity as Son of God. This evening of renewal will help participants gain a deeper understanding of their lives, as children not only of earthly parents, but more essentially, as children of God.
Mark holds a PhD in New Testament, and is the pastor of United Church of Christ in Bayberry, a staff spiritual director here at the Center, and an adjunct faculty member in the religious studies department at LeMoyne College. Register by calling the Center, or online through our website. Fee: $20, or whatever you can afford.
February 24, 2020
Renewing Christianity's Relationship with Judaism
Erica Olson-Bang, PhD.
10:00 am - 12:00 noon OR 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Fee: $20, or whatever you can afford
This talk explores the spiritual implications of Christianity’s close and complicated history with Judaism. It examines both the good and the bad, and wonders how today’s Christians can befriend and accompany the Jewish faith and its adherents, while avoiding common pitfalls. In the end, it considers how renewing this relationship might lead to deeper understandings of both faiths, trust that God’s Spirit is at work in all things, and a healthy, holy envy of the other’s spiritual riches. Our presenter, Dr. Erica Olson-Bang is part of a Jewish-Christian family and will incorporate her own spiritual and theological journey of coming to awareness of the importance of transforming Christianity’s relationship with Judaism.
Erica received her PhD in Systematic Theology from Fordham University and taught Religious Studies at the College of New Rochelle. She is currently an intern at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Hamilton, NY, and trying to keep up with her two small girls. Fee: $20, or whatever you can afford.