Adult Faith Formation
Sunday Morning Forum: This fall’s first Sunday morning Adult Forum series (Sept 11 – Oct 16, 9:45 a.m.) – “Earth and its People” – will include a session (September 25) on the Shalom Project and its work. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Shalom Project (The Shalom Project is a collaboration between St. Mark’s and Peace Lutheran Church on Hilltop. Together we seek concrete ways to work for economic, social, and racial wholeness (“shalom”), with a special focus on climate justice.)
The summer offered something of a hiatus: The housing project was moving ahead on planning and regulatory levels, and the tree-planting project needed to wait for cooler, moister fall weather. Now with fall, we’re ready to resume!
Housing: In late July, Peace Lutheran approved the first small housing build (DADU) behind one of their existing rental homes, for an estimated $213,000. The permitting process is underway, financing is proceeding apace, and construction will begin shortly. Peace will be looking to St. Mark’s partners in the later phases of the build: helping with site clean-up, with landscaping, and with interior painting. In addition, St. Mark’s is working on a proposal to put solar panels both on our St. Mark’s building (in several phases) and on the Peace DADU builds – a proposal now working its way through our Creation Care Alliance and our council.
Trees: St. Mark’s and Peace are teaming up with the Tacoma Tree Foundation, hoping to host a giveaway of 500 fruit and shade trees for the Hilltop and other communities, as a crucial step in seeking climate justice for all. We’re currently looking to secure funding together, and we envision an event this fall for giving trees and helping to plant them. Interested? Watch this space.
Next week (10/2), we look forward to having Keah Calluccie with us for a forum. Keah joined Earth Ministry/WAIPL in 2021 as the Multifaith Outreach Coordinator. With a history of work in museums, non-profits, and universities, she is excited to bring her experiences into the realm of environmental justice and advocacy with communities of faith. Keah has a Master of Arts in International Studies: Comparative Religion from the University of Washington where she studied the relationships between late antique science within Jewish and Christian communities of the Near East and Mediterranean. In her free time, Keah loves to read and make candles.
Midweek Renewal: As part of our Midweek Renewal Series Deacon Ingelaurie Lisher will be leading a conversation on the book, No Cure For Being Human by Professor Kate Bowler; here is an excerpt from the book:"It’s hard to give up on the feeling that the life you really want is just out of reach. A beach body by summer. A trip to Disneyland around the corner. A promotion on the horizon. Everyone wants to believe that they are headed toward good, better, best. But what happens when the life you hoped for is put on hold indefinitely?" Discussion on this book will be held: September 21-October 12. To purchase the book go here or check it out in your local library.
Bible study: Meets Wednesdays at noon.
Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. Morning Bible Study has resumed with our study of Joy, a study of Philippians. We begin arriving at 9:15 a.m. for coffee and visiting in the upper fireside room. We are a welcoming group, who enjoy sharing questions and insights. Join us! For information: Linda Durant, (253) 363-8202, hotdouug@centurylink.net.
Fully Alive Bible Study meets Tuesdays at 5:00 p.m. (Please note the earlier start time.) This fall we will be reading and studying the Book of Matthew and discovering how it fits into the Old Testament Jewish culture. We hope to see you there! If you have questions, you can contact Sherry Maiura at 253-549-4222.
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