On November 16th, we officially launched the Opus Project on Faith, Work, and Culture with a special event. We were encouraged by the interest and turnout. It was just what we were hoping for — enough momentum to get the ball rolling on the project as a whole and for the four focus areas to launch ongoing conversations on social justice, the neighborhood, the arts and culture, and work. We saw roughly 50 people attend that night, and each of the focus areas had lively discussion that easily could have gone deeper into the evening.
As for the next steps for the Opus Project there is much potential as we consider how each of the facets of the project may unfold. While we have four different focus areas, there are at least a few different avenues for exploring these various themes:
- Forums: one-night special events with “cultural intake” and discussion (lectures, art exhibits, film screenings, a book discussions, etc.)
- Adult Education Classes on Sunday mornings (like this one)
- Reading Group: monthly discussion of selected books and essays (see below)
- Focus Area Discussions
- Blog with resources
The next step that we are taking is to restart the Reading Group. The Reading Group meets on a monthly basis to discuss books that are pertinent to the Opus Project, and it is the most consistent way to be involved in the Opus conversation. We hope you will seriously consider participating. Our first meeting of the spring will be Sunday, January 27 at 9am at the church facilities.
Book: Pulitzer Prize winning novel Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Get yourself a copy; we will discuss p. 1-125 on Jan. 27.
Dates: 4th Sunday – Jan. 27, Feb. 24, Mar. 24, Apr. 28
We look forward to moving the Opus Project forward, and we hope you will join us.
Finally, if you would like to be added to the Opus Project email list, send me a note at toddbest@gmail.com.
Todd Best
(for Chris Hiatt and Stephen Addcox)
We invite you to join our ensemble cast for an evening filled with music, dance and storytelling as we celebrate the birth of our Rescuer!
The story is adapted from the Jesus Storybook Bible and the popular Christmas book both by Sally Lloyd-Jones.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been encouraged at some of the conversations sparked by the Opus Project. For all of our similarities, both as Christians and as a church, we are also a remarkably diverse people at CCC. If you spend enough time to get past the “Hello” and “Go Gata”, you will find a group of apprentices to Jesus that is in many ways just trying to make sense of the world and our part in it. Friday night is an opportunity for us to talk about that in a way that is formative, practical and encouraging. That’s why I am so thrilled about the Opus Project.
When people start to discuss “culture” in the context of church, I’m prone to jump to conclusions and assume more than I should. Starting this Friday, nearly 50 people have signed up to participate in panels that will get at some of the core issues of life that are often absent from our conversations as followers of Jesus. I look forward to this event, and the entire project, as an opportunity for expanding my categories of thinking in relating faith and daily life.
Our four focus areas are in many ways foundational to life in the world as followers of Jesus – being a neighbor, observing (and contributing to) the arts & culture, working, and seeking justice in the world.
I expect that, through God’s working in us and through us, we will all be surprised at what we find by interacting with each other on these topics. Just as my heart is challenged and transformed by Scripture on Sundays, I expect that my mind will be renewed by honest discourse on these things. I just wish I could be a part of all of the discussions!
Friday night is simply the church providing space, setting the table and opening the floor.
What will you bring to the discussion?
~~~
The Opus Project on Faith, Work and Culture launches Friday, November 16th at 7PM at Christ Community Church.
The following is a guest post from Stephen Addcox, a PhD student in the English Department at UF. The Opus Project on Faith, Work and Culture launches in 15 days. Learn more here.
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Is there a difference between imaginary and imaginative?
Two weeks ago the Sunday morning class Houses, Gardens, and Children read an essay by Marilynne Robinson which suggested that imagination is a key component in how we relate to our communities. According to Robinson, “Community, at least community larger than the immediate family, consists very largely of imaginative love for people we do not know or whom we know very slightly.” A key question that developed during our discussion was precisely what to make of Robinson’s use of the word “imaginative” in this moment.
For many of us the idea of imagination or being imaginative often connotes a sense of childish pretense or fiction, and yet Robinson believes that imagination plays a vital role in our lived experience. An example of the kind of imaginative work that Robinson describes might be found in the story of the Good Samaritan, itself an imaginative fiction, in which the Samaritan takes compassion on the beaten traveler. Without knowing anything about him, the Samaritan loved in the same way that he would have wanted to be loved had their positions been reversed–that kind of love takes imagination. It isn’t imaginary; on the contrary, such love is as real as it gets.
In only a few weeks, on November 16, the Opus Project launch event will explore several areas of faith, work, and culture. Part of that exploration involves our consideration of and involvement with the arts. If imagination can impact how we enact love of neighbor, surely the arts, through which imagination is used to probe the depths of human experience, also speaks to us as Christians. As a way to begin our conversation on the arts, we will be offering a screening of the 2012 Academy Award winning animated short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Afterward, I will be leading a discussion on what this story specifically, and imaginative creativity through the arts as a whole, contributes to our understanding of the role that Christians can play in the arts, not just as consumers but as creators.
We like to draw a line between the imaginative and the imaginary, but perhaps they are closer than we realize. Through the Opus Project, I hope that we can foster a community of artists who envision and enact a deep intertwining of their faith with creativity. Jesus himself told imaginative stories, and we can do the same.
From Rebecca Schackow:
Church Staff Appreciation in November
This month, let’s take the time to express our gratitude to the dedicated staff that has served us so well this past year. The staff appreciation committee invites you to write a “thank you” letter to one or more of our staff members letting them know how they have impacted your life by their hard work. You may mail the letters directly to the recipient via the church office at 1603 SW 122nd Street, Gainesville, FL 32607 any time within the next week. Your kind words are appreciated! Contact Rebecca Schackow with questions: rebeccaschackow@gmail.com
Our Church Staff includes:
Senior Pastor – Rob Pendley
Church Administrator – Debbie Staples
Creative Director and Facilities Coordinator – Chris Hiatt
Children’s Ministry Administration Coordinator – Harmony Smith
Children’s Ministry Education Coordinator- Holli Best
Youth Director- Drew Donovan
Pastor’s Assistant – Leslie Marshall
Former Office Assistant – Emily Walker
Cleaning Personnel – Christina Medlin
About This Blog
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