The Opus Project on Faith, Work, and Culture will set sail next Friday, Nov. 16, at 7:00 pm. In that night of conversation, we will hear details about the project and gain insight as to why such an initiative might be fitting for our church. If you missed the original post outlining Opus, be sure to take a look at that here.

Opus has a four-fold focus meant to broadly address a range of topics in our effort to nurture reflection and conversation about the church’s contribution to the flourishing of society and the renewal of all things. We call these our four focus areas:

• Work
• The Arts and Culture
• Social Justice
• The Neighborhood

As Opus unfolds in various forms, be it a class, reading group, lecture, special event, art exhibit, or whatever else, one or more of these focus areas will be in play. Ideally, on the 16th we’ll see four instantaneous conversations get started in each of these areas. Here’s a rundown of what you can expect to see from each:

• Work – a panel discussion with four panelists from different lanes of life reflecting on the interplay between their faith and their own work. Panelists include:
  -Jay Lynch, oncologist, dean of admissions, UF College of Medicine
  -Sarah West, familial engineer (mom!), studied English, food crafter
  -Christy Johns, recent college graduate working in horticultural science
  -Jason Coleman, neuroscientist at UF

• The Arts and Culture – a screening of the 2012 Oscar-winning animated short film The Fabulous Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, followed by a discussion led by Stephen Addcox.

• Social Justice – Britt Daniel will guide a discussion with the help of a guest from a child advocacy organization. In this session, we will ponder the questions: what is social justice? how might our faith propel us to social justice? what keeps us from social justice?

• The Neighborhood – Ken French will facilitate a conversation about who is my neighbor and what does it mean to be a good neighbor for the good of the city, both in the literal residential neighborhood and in the wider area.

There will be an RSVP card in the bulletin this Sunday, so you can indicate your intentions and whether you need childcare. For questions or more info., email me (Todd Best) at toddbest@gmail.com.