2021 Genesis Study

“We are stardust” as the scientist Carl Sagan declared and Joni Mitchell sang. We’re part of the big bang and a process happening over billions of years called evolution. But is that all we are? Genesis is the first book of the bible, and as its name suggests, it’s all about the origins of life, life not just as a random accident or big bang, but life as a creation. So then, rather than the how questions that concern science, Genesis is more concerned to answer the why and what questions. Why are we here? What are we about as human creatures in particular? Is there a larger purpose for us to fulfill? When life becomes difficult, confused or broken, when we have lost our way in life, finding our way back to our existential and spiritual roots may also be a way to finding our destination toward wholeness.

How is this? Besides the stardust and the matter there is energy and “wind”, the wind of the Spirit, a wind that inspires goodness, beauty, delight… an energy and wind that is: love. This love is given a name: God. To understand ourselves we must open ourselves to the eternal mystery beyond the stardust and matter, the Spirit/wind/energy of love we name God. To find our purpose we need to understand how God as love creates, but also, how love can re-create and make whole again after life has broken in some way. This is the story of Genesis.

Through representative humanity – Adam/Eve and their family,
Through an effort to reset life after things have broken down – Noah and his family,
Through wandering nomads and their dysfunctional family – Abraham/Sarah and their generations, 
Love is seeking a way… Will a way be found, even with broken human beings and their dysfunctional relationships? 

This was an 8-week online study and discussion that took place Wednesdays, 7:15pm-8:30pm, via Zoom 

beginning on September 23, 2020.

The Psalms of Israel have been composed to express the vast range of intense and traumatic experiences that make up human experience. They are created to provide a pathway to personal and corporate 'therapy,' as a means to rebuilding life and growing it toward greater fullness and peace. 

But to tap into their power, we must learn their structure and how they work to heal and transfigure human experience. 

It is no accident that the Psalms are not only the part of scripture most quoted by Jesus, but also the poetry and music of the church through the ages, recited not only during worship, but at weddings, funerals, the hospital bed and at celebrations of thanksgiving.

It’s a part of our lives and it confronts us in every news broadcast – human suffering. We suffer losses, live with chronic conditions, carry helplessness, fear and stress about how we will cope. What difference does it make that we reach out to “God”? Are there ways to understand and engage suffering that can make a meaningful difference in our lives? The biblical book of Job raises all these questions and more, and provides some ancient wisdom powerfully relevant to human living today. From visual art, plays, novels, philosophy, psychology, music and more, Job has inspired seekers and sufferers in search of deeper answers for thousands of years.