St Lucia Spirituality Group
Newsletter November 2022
Next Session : The Kingdom of God
Greetings
In October we held the second of two meetings examining historical influences on our religious beliefs, on schisms in the church, how they occurred and the lessons we can draw from them today. It was a lively and engaging discussion. Through this Butterfly Series, we are encouraging participants to ask questions about their faith, live into the answers and thus develop a truly authentic adult faith and a coherent worldview.
At our November meeting we shall consider the Kingdom of God – What does it mean, what could it mean? Perhaps, much of our understanding is coloured by the monarchical and patriarchal language and associated worldviews that underpin the scriptures. Or perhaps, it might allude to something else as Jesus suggests in Mark’s gospel account:
“What can we say the kingdom of God is like?… It is like a mustard seed, which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds in the earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.” (Mark 4:26-32)
As Fr Patrick Richards writes in his book, The Rosewood Table, the kingdom is wherever goodness is and that goodness keeps growing in little pockets all over the place (page 136). Isn’t that more suggestive of the influence of the Holy Spirit?
We think the question is important for all Christians to ponder, because if you don’t know what the kingdom of God is, how can you contribute to bringing it into full existence?
Butterfly Series – Next Meeting – Kingdom of God
Our next meeting will explore Diarmuid’s O’Murchu’s video presentation on the Christian archetype of the Kingdom of God. It is available here.
Introducing this video, O’Murchu writes: “Over the centuries Christianity has focused primarily on Jesus as an archetypal patriarchal hero, largely based on the patriarchal values of both ancient Roman and Greek cultures. Instead, we need to reclaim the central relational and communal context out of which Jesus lived and ministered. In the Gospels it is named as the Kingdom of God, for which I am suggesting a renaming of [sic] the Companionship of Empowerment.”
We hope you can join us. If you would like a copy of our discussion paper, simply email us. It is also available on our Facebook page. There is no obligation to join our meeting.
Our Episode 14 meeting will be held on Zoom at 6:00pm AEST on Tuesday 22 November.
To register your attendance, please email John at jscoble@hradvantage.com.au.
If you are concerned about your ability to participate in these zoom meetings, we can accommodate you by simply allowing you to listen. Just let us know.
Or you can simply join our meeting through this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81911715442?pwd=YXV3Zk1qTEEvWmxMNVdYZVJ0aTNMUT09
Meeting ID: 819 1171 5442 Passcode: 047125
Our Facebook Page & Newsletters
We invite you to find our Facebook group by clicking on this link, it will take you to our page where you will be able to apply to join.
If you are not a Facebook user, we can help you set up your account with maximum privacy, you can be anonymous and even use a nick name or an alias if you wish. Consult Robert or John if you want help.
Finally, do you know anyone who might like to receive these newsletters too? You can contact us by email slsg4067@gmail.com.
Go well…
John Scoble & Robert van Mourik
oOo