Football FANatics

Folks, this was too good not to share with you!  Please have a look at this post from our friend Msgr. Pope, whose blog should be bookmarked on your favorites list.  In the wake of Super Bowl Sunday, this is a wonderful reflection:  http://blog.adw.org/2011/02/compare-and-contrast-super-bowl-and-the-mass/

Have a wonderful couple of weeks, and please keep us in your prayers for safe travel!

SLG

Looking ahead to Feb 13 and Feb 20

As of class time today, following thorough discussion, we will cancel class next week, Feb 13, as I will be out of town for the next two weeks and the kid's classes are apparently cancelled.

We will take up the topic of Vocations and discipleship the following week of Feb 20, and this post by Msgr. Pope is a wonderful follow up topic to take up.  So please have a look at this blog post and the videos at the end.  I passed out a printout of the blog at class today for you to have, and of course we may need a volunteer to facilitate the discussion for Feb 20 as I am not sure what shape I will be in having just gotten home sometime late on Saturday.

So there is a little homework for you and you have 2 weeks to have  a look at it.

SLG

Topic for Class Feb 6

We will take up the topic of Vocations, and I would like to use the linked blog (Fr. Damian J. Ference) to start the discussion.  As you will see from reading this, there are many ramifications for discussion here.  I am sorry for the late posting of this!  It has been a very busy week.  I will print out several copies of this for those who did not have time to check in here for the assignment.  Please do bring your own copy if you can!
See you tomorrow!
SLG

Class for Jan 30

We will be taking this class to review Chapter 7 and the end of the book.  There is a great deal of practical advice there at the end of the book for us to discuss.

We will also need to give some thought to what we want to explore next, so please come with some ideas in that regard.

See you tomorrow!

SLG

Class for Jan 23

Hal and Micheline will be facilitating the discussion on Chapters 5 and 6 this week, as we are unexpectedly called out of town on Sunday to Atlanta to finish up some images for a rapidly upcoming photography exhibit that we are putting together for the Holy Spirit Monastery in early February.  Anyway, have a great discussion and we will continue with Chapters 7&8 the following week.  Please check out the Megachurch Pastor Book blog and make some comments!
SLG

Sunday January 16

We have completed discussion on Chapter 3 (The Kitchen) and Chapter 4 (The Basement) as of class today.  We had an excellent discussion today and wonderful attendance.  All are encouraged to keep up with the discussion on the blog (www.olmcmp.blogspot.com) and make some comments.  There is a wealth of thought provoking material within the pages of the book, and we should all feel challenged to, as Hunt points out on page 46 (echoing Matthew Kelly) become the best version of ourselves!  This is modern parlance for the concept of living the holiness that is within each and every one of us by participating in the Sacraments (especially The Eucharist) and cooperating with the grace that we receive.  Our mission is to carry this out in to the world at large.

On page 59 Hunt relates and incident where one of his Methodist denominational leaders accuses him of “thinking too much”.  There was a very relevant blog this week by Eric Sammons (The Divine Life) entitled “Is My Egg Head Scrambled or Sunnyside Up?”  See below for the link to that blog.  Have a look at it if you have time, and be sure to check out the many comments that follow it.  It rang true to many of us in class today.

We will move forward to Chapter 5 (The Bedroom) and Chapter 6 (The Family Cemetary) next week.  That should be an interesting pairing!

http://ericsammons.com/blog/2011/01/12/is-my-egg-head-scrambled-or-sunny-side-up/

Starting up a New Year

Starting this week, Sunday January 9 we will be studying Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor by Allen Hunt, given to you as a small Christmas gift. If you have not gotten yours they are still available in the Church Narthex.  Please read the introduction and chapters one and two this week.  We will be reading and commenting on this through January 30 as the content of the Adult Bible Study.  Please have a look at the blog and add comments.  We have a good team of bloggers, and there should be 1-2 or more posts up there each Tuesday and Thursday covering basically one chapter each time, so by the end of the month we will have completed the book.  Here is the schedule:
Chapter     Date          
     1          Jan 4                    
     2          Jan 6                      
     3          Jan 10                      
     4          Jan 13                    
     5          Jan 17                      
     6          Jan 20                    
     7          Jan 24                      
     8          Jan 27
As with Rediscovering Catholicism it is hoped that this will bring a new found excitement about your Catholic faith, and it is also hoped that this will be a family event.  Kids are more than welcome to participate in the blog commenting should they so desire.
See you on Sunday!
SLG