2024 Short Course Ministry
February 29 - June 23
Creating a Rule of Life
Beginning with the desert fathers and mothers of the late second century of the Church era, monks and nuns have devoted themselves to living their faith by a “rule of life.” A rule of life is a framework for the Christian life, founded on four pillars: prayer, worship, learning, and service. The most widely known Rule of Life was written by St. Benedict in the 6th century and it is still used throughout the world by monastic traditions. Every Christian, lay or ordained, married or single, is called to shape their lives in the form of Christ and the four pillars establish the foundation for a living faith. Each person engages these four pillars of faith from different angles and each pillar is distinctive in nature: prayer is private, worship is public, learning is personal, service is ministry to others. Each pillar needs to be nurtured, embraced, and shared.
This short course is a five-month journey inside your soul that will explore prayer, worship, learning, and service and each individual will develop a personal rule of life. Starting on Thursday, February 29, the journey will begin leading to the blessing of each participants’ Rule of Life at Holy Eucharist on Sunday, June 23, 2024.
March 5 - 20
Memory Loss and Faith
Memory loss has been widely studied by physicians, long-term care providers, and the social work community. This short course invites attendees to learn and reflect on how faith can be a pillar of strength for those with cognitive loss and their caregivers. Each week, the course will explore the foundations of the Christian faith and how faith-memory can become a thread of hope on this challenging journey. This three-week short course is co-lead by Fr. Rick Swanson and Deb Clark of St. John’s in the Mountains and Pastor Dan Haugh of Stowe Community Church.
June 6 through June 27
The Gospel of Mark
The Gospel reading on Sunday Morning serves as the cornerstone for the other scripture lessons we read and shapes our vision of Jesus. The Lectionary is a document that prescribes the scripture lessons for our common worship, and it is in a three-year cycle. This year, 2024 we will primarily read from the Gospel of Mark, and our focus will attend to Mark's gospel readings between June and November. We will explore themes the gospel writer employed to tell the story of Jesus, how language, community, and when it was written impacts Mark's vision of the Son of God.
June 19 through September
Financial Stewardship
Co-facilitated with the Seasons of Giving ministry team, Fr. Rick will invite the congregation to explore the spirituality of giving, and personal finances with attention to tithing and how financial stewardship impacts our common life as the people of St. John's in the Mountains. This Short Course will be held one Sunday a month, immediately following coffee hour between June and September.