Upcoming Programs
Advent Programming — Mark your calendars
Each Sunday in December, we will have a potluck luncheon after worship and a guest speaker telling us about work that matters.
On December 1, the speaker will be Rev. Ellie Johns-Kelley from the Presbyterian Foundation, leading a workshop on “Telling the Story and Building a Future”. (This is the workshop that was postponed from September.)
Dec. 8: Susan Thornton will return to share with us her work with Syrian refugees on Lesvos this summer.
Dec. 15: Binghamton Children’s Choir will perform for us and Rev. Jo Von Rue will tell us about her participation in a clergy witness in Arizona dealing with our own refugees and US policies.
Dec. 22: The UU’s will join us in presenting Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol as a live radio play in our sanctuary at 1:00pm. (See the Community Events section for more information.)
Dec. 29: We will officially welcome the UU’s as guests in our building as they come bearing their chalice and flame.
Plan to attend and to be part of as many of these special events as you can — it would be good to have you with us!
Introductory Bible Study
Mondays, 12:00–1:00pm in the Library Lounge
We choose a specific book of the Bible and then do “deep reading” of that book, verse by verse, over the course of several weeks. We are reading to learn what we missed in Sunday school and what gets lost in preaching — to understand the Bible as the story of God’s people and their relationship to God and the world. We don’t always find answers, but we always learn from the text and from each other! You’re welcome to bring your own lunch. Come and see — it would be good to have you with us.
We are open to starting a second Bible study at another time. If you’re interested, let us know!
Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention
Tuesdays, 9:30–10:15am in the Library Lounge
Tai Chi classes are offered here at church each Tuesday morning, led by certified instructor Cindy Burger. This free program is designed to not only be relaxing, but enjoyable, too! We use gentle Sun-style Tai Chi routines that are safe, easy to learn, and suitable for beginners.
Tai Chi is an art and an exercise from ancient China that was created based on the laws of nature and promotes health and relaxation. Evidence shows that the slow gentle movements of Tai Chi can help those with arthritis increase their strength, flexibility and stamina, reducing pain and improving balance to prevent falls.
This program was developed in collaboration with the Arthritis Foundation and is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Instructor Cindy Burger is certified by the Tai Chi for Health Institute. taichiforhealthinstitute.org
Book Studies
Monday evenings, 6:15–7:30pm
Read, then join us for a three-week book study. Copies of the books are available for pickup from the church office. Donations to offset the cost of the books are welcome, but not required.
It would be good to have you with us!
January 20, 27, February 3 — Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others, by Barbara Brown Taylor
In Holy Envy, Barbara Brown Taylor reflects on what she has learned while teaching world religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia. She contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques. She reflects on how the faith of her received tradition (Episcopalian) is both challenged and enriched by other approaches to the Holy, and in the process invites the rest of us to think about our received traditions and our encounters with difference.
Coming this spring:
March 16–30 — Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week, by Amy-Jill Levine
April 20–May 4 — Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibben
Visit our website for more about our upcoming book studies.
