What does wonder, suffering, sacraments, and the mission of the Church have in common with John Wesley? Come to Why Methodism (formerly Methodism 101) to learn of the common link. Spoiler alert…they are all means of grace.  Come and learn more! 

• We will look in less “traveled places” for grace and God’s disclosure to us. Places like awe, wonder, and suffering. We will look in depth a United Methodist understanding of sacraments and their theology 

This class seeks to understand God’s call to practice sacramental living, a living that mediates divine grace in the Church and world. Because sacramental living is grounded in God, we will turn towards sacramental theology, the study of God and the signs of God’s grace in the world, to discover hope.  

We will discuss what it means to be the “Body of Christ”, the role of the Church in the world at large, all through the lens of a United Methodist understanding of faith. We will finish with a United Methodist understanding of faith and mission of the Church. 

In addition, this class aims to understand the Church as God’s gift and a sign of God’s grace.  a part of creation that seeks to respond to God’s love. As the body of Christ in the world, the church has both a prophetic and priestly role. Prophetic in “pointing” people to God; Priestly in ordering the life of those inside the body by understanding the politics of the gathered community by practices through which it embodies its vocation of worship, witness and service. 

This class is broken into 4 interrelated units: 

Unit 1: Theology of wonder…expecting the unexpected…as a means of grace 

Unit 2: A Methodist Understanding of the Sacraments as a means of grace. 

Unit 3: Theology of suffering as a means of grace 

Unit 4: Sent in Love: A United Methodist study of the mission of God and the Church in the world…mediating grace 

• Goals of this session 
  • Theology…How God discloses God’s self and how creation might respond…in wonder and awe…Can these be means of Grace?
  • Go deeper into the United Methodist understanding of Sacraments as a means of grace…of God’s disclosure 
  • What do we learn about God thru suffering…how do we respond? could suffering be a means of God’s disclosure…and of grace? 
  • What do we do…how does the Church serve as a source of grace 
  • Source material Sent in Love… 
  • From Easter to the birth of the church at Pentecost 
  • Opportunity for church leadership to reflect? 

January 5      Revisiting Grace and Theology…  Dr. Jim Hagedorn 

January 12     Expecting the Unexpected…  Jim 

January 19   Revealing the wonder and mystery of God in Church Practice… (Jim    out …will record this lecture) 

January 26 (with confirmands) Theology of Wonder   Jim 

February 2 Wonder…excerpts from “Searching for Sunday” by Rachel Held Evans   Jim 

February 9 (with confirmands) Search for Wonder/Practice Expectancy Jim 

February 16 Worship…Liturgy…God’s disclosure thru the Word Jim 

February 23 Sacraments as a Means of Grace Dr Ron Anderson (Ernest and Bernice Styberg Professor of Worship, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary) 

March 2 Theology of Baptism Ron 

LENT
March 9 Theology of Baptism 2 Ron 

March 16 Theology of Holy Communion… Ron or Jim 

March 23 Theology of Suffering...Introduction Jim 

March 30      Theology of Suffering...Book of Job…Richard Rohr views Jim 

April 6 Theology of Suffering…Book of Job…Gustavo Gutierrez views Jim 

April 13 Jim out…How do we talk to God in the face of suffering/prayer  

April 20 Easter  

April 27 Sent in Love series:  The Mission of God and the Church Ron/ Jim  

May 4 Who is the Church called to be…a sent people Ron/Jim 

May 11 Who is the Church called to be…an inclusive people Jim/Ron 

May 18 Who is the Church called to be…a holy people Jim/ Ron 

May 25 Who is the church called to be…a diverse people Ron/Jim 

June 1 Who is the church, called to be…sent in love panel discussion 

June 8 Pentecost: Implications for First Church panel discussion