QUEST CONNECTING FAITH AND LIFE 2019
An adult study group exploring contemporary understandings of faith and life.
Sunday morning from 9.00am to 10.05am in The Avenue Centre.
Sunday morning from 9.00am to 10.05am in The Avenue Centre.
NOVEMBER
SUNDAY 3 November: “The gospel of Jesus and/or a gospel about Jesus?”
What Jesus did and said to people made such a difference to some of them that they saw their lives and their world in a new way. The ‘good news’ (the meaning of the word ‘gospel’) changed them. Over the following centuries religious leaders gradually developed ideas about Jesus that pictured him as a divine figure sacrificing his life to bring salvation to sinful humans. By the fourth century these beliefs expressed in the Nicene Creed gave virtually no attention to what Jesus taught about how to live. By reading the first three gospels we can hear good news from Jesus that is very different from later statements of good news about Jesus.
Leader: David Merritt
Sunday 10 November: An interview with Michael Ots about his life story.
And Ken Turner “What is important to me”
This continues the popular series where participants in Quest share their stories and give us glimpse of what is important to them.
Sunday 17 November: “What could a future church look like?”
The Institutional Church that we have loved now faces real challenges including a lack of relevance and respect in the wider community, and what was once an influential part of Australian society now seems marginalised. 20 and 30 somethings are more likely to choose a faith community that services their need rather than the faith of their parents, so what are some possibilities even hunches for the Uniting Church.
Our leader Rod Dungan has extensive experience in youth, children and family work in the church and community and is currently a chaplain on the student wellbeing staff of Brentwood Secondary College, Glen Waverley. He is Director of Thriving Youth Australia, a training and resourcing organisation in strength based practice for people working with young people and a partner with Resilience Youth Australia, a research organisation committed to informing young people of key issues facing young people.
Sunday 24 November: “An introduction to the history of God”.
In 1993 leading British religion scholar and commentator, Karen Armstrong, published a book that became a best seller: “A History of God. The 4000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam”. The book traces the history of how women and men have experienced and thought about God from the time of Abraham to the present day. Today’s topic offers an introduction to one of the great human quests.
Our leader, Rev Dr Allen Edwards, a regular participant in Quest, is a retired Uniting Church minister who was a full-time hospital chaplain for 20 years – at Royal Children’s Hospital then at Epworth. He has served on four hospital Research Ethics Committees and on the Uniting Church Bioethics Committee.
SUNDAY 3 November: “The gospel of Jesus and/or a gospel about Jesus?”
What Jesus did and said to people made such a difference to some of them that they saw their lives and their world in a new way. The ‘good news’ (the meaning of the word ‘gospel’) changed them. Over the following centuries religious leaders gradually developed ideas about Jesus that pictured him as a divine figure sacrificing his life to bring salvation to sinful humans. By the fourth century these beliefs expressed in the Nicene Creed gave virtually no attention to what Jesus taught about how to live. By reading the first three gospels we can hear good news from Jesus that is very different from later statements of good news about Jesus.
Leader: David Merritt
Sunday 10 November: An interview with Michael Ots about his life story.
And Ken Turner “What is important to me”
This continues the popular series where participants in Quest share their stories and give us glimpse of what is important to them.
Sunday 17 November: “What could a future church look like?”
The Institutional Church that we have loved now faces real challenges including a lack of relevance and respect in the wider community, and what was once an influential part of Australian society now seems marginalised. 20 and 30 somethings are more likely to choose a faith community that services their need rather than the faith of their parents, so what are some possibilities even hunches for the Uniting Church.
Our leader Rod Dungan has extensive experience in youth, children and family work in the church and community and is currently a chaplain on the student wellbeing staff of Brentwood Secondary College, Glen Waverley. He is Director of Thriving Youth Australia, a training and resourcing organisation in strength based practice for people working with young people and a partner with Resilience Youth Australia, a research organisation committed to informing young people of key issues facing young people.
Sunday 24 November: “An introduction to the history of God”.
In 1993 leading British religion scholar and commentator, Karen Armstrong, published a book that became a best seller: “A History of God. The 4000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam”. The book traces the history of how women and men have experienced and thought about God from the time of Abraham to the present day. Today’s topic offers an introduction to one of the great human quests.
Our leader, Rev Dr Allen Edwards, a regular participant in Quest, is a retired Uniting Church minister who was a full-time hospital chaplain for 20 years – at Royal Children’s Hospital then at Epworth. He has served on four hospital Research Ethics Committees and on the Uniting Church Bioethics Committee.
Discussions at Quest are often enriched by the participation of people from other churches.
