Faith in Action @ 50 Minutes: Shane Claiborne, Author and Activist

This Sunday, October 30, author and activist Shane Claiborne will be speaking at 50 Minutes.  Shane is the co-founder of The Simple Way, an intentional faith community in North Philadelphia.  With tears and laughter, Shane unveils the tragic messes we’ve made of our world and the tangible hope that another world is possible through peacemaking, social justice, and faith in Jesus Christ.

Shane will share his experiences in ministry, his ideas about new monasticism and community, and what it means to follow Jesus in the 21st century.

We invite you to attend the event, and think about:

+ What do the ideas of The Simple Way mean for St. Peter's?

+ What do the experiences and work of Shane Claiborne and Carol Howard Merritt say about the church moving into the 21st century?  Who are we trying to reach, and how?

+ What can we take away from Shane's ideas and experiences for both our faith community and for our own individual lives?


Visit the St. Peter's Adult Ed page for more information, and we'll see you Sunday!

Faith in Action @ 50 Minutes: Carol Howard Merritt, Pastor and Author

This Sunday, October 9, The Rev. Carol Howard Merritt will be speaking at 50 Minutes. Ms. Merritt is an influential voice for young Christians, both as the author of the books Reframing Hope and Tribal Church and as the pastor of Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. She will also lead an afternoon discussion from 2:00 to 4:00.

Drawing upon her knowledge of postmodernism and her experience as a young mainline pastor, Ms. Merritt proposes hope as the virtue for vital Christian community, especially for the younger -- often missing -- generations. Her work at Western Presbyterian, an intergenerational congregation committed to serving the poor of DC, gives her a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the church today.

We invite you to attend the talk and discussion, and to think about:

+ What can we at St. Peter's learn from Ms. Merritt's work?

+ What do you think of her ideas as a response to some of the other issues raised by our last two speakers, Gary Dorrien and Paul Levy?

+ Thinking especially about Mr. Levy's talk and his comments about social and economic changes in Philadelphia, what does it mean to be a church in an urban setting? Do we have a special mission?

+ Ms. Merritt's work focuses on those who are sometimes forgotten or excluded by the church, especially young adults. In a recent blog post she asks, "What sort of church would work in a new generation? What is our vision for the 21st Century?" What do you think the answers might be, especially thinking about young adults at St. Peter's?

Visit the St. Peter's Adult Ed page for more information. You can also check out her blog and subscribe to her feed on Facebook.