_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

10 Great Dates

 

So What Are You Doing on Saturday Nights? 

How would you like a guaranteed night out with your spouse? 

Join us for a brief get-together featuring marriage enriching themes then set out for your own private date!

 

 

February 13, 2010 

Making Marriage a High Priority  

Begins @ 6:00 pm

 

Join other couples from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. for relationship tips then

set out from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. for your own private date!

 

Register Now!!!

 

Lead by marriage professionals, Matt & Marilyn Stevens of Connected Pairs.

  

Call Melinda Shaw at Laurel United Methodist Church

for information on child care. 

Reservations required.

217/525-1866

mshaw@laurelumchurch.org

 

Participant Guide - 10 Great Dates to Energize Your Marriage

available in church office for $10

 

Laurel United Methodist Church

631 South Grand Ave, West • Springfield, Illinois 62704 • 217/525-1866 

(Corner of South Grand and S. Walnut)

www.laurelumchurch.org

 

---

 

 

Creation Story:

Awakening an Ecological Consciousness

 

February 14, 2010 ~ Sunday @ 9:30 a.m.

Fellowship Hall

 

Led by Sr. Sharon Zayac of Jubilee Farm

 

What does “the earth” have to do with our faith? We’ll become aware of the Divine that engages all our senses and plants us firmly in this material/spiritual world. 

 

We‘ll explore the human story and our understanding of creation stories, examine how we’ve forgotten our relationship with God’s creation, and probe the unfolding story of the universe. 

 

Who are we? How do we fit in the relation to the whole? What does “the earth” have to do with our faith in God? Everything!

 

Contact Melinda Shaw 525-1866 or mshaw@laurelumchurch.org for more information.

 

---

 

  

THE PARABLES OF JESUS IN 1^stCENTURY CONTEXT

 

Dr. James Fleming, a world-renowned Biblical scholar and a warmly-regarded guest speaker at LUMC several times since 1998, will be here February 21–23 to tell Jesus’ parables in relationship to the Holy Land’s geography and architecture.

 

After attending Dr. Fleming’s sessions, you will understand how the geography of the countryside and the archaeology of the village can help you to arrive at the deeper meaning of the parables of Jesus. Jesus the Teacher might be thought of as a “metaphorical theologian” who uses human stories to illustrate the nature of the Kingdom of God, and as a poet who told us truth in easy-to-remember forms.

 

You will hear well-known parables in each session:

•        Sunday, February 21 at 7:00–8:30 p.m.

                          Parables Set in the Countryside

 

•        Monday, February 22 at 10:00–11:30 a.m.

                         Jesus the Teacher, Poetry & Parables

 

•        Monday, February 22 at 1:00–2:30 p.m.

                         Parables of the Hidden Kingdom

 

•        Monday, February 22 at 7:00–8:30 p.m.

                         Parables Set in the Home

 

•         Tuesday, February 23 at 7:00–8:30 p.m.

                   Parable of the Lost Child

 

Registration is free.  Please email to mail@laurelumchurch.org if you plan to attend any or all of the lectures. 

 

Jim Fleming, EdD, serves as Director of Biblical Resources Study Center (BRSC), an ecumenical organization serving Christians around the world. He has developed courses of study in historical geography and biblical history, uniquely tying the studies with the biblical text, and emphasizing the wedding of theological/faith relationships.

 

Dr. Fleming’s lectures weave four perspectives to help us understand Biblical times—archaeology, history, geography, and theology. He uses an ecumenical approach to suggest implications of old and recent discoveries for faith journeys of students. Through his lectures, you will embark on a journey to the ancient lands of the Bible and learn of new discoveries of ancient manuscripts that have added significantly to our understanding of the events, hopes, and fears of the people in various Biblical periods. 

 

Dr. Fleming’s photos of many excavations of places from the past will bring you close to the lives of the ancient teachers and prophets, and to the peoples that heard Jesus.