Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

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Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

Special Opportunities for October 2010

October 2010

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written,
‘Out of Zion will come the Deliverer,
he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them,
when I take away their sins.” — Romans 11:26

This fall we have initiated a Wednesday night program which has started off well.  We are offering a light supper at 6:30 pm followed by the Fuel (senior high) or Go Mad (junior high) groups meeting on alternating Wednesdays.  For parents and adults we are presenting a Bible study in the Gospel of Mark at 7:30 pm.  We offer the same study two weeks in a row. This is so that Junior and Senior High parents can take the same Bible study on the same Wednesdays their children are in their respective youth programs.  Also, other parents can do the same if they so desire, with one parent attending on week A and the other on week B.  Each would have the opportunity of going to the same study on different nights..  This also means that members of the church in general have the choice of going to the study the first or second week that it is offered (the outlines of the study can also be found on the church web site).

The initial responses we have received suggest that this is a workable schedule for most people, parents, singles, couples or whomever.  Having an ongoing Wednesday schedule also gives us some other options.  For example, on Oct. 13 and 20 we will have with us Dr. Michael Kogan, the chair of the Philosophy and Religion Department of Montclair State University.  Michael is no stranger to our congregation.  He is a Jewish scholar with a deep interest in both Christian-Jewish relations and the New Testament (which he teaches at Montclair State). Michael has recently published a book entitled Opening the Covenant: A Jewish Theology of Christianity.  In these two sessions he will be discussing themes from his book focusing on his interpretation of Romans chapters 9-11.  This will be a fascinating discussion of a major Biblical topic.  It shouldn’t be missed.

Also on Friday nights in October beginning on Oct. 1 we will be featuring a film festival on the producer Val Lewton.  Val Lewton made a series of films in the 1940’s with grade B horror titles assigned to him by his studio which he turned into a remarkable series dealing with spiritual conflict, Christian belief, guilt and human struggle.  Several of them were suggested by texts from John Donne’s Holy Sonnets.  This past summer I wrote an article on him which will be published later this year in The Scarlet Film Magazine.  The films will be shown on Friday nights, October 1, 8, 15, 22 at 8 pm in the Fellowship Room.  This is an ideal opportunity to invite friends for a series of highly imaginative, provocative films that will make for interesting discussion.

These are only a few of the special opportunities taking place this October. You can find others listed in News of Grace.