St. Thomas, Whitemarsh

Winter-Spring 2010 Classes and Confrences

Ethics in Islam

Saturday, March 26, 2011
Imam Muhammad ‘Abdur-Razzaq Miller will lead a morning program from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on “Ethics and Islam.” There will be three 30 minute presentations followed by a question and answer session:

1. A Code for Living: From No Ethics to Whose?

2. Ethics in Islam: Said Muhammad, upon whom be blessings and peace, “Every religion has its most significant characteristic and the most significant characteristic of Islam is modesty.”

3. From Whose Ethics to None: Current purging of moral law from the civil code. What is meant by “Pursuit of Happiness”? How can we increase ethical behavior while preserving freedom?

Imam Muhammad ‘Abdur-Razzaq Miller is Head Imam of the Sufi Mosque of Shaikh M. R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeenin in the Overbrook neighborhood of Philadelphia. He has spoken and lectured on Islam throughout the Philadelphia region to students, medical professionals, judges and in various public forums. Imam Miller serves as a chaplain for the Philadelphia Police Department and is also a board member of the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia.

The cost is $30 at the door or $25 in advance, please make checks payable to: St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh with Ethics and Islam on the memo line. RSVP via e-mail Anita Burke at aburke@stthomaswhitemarsh.org or call the receptionist at 215-233-3970.

The Flight of the Eagle: An Overview of the Gospel of John
Co-lead by the Rev. Marek Zabriskie and Professor Pete Enns

Wednesdays April 6, 13, 20, 27, 2011
The eagle is the traditional symbol connected with the Gospel of John, because the eagle is said to be the only bird capable of flying directly into the sun. John was the last evangelist to write a gospel. His gospel stands completely apart and is said to be the most mystical gospel and the gospel that soars closest to God. Join us for four evenings of fellowship, wine and dinner and a forty-minute lecture shared by our rector and Dr. Pete Enns, a former professor of scripture at the Westminster Theological Seminary, a beloved professor and author of Inspiration and Incarnation, The NIV Application Commentary on the Book of Exodus and other books.

Participants: All St. Thomas parishioners as well as their friends and family and extended community may join us.
Dates: Wednesdays April 6, 13, 20, 27

Each evening in begins with wine and cheese from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. and a special catered dinner from 6:15 until 7:00 p.m. followed by a shared lecture from 7:00 – 7:40 p.m. and time for questions and answers for those who wish to linger for 10 or 15 minutes. This program will be held in MacColl Auditorium on Wednesday evenings in April.

The cost is $25 per evening or $80 for all four evenings. You can sign up for individual evenings or for all four sessions by calling the receptionist at the church office at 215-233-3970. The deadline to sign up is March 30. Checks can be mailed to St. Thomas Church, P.O. Box 247, Fort Washington, PA 19034 – Attention Lizanne Newmiller, memo – The Gospel of John.

St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh invites you to join us for Prayer and Spirituality with Laurence Freeman
Co-sponsored by: Philadelphia Theological Institute

Friday, May 27 & Saturday, May 28
An Introduction to Contemplative Prayer and Meditation
Friday, May 27, 2011
7:00-9:00 p.m. cost $20.00 at door $25.00
Prayer has many forms and depths but at its heart there is the pure act of attention which opens the heart in love and to the vision of God. Simplicity is the way. Transformation is the fruit.

The Great Chasm: Spirituality In A Time of Austerity
Saturday, May 28, 2011
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. cost $30.00 at door $35.00
Through a contemplative reading of the parable of the rich and the poor (in Luke 16) Fr. Laurence Freeman OSB points to a renewal of values and the meaning of well-being that begins with the opening of the heart and works outwards to change our world.
Box Lunch: $10.00
Both sessions: $40.00 in advance

Please make checks payable to: St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh and write Laurence Freeman on the memo line.

Laurence Freeman is a Benedictine monk of the Congregation of Monte Oliveto and Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation. He was born in England where he was educated by the Benedictines and studied English Literature at Oxford University. Before entering monastic life he had experience with the United Nations, banking and journalism. In the monastery his spiritual teacher was John Main with whom he studied and whom he helped in the establishment of the first Christian Meditation Centre in London. In 1977 he went with John Main at the invitation of the Archbishop of Montreal to establish a Benedictine community of monks and laypeople dedicated to the practice and teaching of Christian Meditation. Fr Laurence studied theology at the Université de Montréal and at McGill University, made his solemn monastic profession in 1979 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1980. After John Main’s death in 1982 he continued the work of teaching meditation that had now begun to develop a global community. In 1991 Fr Laurence returned to England to establish the International Centre of the newly formed World Community for Christian Meditation that is now present in about a hundred countries. Laurence Freeman is the author of many books and articles and the editor of John Main’s work. He has conducted dialogues and peace initiatives such as the historic Way of Peace with the Dalai Lama and is active in inter-religious dialogue with other faiths as well as in encouraging the teaching of Christian meditation to children and students and in the re-appropriation of the contemplative wisdom tradition in the Church and society at large.

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