Kick Off Sunday! Adult Education: “Dominion”
Kick Off Sunday! Adult Education: “Dominion”
This coming Sunday is our annual “Kick Off Sunday” when we celebrate the return of the Parish Choir and spend some extended time in fellowship with a parish potluck lunch following the 10 AM service. We will also have a brief “State of the Parish” update from the Wardens and a celebration and blessing of the new parking lot!
I hope that you will join us this Sunday, and if there is a friend or neighbor you’ve been meaning to invite to Church, well this Sunday is a perfect time to do so!
Adult Education: “Dominion”
I am also pleased to announce the Adult Education program for 2024-25. This year we will be picking off where last year’s “The Path” left off. The last of the books of the New Testament were written some time during the end of the first century. But the story of the love of God has continued ever since through the life of the Church these past almost 2,000 years. And so as a means of continuing the story that connects us here today in the 21st century all the way back to the first, we’ll be going a journey through Church history.
Now, I know history isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. With the exception of us history nerds, when most people think about history, they think boring, and just a succession of names and dates. And to be fair, that is sometimes how history reads.
But! I am going to try and convince and show you otherwise! Many of you commented how powerful it was to go through the whole story of the Bible by getting the highlights week after week, by using “The Path.” I am hoping that it will be a similar case with this year’s class through Church history.
The book we’ll be using, is NOT an “official” Church history text book. It’s NOT published by a church, and it’s NOT written by a clergy person or even a professor. It is a book written at the popular level, and has been praised as not just readable but incredibly engaging. The author, Tom Holland, is a gifted writer who has made former history “haters” into fellow history “buffs.”
When I first came across his book, “Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World” about 4 years ago I was truly on the edge of my seat as I read it. At the time I recommended it to many of my friends. I even remember mentioning it during my interview with the St. David’s Search Committee about a year and a half ago.
But it’s not just me who enjoyed it. “Dominion” has received immense amounts of critical acclaim.
Here are some quotes from various editorial reviews from the Amazon page:
“A galloping tour of Christianity's influence across the last 2,000 years, with vivid vignettes scattered across the centuries.”
“An absorbing survey of Christianity's subversive origins and enduring influence…filled with vivid portraits, gruesome deaths and moral debates...Holland has all the talents of an accomplished novelist: a gift for narrative, a lively sense of drama and a fine ear for the rhythm of a sentence.”
“What in other hands could have been a dry pedantic account of Christianity…becomes in Holland's an all-absorbing story....It takes a master storyteller to translate the development of a philosophical notion into a captivating story, and Holland proves to be one....The book's scope is breathtaking.”
“A masterpiece of scholarship and storytelling…Dominion presents a rich and compelling history of Christendom.”
“This extraordinary book is…history boldly and elegantly retold, with fascinating interconnections traced to create a narrative that cannot fail to stimulate.”
I’ve gone on long enough, and so I hope that I have piqued your interest at least enough to join us this year as we make our way through Church history using Tom Holland’s “Dominion.”
Thank you to everyone who filled out the Parish Wide Survey. While no time worked for everyone, it was clear that the time that worked the best for the most people was on Sunday mornings from 9:00-9:45 AM. Our first, introductory session will take place on 9/22, and we will begin covering Chapter 1 of the book on 9/29. I’ll soon be posting a schedule with corresponding chapters for each week we gather, and so even if you aren’t able to make it to the classes, or you can only make it to some of the classes from time to time, I still encourage you to join in reading along with the rest of the parish.
There is no bulk order discount for this book, so you are more than welcome to purchase your copy wherever you prefer to do so. It is available in hardback, paperback, Ebook/Kindle, and audio book. If you’d like the Church to purchase you a copy, please let the Office know. Cost is approx. $15 for paperback and $22 for hardcover.
I hope you all are doing well as we commence a new program year here at St. David’s.
See you in Church!
Peace,
Fr Adler+
p.s. Just a reminder that all in the parish are invited to a weekend away parish retreat April 4-6, 2025 at the DeKoven Center in Racine, WI. Please click on the following link and fill out the survey letting us know if you can join us! https://forms.gle/kFUSfEGtbWgW2rh78. If filling out forms isn’t your thing, then please simply email the office office@stdavidsglenview.org.