Study Group Assignment: May 2020
Community Ministry Through Art and History. At St. John St. James we have the opportunity to provide a community ministry through sharing our art and history with others in the neighborhood and city. As we research the history of the church, and of the two churches that merged to form St. John St. James, we find many stories that show the power of Christian faith at work in the world. As we share these stories, accompanied by our collection of Allan Crite artwork, we think that everyone who sees and reads will be inspired in many ways. This month's study group materials look at the manuscript of a book, "Cultural Foundations of America" that Allan Crite wrote in the 1960s.
For the May study group
- Look at the presentation below, showing the preview of the "Cultural Foundations" manuscript. (You can view it as a PowerPoint presentation,
a video of the presentation (no audio) or as slides... choose whichever format works for your computer or device.
- Consider one or more of the following discussion questions:
[a.] The "Cultural Foundations" book emphasizes the "untold" stories that were traditionally left out of American history. When you studied American history in school, how much did your American history class include the history of Native Americans, Africans and other cultures? How were these stories valuable to you? What aspects of history do you wish were more fully included in your history classes?
[b.] The "Cultural Foundations" book emphasizes the spread of Christianity in the early years of the church, from Palestine to Africa, India, Western Europe and parts of Asia. While many Westerners have thought of Christianity as a Western, or European, religion, these early stories show that it was always an international, multi-cultural religion, from the very beginning. How many countries can you find mentioned in the New Testament?
[c.] Crite's reflections on history seem to be a blend of realism and idealism. What was it about the time period (late 1960s) or about Crite's philosophy and faith that made him idealistic?
View the presentation using the slides below, or view as: PowerPoint presentation or video version (no audio)
Slide 1 of 25
May 12, 2020