First Baptist Friends,
 
Last year in our Sunday School group we read Shared Storied, Rival Tellings, in which we were introduced to the writings of various early Christian thinkers (including Justin, Origen, Irenaeus, and Marcion) on the biblical stories of Cain and Abel, Mary (Mother of Jesus), and Hagar and Sarah. During the 2017-18 Sunday School year, we are going to look at the writings of those and other early Christian thinkers in greater depth. While last year the writings of the early Christian thinkers were relayed to us primarily through a secondary source, this year we are going to read English translations of what the early Christian writers actually wrote. These primary sources include works found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the Gnostic library at Nag Hammadi, in monastic libraries, and at buried sites such as the church at Dura Europas in Syria. These texts have been collected and introduced by Bart Ehrman, a leading New Testament scholar at UNC-Chapel Hill, in After the New Testament: A Reader in Early Christianity 100-300 CE. First Baptist Church can make these books available to you at cost or above or below cost, depending upon what you can afford - and desire - to pay.
 
The volume includes:

•  Texts narrating conversions to Christianity
• Accounts of persecutions and martyrdoms
• Pagan attacks on Christianity, and the apologies (defenses) made by Christians to such attacks
• Anti-Judaic polemics by early Christians 
• Writings later deemed heretical (including Gnostic Christian texts)
• Writings against “heretics”
• Apostolic writings that did not make it into the Canon (including the Gospels of Thomas and Judas)
• Lists of the evolving Canon (including the first Church history by Eusebius)
• Early Christian approaches to the interpretation of scripture 
• The early proclamation of the Word through homilies
• Descriptions of the organizational structure and liturgy of early Christianity (including the Didache)
• Texts describing the role of women in the early Church
• Explorations of ethical issues (Do Jesus’ teachings clarify or replace the Jewish Law?  Do Christian ethics go beyond the teachings of Jesus?  Is the material world inherently evil? Does the renunciation of sex provide liberation to men?  To women?)
• Early statements of theological principles (unlike most ancient religions, Christians thought that what one believed affected one’s standing before God)

 
We won’t be able to read, much less discuss in depth, all of the 96 texts contained in After the New Testament during our roughly 40 class sessions this year. Therefore, it will up to the members of our class to decide which topics and texts we will cover. 
 
Steve Loar and I are hoping that the leadership of this course will be shared among all of the participants, so that the class can continue during those Sundays when I am away. Our first class will be held at 9:00am on Sunday, September 17 in the Everts Room on the lower level of the educational wing (the same place we met last year).  At that first class, we can decide which texts we will study during the fall, and then we can develop similar lists later for our winter and spring classes. For our first class on the 17th, you just need to read the wonderful General Introduction (Chapter 1), and the three page essay on The Spread of Christianity at the beginning of Chapter 2. 
 
If we decide we like this approach to learning about the early development of Christianity, next year we could study Ehrman’s sequel, Christianity in Late Antiquity 300-450 CE. It contains numerous texts by three of the Great Fathers of the Western Church (Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine), and the four Great Fathers of the Eastern Church (Basil the Great, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom).
 
Steve and I are looking forward to seeing all of you on September 17th at 9:00am!
 
Dick Ransom

For the second year in a row we are happy to have supported Boston game developers put on their yearly Game Dev Community Summer Potluck. We made tables and chairs available to their volunteers who picked them up at the church before the event and returned them after. The festivities took place on Sunday, August 6, at Rogers Street Park next to the American Twine building in Cambridge, where Intrepid Pursuits has their offices. It was a wonderful diverse gathering of people who make all sorts of games, both digital and physical.

It happened the day after Boston GameLoop, an unconference (or open conference) about game development and related topics. Rather than having a set conference schedule, attendees pitch topics and everyone votes on which sessions they want to happen. Besides technical sessions about developing games, issues from the humanities often arise. Our own Communications Director, Ben Chicka, has attended the last few years and led discussions on the science behind online bullying and depictions of religion in video games.  

Whether you knew this event was happening or not, know that the church's support is appreciated throughout the greater Boston area.

Last year some of us tried getting up on a soap box. It was an experiment in changing church-life during a time of cultural change. We are doing it again in 2017 during the entire month of August.

Once upon a time, without public address systems, phone lines, and the internet, we relied on the impact of a skilled orator and a wooden box on a busy downtown intersection. Churches civilized things a bit by designating a special person (clergy) and even a special place (a pulpit). Like the conductor of an orchestra, we read from the shared script (the Bible) and the conductor assures us we interpreted the score (text) as the composer (author) intended.  

Times have changed, however, and our relationships with authority figures have changed. Authority figures held power based on information and special training in interpreting the information. Lawyers interpreted law, doctors interpreted maladies, bankers interpreted numbers, and clergy interpreted sacred texts. But, no longer. We purchase legal forms online. We seek second opinions and alternative medicine. We manage our own retirement accounts. We interpret the Bible on our own and even ask friends to marry and bury us. 

We still need “trained professionals,” mind you.  I certainly want an “expert” to perform my heart surgery, should I ever need it. But, we need something different from these “trained professionals.” We need these trained professionals to convene “communities of interpretation.”  Put another way, we need more soapboxes.

Churches now have a unique opportunity to become “communities of interpretation,” where the Bible and the world can be interpreted as a community, not simply by the “professionals.” In this type of church, soapboxes are brought inside and multiple voices can be heard as an expression of Christian faithfulness. In this setting, it is the hearing of multiple perspectives and living together amid our shared and divergent stories that is the measure of our faith.

It is in this spirit that we offer Soapbox Sundays. Last year we tried this idea for the first time and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

Each Sunday this August will be a Soapbox Sunday. You (yes, you) are encouraged to share for about 5 minutes on a topic and Bible passage of your choice. Share a story from your life, make an argument for something you are passionate about, offer a response to a passage which inspires you or irritates you, or tell us about your long wonderful or harrowing history with the God and church.

Up to four people can sign up to share each Sunday.

A disclaimer: by the end of the month, you will be offended by something someone says or the way they say it. Count on it and welcome it. During these trying times, I can think of few more meaningful things for us to do than to celebrate one another by encountering our uniqueness as individuals in the caring context of our Sunday morning time together. At First Baptist Church, “getting on your soapbox” will be a term of endearment reserved for those willing to get up and get real.

If you are interested in giving a Soapbox Sermon, click the following link and enter your name in the form:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10jiXaMerDNYJd2jMn3DEa8JbZ8_EoyNzcfhXvdX817w/edit?usp=sharing

Sunday June 25, 2017 at 3:00 pm we celebrated the ordination of Amy Clark Feldman. Thank you to everyone who came to share the moment, and congratulations Amy! Share in the celebration by enjoying some pictures from the day and leaving Amy a note in the comments.

by Sean Witty

Looking for more? Starting in June, First Baptist Church in Newton will be kicking off monthly Kaleidoscope Community Nights. These nights are designed to get us together outside of Sunday morning services and help us build relationships, strengthen our community, and have fun! We will meet on the third Friday night of the month, unless otherwise stated, and choose something fun to do from our "kaleidoscope" of opportunities. We might share a meal, watch a movie, go to a play, concert, or a sports event, grab a drink, play a game...the possibilities are endless! Big idea: you don't want to miss this. So if you're single or you're married with kids, if you're in college or if you're in retirement, no matter who you are or where you are on your journey, you're welcome to our Kaleidoscope Community Nights. Come and see... 

Blue Ribbon Sunday is now a yearly tradition here at First Baptist Church. ​After 10 AM worship concludes on June 11 we will head onto the church lawn to enjoy Blue Ribbon BBQ and live music. This year we will also be able to browse the work of artists at the Common Cathedral Art Show, because Blue Ribbon Sunday will be supporting the work of the Common Cathedral. They minister to people experiencing homelessness, and their friends.

Common Art is their program which provides space, materials, and support staff to help unhoused and low income individuals develop their artistic abilities. For many, Common Art is a singular chance to express their artistic gifts. For some, art is a professional path that has been interrupted by calamity and homelessness. For others, art is an opportunity to express unheard opinions and truths. For everyone, it is a welcome relief from daily difficulty. As a longtime artist in the program said, "I came for the art... and I stayed for the love." Click here to learn more about the program.

Our Compassion in Action team previously attended worship at the Common Cathedral one Sunday and shared lunch with those present. Here are a few pictures from that day.

"Seeing red" is often associated with anger and aggression, but this Sunday it will be connected to nothing but joy and goodness.

Peggy McLoughlin will join us during our 10 am service this Sunday for one of our Red Chair Conversations. Peggy's yoga classes have been meeting here at First Baptist Church for 20 years. She and Sean will discuss yoga as "body prayer" and teach some simple chair/office yoga that you can use throughout the week. Click here to learn more about her classes.

​This Sunday is also a Red Wagon Sunday. The last Sunday of every month we invite everyone to bring non-perishable food, baby products, hygiene items, and pet supplies to our 10 am worship service. Everything is donated to the Centre Street Food Pantry. Yes, we bring it to them in a red wagon. There is a reason for the name. Click here to see a list of items currently needed.

Are you unsure about Christianity, but just want to learn some practical things about yoga? Please join us. Do you just want to help out those in need? Everyone is welcome, no exceptions.

Do you remember our book drive for More Than Words? We donated around 1,200 books to their cause. Now they are expanding! They were also recently featured in The Boston Globe. Click here to read the story.

​Hello friends,

One of the wonderful things about our interfaith Refugee Immigration Ministry (RIM) cluster is the opportunity to work with – and get to know – people from other faith traditions. We hope to have a series of events where each congregation opens its doors to guests from the other congregations. To that end, on Sunday June 4 at 5:30 PM, all are invited to attend Evensong at Grace Episcopal Church, 76 Eldredge St. in Newton.

A choral Evensong with a choir is one of the most beautiful services in the Episcopalian tradition, and this service will celebrate Pentecost Sunday:

"... suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language."

Please come to Grace Church on Sunday June 4th at 5:30 PM for Choral Evensong. Ask Wendy or Eunice if you have any questions or if you need a ride. 

One last thought. Why, you might ask, were all of the disciples gathered along with people of many languages? The disciples and others were in Jerusalem, celebrating Shavuot  ("The Feast of Weeks"),  the Jewish holiday recognizing the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. We are all learning from each other.

~Wendy
On behalf of Compassion in Action