Join us at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings in January for this third series of 2012-2013 at the Rattlesnake Bar and Grill with the presentations beginning at 7:30 p.m.  We hope to see you there!

In this series we look at how the Gospel of Jesus Christ informs and transforms our relationship to work and rest, including such topics as:

• Why the calling to love and follow Jesus Christ is the root of every other calling
• The Trinitarian doctrines of creation and redemption as models for work and leisure
• What the Bible teaches, in the Old and New Covenants, about our work and the Sabbath
• How Christian community, the world’s needs, and your skills inform your vocation
• The Gospel’s interruption of our dispersing, frantic and busy modern lives characterized by boredom
• You need a break: Sabbath-as-refreshment, delight and restoration through Grace
• Trusting the Lord of the Sabbath: Resting in a world of anxiety, worry and exhaustion

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

“The Other Six Days: The Meaning of Vocation in the Ordinary”

Rev’d Dr. William G. Messenger, Executive Editor, Theology of Work Project

According to the Bible, God calls people to all kinds of professions.  In this talk Dr. Messenger will explore the biblical theology of work, investigate calling to the marketplace, and give practical ways to begin discerning your own calling.

William G. Messenger is the Executive Editor of the Theology of Work Project, Inc., an international organization dedicated to researching, writing, and circulating materials about how the Christian faith can contribute to non-church workplaces. Its materials are available free of charge at www.theologyofwork.org. The TOW Project also helps faith-and-work organizations, pastors, and Christians in the workplace work more closely together to equip their members for meaningful and fruitful work in the world. It intends to complete its first phase of research and writing during 2013.

Will was the Director of the Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Workplace at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary from 1999 to 2008, and an adjunct faculty member there. He created and led the seminary’s doctoral and master’s degree programs in workplace leadership and business ethics. He presently serves as an adjunct faculty member of Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School (Auckland, New Zealand) and a guest lecturer at Holy Cross College (Worcester, MA). He was previously an adjunct professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, NY).

Will is a member of the Board of Directors of ArQule, Inc., a biotechnology company near Boston, where he chairs the compensation, nominating and governance committee and is a member of the audit committee. He previously worked as a sales representative at IBM, corporate finance associate at Goldman Sachs, consultant at McKinsey & Co., and vice president of sales and marketing Advanced Metabolic Systems. Will is ordained in the Episcopal Church and formerly served as pastor of Charles River Church in Boston and assistant rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Belmont, MA. He was awarded a B.S. in Physics from Case Western Reserve University, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, a Master of Divinity from Boston University School of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Will was born in 1960. He lives in Belmont, MA, with his wife and their two daughters.

Copies of this talk will be available afterwards at www.theologyofwork.org/theologyontap.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

“Boredom: The Root of All Evil? Kierkegaard as Antidote to Ennui”

Mr. Adam C. Rutledge, Ph.D. (Cand.) Brandeis University, Department of English

Adam is a well-known parishioner of the Advent who serves on the vestry.  He is finishing a Ph.D. on religious themes in literary modernism at Brandeis University, and he has a masters degree in Religion and Literature from Yale Divinity School.  His interests include Aesthetics, the relationship between Philosophy, Theology, and Literature, Medieval Latin Literature, and the History of the Book. He currently works in the investment group of a trust firm in Boston’s financial district.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

“And it is Good: Sabbath as Play-day of Grace”

Ms. Susan P. Currie, Associate for Spiritual Formation, Leadership Transformations

 “Sabbath”—depending on your past personal or community experience, the word may evoke feelings of intrigue, boredom, restriction, refreshment… And no matter what your direct experience, it’s likely to be a word that is more theoretical than it is descriptive of your life. Yet in its biblical roots, the practice of Sabbath has everything to do with our identity and our calling, and is intended to not only evoke and invite but to actually draw us into freedom and wholeness, laughter and joy. Take an hour to explore Sabbath together—it will reorient your life!

Susan Porterfield Currie serves with Leadership Transformations, a parachurch ministry committed to helping ministry leaders care for their soul. As their Associate for Spiritual Formation, Susan directs Selah, LTi’s Spiritual Direction Certificate Program for Ministry Leaders, and works with Masters students at Gordon-Conwell Seminary in a spiritual formation program. In and around her programed ministry life, Susan also leads retreats and meets with people one-on-one for spiritual direction. She finds her joy in helping others grow in attentiveness to God’s loving presence and ways in their lives. Susan received her theological training at Gordon-Conwell Seminary (DMin, MATS) and did her undergraduate studies at Bryn Mawr College. Her exploration of Sabbath living has been forged in an active vocation and household whose calendar invites everything but rest. (Susan and her husband Dave have been married for 30 years and have served in both parish and seminary ministry; they are the parents of 3 now grown children; and their home is filled with long-term family members as well as short-term students and visitors. Still, they lean into daily, weekly, quarterly and annual rhythms of Sabbath.)