The Episcopal Diocese of Utah
Affirmations
Spring 2008

The Affirmations Series of lectures, workshops and retreats offers a vehicle to help people develop intellectually and spiritually. Offerings are open to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

Some Fine Print ...
Each Affirmations program requires a minimum group size for optimal participation. If the number of registrations does not meet the stated minimum by the registration deadline, the program will be cancelled. As much as we would like to hold programs when even two or three are gathered, we must also honor the time and work commitment of each program leader as well as being good stewards of physical meeting resources.  We therefore encourage you to make your reservations early. Likewise, if you must cancel your registration, we greatly appreciate being notified. Thank you!

Download the Affirmations brochure (PDF) for future reference offline!

How to Register
To sign up, contact Angela at arogers@episcopal-ut.org or Camille at The Episcopal Church Center of Utah at 801-322-4131 or toll-free 800-343-4756 by the stated deadline for each offering. Requested donations may be made at the door or paid in advance. Make your check payable to: The Episcopal Diocese of Utah and mail it to

Affirmations
The Episcopal Diocese of Utah
c/o The Rev. Jessica A. Hatch
75 South 200 East
PO Box 3090
Salt Lake City UT 84110-3090

The Last Week of His Life: The Passion Stories of Jesus

Saturday, February 2, 2008 - 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler
The Episcopal Church Center of Utah (ECCU)
75 South 200 East, SLC

When we recall the Gospel narratives about Jesus' passion and death, we tend to conflate them, that is, we combine the stories into one story. This study will give us time to look at these narratives separately, to appreciate the details that are common to all the stories, but more importantly, to recognize how they are different from one another, and how each telling aligns with the evangelist's purpose and larger themes. By a close reading we will come to appreciate not only the viewpoints presented, but nourish our own souls as a pre-Lenten spiritual discipline. The day will also be illustrated with slides of art and archaeology which illuminate the texts. Suggested donation: $10 for lunch and materials. Minimum: 8 registrants. Registration deadline is Jan. 26.

The Last Week of His Life... will also be offered on
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Church of the Good Shepherd, 2374 Grant Ave., Ogden, UT
Registration deadline is Feb. 16.
And on
Saturday, March 15, 2008
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 1072 E. 900 S., St. George, UT
Registration deadline is March 8.

So When are You Going to Become a Priest?

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2008
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Special guest, deacons, and diocesan staff
St. Mary's Episcopal Church
50 West 2nd North, Provo, UT

This program takes its title from a question most frequently asked of deacons. The conversation about deacons in the Church is for all who wonder about who deacons are, what they do and why, and how their ministry differs from that of other ministries of the baptized, including that of priest. Speakers include a special guest, and panelists will talk about the theology of the diaconal vocation, ministry, and training and field questions from participants.
Suggested donation: $10 to cover lunch and materials.
Minimum: 10 registrants.
Registration deadline is February 2nd.

Hooker on Worship: Book Five of the Lawes

Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The Rev. Adam Linton and Dr. Mark S. LeTourneau
The Episcopal Church Center of Utah (ECCU)
75 South 200 East, SLC

In a recent opinion piece in Episcopal Life entitled "Hooked on Hooker," Ellen Baer confessed that, despite being a lifelong Episcopalian, she knew little of Richard Hooker, the great Reformation architect of our Anglican heritage. The Rev. Adam S. Linton and Dr. Mark S. LeTourneau have been hooked on Hooker since they began studying his magnum opus Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie three years ago, and they would like to continue sharing their findings and their (always decorous) enthusiasm for Hooker with other Utah Episcopalians. Our first Affirmations introduced Hooker's doctrines of law, the Bible, and the Church, setting them in the context of both the English and Continental Reformation. In this class, we examine his treatment of the subject perhaps closest to our collective heart: public worship. Book Five of the Lawes has been well described as a massively learned defense of The Book of Common Prayer. Following an overview of the book, we present, for discussion, Hooker's doctrines of preaching, prayer, and the sacraments (baptism and eucharist). Our purpose, once again, is to show how Hooker puts us in touch with a dimension of our history as a Reformed Church that, we think, has much relevance to our contemporary situation.
Suggested donation: $10 to cover lunch and materials.
10 registrant minimum.
Registration deadline: Feb. 9.

Sacred Image, Deepened Prayer: Praying with Icons* II

Saturday, March 1, 2008
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler
ECCU, 75 South 200 East, SLC

Icons, or holy pictures, have been used for millennia primarily within the Eastern Orthodox tradition as windows on the divine and as aids to prayer. Recently western Christians have begun to explore icons as part of contemplative prayer. This Lenten retreat will focus on the icon as art and as meditative focus, searching the theology held within each and finding ways to embody the Christ we find there. This day will build on the first "Praying with Icons" retreat offered in 2006, and different icons will be studied. However, new participants are most welcome, as a basic introduction to icons will be included. The day will include a field trip to an Eastern Orthodox church near the ECCU.
Suggested donation: $10 for lunch and materials.
Minimum: 8 registrants.
Registration deadline is Feb. 23.

* Participants may wish to read one or more of the following short books before the retreat.
Jim Forest, Praying With Icons ,1997; H. M. Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord, 1987; Linette Martin, Sacred Doorways: A Beginner's Guide to Icons, 2002.

The Parish Expedition

Saturday, March 8, 2008
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The Rev'ds. Ruth Eller and J. Michael Mayor
ECCU, 75 South 200 East, SLC

"The Parish Expedition" likens parish leadership today to that of the Endurance (Antarctic) expedition of 1914-1916 and focuses on the leadership principles exercised by the ship's captain, Sir Ernest Shackleton. Based on Leading at the Edge by Dennis N. T. Perkins, Margaret P. Holtman, et.al., the principles and case studies cited easily transfer to parish leadership. This presentation was first offered as a full-day workshop to clergy in the Diocese of Wyoming by The Rev'ds Ruth Eller and Michael Mayor who have specially adapted its content and process for the Affirmation series. Especially relevant for parish clergy and lay leaders.
Donation requested: $10 to cover lunch and materials.
Minimum: 10 registrants.
Registration deadline is March 1.

Other Suggested Reading: South: The Endurance Expedition by Ernest Shackleton, Fergus Fleming and Frank Hurley (captain and two crew members) Penguin Classics; Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alan Lansing, 1999.

The Promise of Land: Preaching God's Creation

Noon, April 16 - 11 a.m., April 18
Sponsored by the Presbytery of Utah,
Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.,
and The Episcopal Diocese of Utah
Kristin E. Saldine, Tex Sample
ECCU, 75 South 200 East, SLC

Registration, details TBA

This major conference -- to be hosted at the Episcopal Church Center of Utah -- will draw participants from all over the West and Intermountain West to learn from two renowned scholars and practitioners of the art of homiletics.

Dr. Kristin Emery Saldine joined the faculty of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary as assistant professor of homiletics on July 1, 2006. Prior to her appointment at Austin Seminary, she was minister of the chapel with the rank of assistant professor and associate director of the Joe R. Engle Institute of Preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Saldine's published works include, "Toward a Homiletical Landscape of the American West," in Papers of the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Homiletics, Santa Fe, New Mexico, December 1996, "Half-Way up the Stony Mountain" and "Mary Knows," in The Abingdon Women's Preaching Annual, Year C, 2001, and "Threatened with Resurrection," inSpire (Winter, 2002). In 2005 Dr. Saldine won Religious Communication Association Dissertation of the Year Award and is also a recipient of the Martin Dwelle Kneeland Preaching Prize at San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Dr. Tex Sample is the Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church and Society at Saint Paul School of Theology, a Methodist school in Kansas City, MO where he taught from 1967-1999. Academically, Dr. Sample works and teaches in the areas of U.S. lifestyles, U.S. culture, social theory and social change, power, social class and theological ethics. Author of nine books, he has most recently written about 21st century seekers and their spirituality. His book titles include Blue Collar Ministry: Facing Economic and Social Realities of Working People, Ministry in an Oral Culture-Living With Will Rogers, Uncle Remus, and Minnie Pearl, 1994, and The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World: Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God, 1998 and Powerful Persuasion: Multimedia Witness in Christian Worship, 2005.

The Spring Weekend, below, has been scheduled so participants can take advantage of both preaching conference and the Spring Weekend.

Spring Weekend Conference

The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
ECCU House Blessing and Open House
Episcopal Women' History Project Exhibit
April 18-19, 2008

Presiding Bishop Schori will speak at conference sessions and meals; she will also meet with youth of the diocese and other religious and civic leaders during her visit to Utah. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is the first woman in Anglicanism's nearly 520-year history to lead a church province as its chief bishop.

She is chief pastor to the Episcopal Church's 2.4 million members in 16 countries and 110 dioceses, ecumenical officer, and primate, joining leaders of the other 38 Anglican Provinces in consultation for global good and reconciliation.

Other Events
ECCU House Blessing and Open House
Episcopal Women's History Project Exhibit
Bookstore Open House and Specials

Registration and housing details to be announced.

More Affirmations to come, stay tuned!