Jesus Speaking In Parables:

His Message Today…

Jesus' parables are much more than nice stories. Parable language is a challenge to the listener.

We are honored & delighted to have Jan Lambrecht S.J. here to teach a course at the Spiritual Renewal Center. He is professor emeritus of New Testament & biblical Greek at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He has taught at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, & served for many years as a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. He is the author of numerous books & commentaries on scripture.

In four sessions, Professor Lambrecht will deal with well-known & less famous parables from the gospels of Mark, Matthew & Luke. What was the message of Jesus in Palestine so long ago? What picture of Jesus do we get while listening to his parables? What is the appeal of Jesus speaking in parables for us today?

Jesus Speaking In Parables will be offered on Mondays, September 21, 28, October 5 and 19, from 7 – 9 p.m. at the Spiritual Renewal Center. We ask $42, or whatever you can afford, for this course. Please contact the Center to register. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from a world-class scholar & seasoned teacher of God’s Word!

Jesuit Novice at the Center…

We’re so pleased to be welcoming Jesuit novice Tim O’Brien, who has been assigned by the Society of Jesus to work here at the Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from September through December.

Originally from the Philadelphia area, Tim graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a degree in political science and Latin American studies. Prior to entering the Jesuits, he worked for two years at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. Since becoming a Jesuit novice, Tim has ministered at the Onondaga County Justice Center, as an orderly at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, and in social justice ministry in Northern Manhattan. An avid reader, Tim is especially interested in the intersection of poetry and spirituality. His other hobbies include cooking, golf, and travel.

Tim will lead our Tuesday morning bible study Catch The Spirit, and will serve in our prison ministry at Midstate Correctional Facility. He’ll also be involved in our Spiritual Exercises retreat program, and will offer a variety of other programs. Be sure to introduce yourself to Tim next time you’re at the Center, and watch this newsletter and our website for news of his ministry here!

Spiritual Exercises…

Although the “nineteenth annotation” version of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius will begin soon, there’s still time to register while space allows. This retreat is the original thirty-day retreat given over thirty weeks, and is designed for active people living in the world. Each week, participants come to the Center to receive individual prayer guidance and to participate in a group session. The program begins mid-September 2009 and will continue through mid-May 2010 and is held on Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday evening. For more information or to apply, contact the Center – soon!

Library Additions…

THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD by James Smith; INTO THE HEART OF MARY by Rea McDonnell; THE WAY OF PRAYER Teresa of Avila; THE SPIRITUAL LANDSCAPE OF MARK by Bonnie Thurston; SEVEN SACRED PAUSES BY Macrina Wiederkehr; HELP MY UNBELIEF by William O’Malley; LEARNING TO FALL by Philip Simmons, and others!

We have an extensive lending library of over 8000 titles, representing the best in classic and contemporary Christian spirituality, scripture resources, and personal guidance - stop in and see all that is available to you! The library is open during regular Center hours.

Catch the Spirit!...

You’re invited to attend our Tuesday bible study – open to anyone who wants to take a closer look at scripture and apply the Word of God to daily life. This lively lectionary –based scripture sharing is offered in a warm comfortable setting at the Spiritual Renewal Center every Tuesday beginning September 8, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. There is no fee, but a basket is available for a free will offering. This fall the group will be led by our Jesuit novice, Tim O’Brien – you will enjoy studying the bible with Tim. There is no need to call ahead, just come whenever you can.

Women’s Spiritual Direction Group...

The women’s spiritual direction group facilitated by Kathy Papa will meet on September 10 and October 15 at the Center from 7 to 8:30 p.m. A fee of $10 per session is requested. Call Kathy Papa at 457-6922, or the Center at 472-6546 for more information or if you have any questions.

Holiday Hours...
The Center will be closed Monday, September 7 in celebration of Labor Day and Monday, October 12 in recognition of Columbus Day.

Contemplative prayer

This group meets once a week at the Spiritual Renewal Center on Wednesday from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. There is no need to all ahead or register. Simply come and pray!

When you give…
When you give to the Spiritual Renewal Center, you’re supporting a Christ-centered ministry that touches the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people every month. As you know, the Spiritual Renewal Center is a non-profit religious organization with no endowment or private funding, a ministry that from year-to-year depends totally on the contributions of friends who are blessed by this work, and believe in the mission we seek to accomplish in Jesus’ Name.

Won’t you become a regular contributor to this ministry? Any amount large or small will help keep the Center going. We include contribution envelopes with this newsletter. Please be a generous as you are able. These summer months are always especially hard as income plummets and bills remain the same!

 

Festival of Races!
Our team is getting ready for the Festival of Races Community Walk on Sunday, October 4, 2009. This is our only special fundraising event this year, so we hope you’ll help out!

You can participate by:
• joining our team - call the Center and we will send you information on how to register to participate in walking or running.
• making a pledge to our team – 100% of pledges to our Spiritual Renewal Center team will come to the Center.
• asking your friends to make a pledge in support of the Center.

Pledges can be cash or check. Checks should be made out to the Spiritual Renewal Center with “Festival of Races” in the memo section. You can send your pledges to the Spiritual Renewal Center, 1118 Court St., Suite B, Syracuse, NY 13208. If you’d like, you could use the form below to encourage the support of friends, and include when sending any check or cash donations. All pledges will be tallied by the accounting firm of Dermody, Burke & Brown and then returned to the Center.

Apocalypse, The Book of Revelation…

The Book of Revelation is perhaps the most misunderstood book in the New Testament. What are we to make of all this talk of dragons and angels and cosmic spiritual warfare? What does this have to do with the message of Jesus Christ? Jim Krisher, director of the Spiritual Renewal Center, will explore the historical background and theological meaning of this book, and the significance it can still have for our lives.

This four session course will meet at St. Joseph’s Church, 5600 W. Genesee St., Camillus, on Thursdays, October 1, 8, 15, 29, from 7-9 p.m. Contact the parish to register, or for details regarding cost or directions to the Church – (315) 488-8490.

Living Life Fully:

Aging with Wisdom and Grace…

“It takes a long time to become young,” said artist Pablo Picasso. Join us for this day of reflection on the spirituality of aging, to be led by Sr. Mary Ellen, C.S.J., a gifted retreat leader and spiritual director. She will explore questions like: What keeps us from living fully and freely? What do we glean from the wisdom of our years? How do we celebrate and enjoy our later years? The program will include presentation and prayer. Lunch will be provided.

This day retreat will be offered on Wednesday, October 7 at the Spiritual Renewal Center, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. We ask a $25 fee for this day retreat, or whatever you can afford. Contact the Center to register.

Poetry and Prayer:

With God in Verse…

For thousands of years, human beings have used poetry to talk about God. Biblical writers, mystics, contemporary seekers – all have used verse to record their ongoing relationship with God, as well as particular experiences with the Divine. And Christians through the centuries have found that the contemplation of poetry can offer an encounter with God.

Jesuit novice Tim O’Brien will lead this three session class to consider how poetry can serve and support our relationship with God. The group will look at the central habits common to both writing and the spiritual life – patience, attentiveness, awareness, and gratitude, to name a few. Tim will also talk about how we can use writing (both poetry and prose) as a way to express our own relationship with the Lord. Some of the poets to be read and discussed include T.S. Eliot, Mary Oliver, Billy Collins, Jane Kenyon, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. All are welcome to participate – no background in poetry is necessary!

Poetry and Prayer: With God in Verse will meet on Wednesday evenings, Oct. 28, Nov. 4 and 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Spiritual Renewal Center. We ask $18. fee – or whatever you can afford. Contact the Center to register.

Spiritual Surrender Audiobook...

Jim Krisher’s popular book SPIRITUAL SURRENDER: YIELDING YOURSELF TO A LOVING GOD is now available as an audiobook (CD only), read by Jim himself and recorded at LeMoyne College sound studio. Call the Center to order a copy, or just stop in to buy one!

Coming soon…
…a redesigned website! With a grant from the Good News Foundation we have contracted with a web designer to upgrade our website. The new and improved site should be available late September or early October. More information on the launch of our new website will be in our next e-newsletter.

Prayer Line Ministry...

We receive many requests for prayer and pass them on to our prayer lines. We are always looking for more people to join either our telephone or our email prayer lines. We’d be happy to welcome your participation in this ministry - contact the Center at 472-6546 for more information.

Dear friends of the Center,

Our thanks to everyone who contributed to our summer “Herbal Appeal.” Your contributions and words of encouragement are so heartening as we work to keep the Center going.

This has been a hard year for us financially, as we are sure that it has been for you also. We truly appreciate your continued support, for without your donations we could not survive. It is an amazing gift from God that this ministry has continued to flourish for thirty-one years against many odds.

We hope you’ll be able to take advantage of the many wonderful offerings this fall described elsewhere in this newsletter - the series on Jesus’ parables by Jan Lambrecht, S.J. from Belgium, our three-week program on Poetry & Prayer presented by Tim O’Brien, the course on the Book of Revelation, the daytime retreat with Sr. Mary Ellen Curtin, and so many other opportunities for spiritual growth. And introduce someone else to this ministry by bringing a friend when you come!

We’d love to have you stop in the Center anytime that we are open to enjoy browsing in our library, the fair trade gift shop or just spending some quiet time reading or resting.

We beg your continued financial support for this good work, and we look forward to seeing you here in the months ahead!

Sincerely,

Pat Williams
Office Manger

Helping the Center…

There are many ways to help the Center. As a grassroots, non-profit religious organization, we rely on your contributions to continue the ministry. Some ways to assist the Center in continuing our ministry are:

• Use the contribution envelopes that come with the newsletter to send your charitable gifts – this income is what keeps us alive!
• Encourage your church’s human development, tithing, or mission to make a donation to the Center in support of our prison ministry.
• Some of our furniture is wearing out and needs to be replaced. We would welcome donations to our furniture replacement fund.
• Remember the Center in your will or living trust, or make a donation of stocks.
• Spread the word about the Center to your friends and invite them to come to a Center event with you.

God’s work can only be furthered with the help of God’s people. Thank you for your generosity in the past and your continued generosity in the future.