From the Rector
This weekend we will launch our fall formation classes for all ages. Cindy Hauser has once again assembled an amazing team of volunteers to lead a wide range of offerings for kids, our new Director of Youth Ministries Alex Cavanaugh has his own fantastic team of volunteers ready to guide classes for middle and high school students, and Mother Rebecca Tankersley has coordinated three distinct offerings for adults. Learn more about offerings for adults, children, and youth here.
Our commitment to Christian formation at Transfiguration is based upon the greatest commandment: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul,and all your mind” (Matthew 22:26). Loving and following the way of God is not something we can do with our hearts only. Nor is it a purely “spiritual” matter. We should also commit to the exploration of who God is and what God wants for us with our minds.
And we can do so without fear that such intellectual engagement will undermine our faith. Critical engagement with our minds is not a threat to our connection with God. I suggest you take a peek at this list of groundbreaking scientists, inventors, and mathematicians, who were also faithful Christians. In our own day, I am routinely astounded by the brilliance of Rowan Williams whose works have plumbed many of the biggest questions of life and faith. In our hubris, we can think that our questions and doubts are unique or novel, and must inevitably lead to the whole house falling in on itself. But I promise that others have walked that territory of uncertainty and curiosity long before us, and if they found peace and assurance, we can walk that same pilgrim’s path with hope and trust.
Not that every class we offer is about the deepest questions of the divine. Many classes are focused on helping us live faithfully in a complicated world. I’m so excited about the iParentX class exploring “mental load” in family life, and Second Half is leading an exploration of the Enneagram and how greater self-understanding can heal and strengthen our relationships.
I hope you’ll choose to make attendance at a class a regular part of your involvement at Transfiguration. Worship with us in beauty and holiness, and then wrestle with us in one of our many formation offerings. Love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and you will inevitably find yourself better equipped to then go out and love your neighbor as yourself.
-Casey+