Lent at Upper Dublin

Lenten Worship with Rob Lawlor, Wednesdays through Lent beginning February 20th, 7:30—8:15pm in the Chapel

For the past year and a half, fine artist, Rob Lawlor has been creating 28 abstract paintings depicting Jesus’ sayings in his “ Sermon on the Mount.” After completing “the Beatitudes”, Rob kept on going through Matthew chapters 5-7! Now, these fresh works will debut over the five weeks of our Lenten worship as the heart of our discussion together midweek. Rob will present them, and invite dialog from us all on what we ‘see’ in his paintings . Several canvas’s will be on display each Sunday starting early February to whet your appetite for discussions on Wednesday! Bring friends and neighbors for this ‘colorful ‘ vision into Jesus’ famous teachings!

Lenten Book Study led by The Rev. Dr. David Grafton, Wednesdays at 6pm

Come follow the contemporary Syrian Christian author Mazhar Mallouhi (b. 1935) as he retells the story of Jesus’ journey to the Cross within his own Middle Eastern cultural context. We will read through passages of the Gospel of Luke together with translations from Mallouhi’s Arabic commentary on An Eastern Reading of the Gospel of Luke. Presentations and group discussions of this material to help us will help us glean new and revealing insights into the story of Jesus’ road to Calvary as the story of a Middle Eastern Arab, and aid us in our own Lenten faith journeys. There is no book to purchase, but individuals are invited to bring their own Bibles in a variety of translations, or use those provided at the church.

• Wednesday, February 20: Mazhar Mallouhi and his writings: The Oral Culture of the Middle East (Luke 1:1-17)
• Wednesday, February 27:The Illegitmate Birth of a Son in the Village (Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20)
• Wednesday, March 6 Hospitality and Belonging to a Community (Luke 9:1-6; 12-17; 10-27)
• Wednesday, March 13 Gender Relations (Luke 7:36-50)
• Wednesday, March 20 The Neighbor (Luke 10:25-37)

Is Hell Real? Adult Forums led by The Rev. Dr. Paul Rajeshakar, Sunday Mornings at 9:00 in the Lounge

Sunday, 9:00 a.m. in the Lounge, Paul Rajashakar Paul Rajashakar, former Dean of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia will be joining us at the Adult Forum for the month of March. Paul has grappled with cultural pluralism in our culture for many years in order to articulate a relevant and responsible theology that is true to his Lutheran convictions. Each time Dr. Rajashakar presents at the Forum he brings a provocative and challenging topic for us to hear and understand. We always grow in our faith after he presents. His topic for March is "Is Hell Real?" This is a topic that will certainly cause our interest to elevate. How do you think of Hell? What has God said of Hell? What has Christ said of Hell? Where do you think Hell is? These and many more topics will be pursued in this coming month. Make plans to join us for Christian fellowship and great discussions.