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“Living Your Faith”Grace Retreat 2011November 4-5

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Retreat Purpose: • Explore what it means to “live our faith”• Come apart from daily life and be refreshed spiritually• Enjoy being with friends from Grace and get to know them better• Learn from each other• Learn what a group of Christians do “away from church”

On Nov. 4-5, 211 Grace Church parishioners came together to explore what it means “live our faith”

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What is faith?• Greek pistis – “evidence of

things not seen, substance of things hoped for”

• Responding to God’s call• Believing without seeing• Destination• Trusting in the “impossible”• Sacrifice• Being part of an ongoing

community• Where we end up when all

else has failed• Belief in God’s love• Firm conviction in the absence

of evidence• Trust• Discipline

• “Fake it til you make it”• A variety of the discipline of

cognitive behavioral therapy • Trust that God loves us and

the power of that love• Belief in the existence of a

higher power• Knowing/humility• Belief in Jesus• Simplicity [“Do you really

belive?” “Yes, I do!”]• A bridge – help us get to a

place we crave• Courage • Insight• A journey toward love • Holding on for dear life

• Joy

Not giving up• Trust in God’s guidance• Community• Cyclical: ebbs & flows• Being able to ask for help from

above• Being able to accept what is

given• Fuel by which we find courage• Knowing what has lasting

value• Willingness to suffer for value• Delayed gratification• Hope• Acceptance of hope/journey

We first sought to define what “faith” meant to us

“What is Faith” Brainstorm

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And also explored faith’s role in scripture…

Ten Lepers

• Passage: Jesus cures 10 lepers, and only one returns to thank him, Jesus says “your faith has made you well”

• Faith is... Spiritual wholeness through gratitude

Centurion’s Servant

• Passage: Jesus heals the servant of a Roman centurion

• Faith is... blind trust/ healing in abstentia

Paralytic Man

• Passage: Jesus heals a paralytic man when four companions carry him through the roof

• Faith is... a transfer of “command”

Storm at Sea

• Passage: The disciples fear a storm and wake Jesus, he calms the waters and rebukes their lack of faith

• Faith is... the trust to rebuke the chaos in ourselves that allows God to do his work

Parables of Faith: What do we mean by faith?

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Canaanite Woman

• Passage: Jesus heals a Caanite woman after she reminds him “even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table

• Faith is... seeing a friend in an enemy

Walking on the Sea

• Passage: Peter attempts to walk to Jesus on water, he loses faith and sinks

• Faith... Makes something impossible, possible, “If you believe you can fly, wins will arrive”

Parables of Faith (cont.)

Feeding the 5,000

• Passage: Jesus uses five loaves and two fish to fead the multitude

• Faith is.. like following Jesus’ command even though it seems irrational / receiving a surprise when in doubt

Two Blind Men

• Passage: Two blind men call out to “the Son of David”, Jesus touches their eyes to heal them, and they disobey his command to keep quiet

• Faith is... a gift that one can easily take for granted

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Then explored how we choose to live our faith each day

Secular saints:Aware of injustice and feel people’s needs; want to change things

Anonymous Saint:Go about business with a sense of call; operating out of faith

Contemplatives:Deep with God, quiet,

seeking God’s presence

Community Builders:Help people find community and nurture the life of the parish

Religious

Individual

Secular

Social

Source: Loren B. Mead, 1994, Alban Institute

Quadrilateral of Evangelism – How do we choose to live our faith?

Questions:• (Rel./Sec.) Do we prefer to seek

God in heaven or by bringing God’s kingdom to earth?

• (Ind./Soc.) Do we prefer to seek out God through a personal relationship or our community?

• How do we choose to live today? How do we think we should?

• What can we learn from each other?

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We ended the day reflecting on how we can “step out in their faith” tomorrow

• How did Abraham, Moses, and Jesus provide examples on how to live?

• What do we need to help sustain us and give us courage?

• What can we do, today and tomorrow, to grow in our faith?

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But what did we really do? • We explored “living our faith” together• We talked a lot! We ate even more!• We prayed for each other… in circles. We almost got it right.• We got to know each other better, and learned from each other• And we had fun! • Until next year…

“For thousands of years we have gathered in circle – around fires, around bodies, around altars – because we can’t do this alone.”- Wayne Muller

On Nov. 4-5, 211 Grace Church parishioners came together to explore what it means “live our faith” and spend time together as a community