September Worship SeriesOur September worship series will expand on the theme of our Block Party…”Loving God, Loving Neighbor”. Details are still a bit sketchy for a few of the weeks, but here is what we know at “press time”.
Aug. 31/September 1 Mayhem” Matthew 14:22-33 7/8 “Beyond the Walls” II Kings 7:1-11 14/15 “In With the Inn Crowd” Luke 10:25-37 21/22 Homecoming Worship at Eppley Auditorium 28/29 “A Word From a Mockingbird” 1 Thess. 5:11-24 |
PASTOR JIM SHIRBROUN
Jim is the spouse of one (Beverly), the parent of three (Mark, Greg and David), the parent-in-law of one (Jenny) and Grandpa of two (Elliot & Callen...Mark and Jenny sons).
Jim received his Bachelor’s degree (in Animal Science and Ag. Journalism) from Iowa State in 1980 and graduated from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1985 with a Masters of Divinity degree. He has served the following United Methodist congregations: Immanuel (Des Moines), First (Ankeny), St. Paul's (Cedar Rapids) and Collegiate/Wesley (Ames). Jim loves to cook (beyond the thousands of omelets he's prepared for students in the last 20 years). He has been collecting and researching antique horse bridle bits since he was a teenager and has one in his collection which is 3,000 years old. Jim claims his hobby is semi-biblical, citing James 1:26 and 3:3. |
Fall Adult Studies
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Our Sunday morning adult study options return this month. There’ll be no adult options on Sunday, Sept. 8 due to our Block Party, nor on Sept. 22 due to the Homecoming worship experience at Eppley Auditorium on the Morningside campus.
However, on Sept. 15 things will get started again (then take the Homecoming break” on the 22nd) before hitting our stride fully on Sept. 29…and beyond!
At 8:45 on Sept. 15 we’ll take a look at the line-up of books we’ll be studying through Advent. The first book on our list (this study begins Sept. 29) will be “Foolish Church”. (See the separate article about this book and author below).
At 11:15 everyone is invited to join in the KANVERSASHEN
We’ll follow our typical pattern of discussing the 10 a.m. worship experience we just shared (for about 10-15 minutes), then, for the remainder of the hour, move to a pre-announced topic (unless another topic emerges).
For this FIRST session, on Sept. 15, we’ll converse about the theme for our September Worship Series, “Loving God, Loving Neighbor”.
However, on Sept. 15 things will get started again (then take the Homecoming break” on the 22nd) before hitting our stride fully on Sept. 29…and beyond!
At 8:45 on Sept. 15 we’ll take a look at the line-up of books we’ll be studying through Advent. The first book on our list (this study begins Sept. 29) will be “Foolish Church”. (See the separate article about this book and author below).
At 11:15 everyone is invited to join in the KANVERSASHEN
We’ll follow our typical pattern of discussing the 10 a.m. worship experience we just shared (for about 10-15 minutes), then, for the remainder of the hour, move to a pre-announced topic (unless another topic emerges).
For this FIRST session, on Sept. 15, we’ll converse about the theme for our September Worship Series, “Loving God, Loving Neighbor”.
“Foolish Church” from Iowa UM Pastor Lee Schott (from the publisher’s website)
Messy, raw, and real aren't the words most of us use when we say what's good about our churches. But what if they were? Author Rev. Lee Schott found out, serving a beautiful church inside the Iowa women's prison.
A lifelong church person, she discovered more church, and greater faithfulness, in this most unlikely setting, with room for people the church has often overlooked. She shares the lessons she has learned there, with the hope that church leaders outside of prison might be inspired, equipped, and encouraged to loosen the fetters that keep our churches so closed off.
We'll explore church characterized by honest relationship, protection of the vulnerable, radical welcome, and healthy boundaries. Practical application for the local church context and discussion questions for group study are included throughout.
"A renewed concern for imprisoned persons often marks times of religious revival. While Lee Schott's fine book is about a church within a women's prison, the subject is the church itself. It is a plea for congregations to move beyond an assembly of the most respectable to make room for those on the edges of respectability for whom Jesus had such an open heart." --Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC
"Lee's intimate conversations from 'the Well' give this writing real emotional depth and become the background for challenging questions for the church. A must read and practical process that can be implemented by a committed group of church leaders. The ministry of 'the Well' has the power to transform the ministry of the church everywhere. But beware, church growth may take on a totally different meaning." --Bill Selby, President, Center for Pastoral Effectiveness of the Rockies
"In my forty years living at the intersection of the church and the criminal justice system, few people have taught me as much as Lee Roorda Schott. The lessons range from the distinct issues facing women in prison to the challenge of forming community in a correctional institution. But no greater lesson have I learned from her than this--and it is the central thesis of this book--that the church exists behind the prison walls, and that any theology of prison ministry that is totally missional falls short of the truth. Incarcerated people are more than just objects of outreach. They are the church, and no ecclesiology is fully orbed without them. Foolish Church makes this point clearly and thoughtfully, humanizing and giving voice to our sisters invisible to the rest of the church. Foolish Church is now required reading in my classes." --Harold Dean Trulear, Associate Professor of Applied Theology, Howard University School of Divinity
Lee Roorda Schott is a United Methodist elder and pastor of Women at the Well, a church inside the women's prison in Mitchellville, Iowa. She is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology and Harvard Law School and worked as a lawyer for fifteen years before becoming a pastor. She is the author of “Job”, in the Immersion Bible Study series (2011).
Messy, raw, and real aren't the words most of us use when we say what's good about our churches. But what if they were? Author Rev. Lee Schott found out, serving a beautiful church inside the Iowa women's prison.
A lifelong church person, she discovered more church, and greater faithfulness, in this most unlikely setting, with room for people the church has often overlooked. She shares the lessons she has learned there, with the hope that church leaders outside of prison might be inspired, equipped, and encouraged to loosen the fetters that keep our churches so closed off.
We'll explore church characterized by honest relationship, protection of the vulnerable, radical welcome, and healthy boundaries. Practical application for the local church context and discussion questions for group study are included throughout.
"A renewed concern for imprisoned persons often marks times of religious revival. While Lee Schott's fine book is about a church within a women's prison, the subject is the church itself. It is a plea for congregations to move beyond an assembly of the most respectable to make room for those on the edges of respectability for whom Jesus had such an open heart." --Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC
"Lee's intimate conversations from 'the Well' give this writing real emotional depth and become the background for challenging questions for the church. A must read and practical process that can be implemented by a committed group of church leaders. The ministry of 'the Well' has the power to transform the ministry of the church everywhere. But beware, church growth may take on a totally different meaning." --Bill Selby, President, Center for Pastoral Effectiveness of the Rockies
"In my forty years living at the intersection of the church and the criminal justice system, few people have taught me as much as Lee Roorda Schott. The lessons range from the distinct issues facing women in prison to the challenge of forming community in a correctional institution. But no greater lesson have I learned from her than this--and it is the central thesis of this book--that the church exists behind the prison walls, and that any theology of prison ministry that is totally missional falls short of the truth. Incarcerated people are more than just objects of outreach. They are the church, and no ecclesiology is fully orbed without them. Foolish Church makes this point clearly and thoughtfully, humanizing and giving voice to our sisters invisible to the rest of the church. Foolish Church is now required reading in my classes." --Harold Dean Trulear, Associate Professor of Applied Theology, Howard University School of Divinity
Lee Roorda Schott is a United Methodist elder and pastor of Women at the Well, a church inside the women's prison in Mitchellville, Iowa. She is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology and Harvard Law School and worked as a lawyer for fifteen years before becoming a pastor. She is the author of “Job”, in the Immersion Bible Study series (2011).