Sharon Scanlan and Donna Boring
Advent is almost upon us, and yet our world, like that of the world in Jesus’ time, is fraught with problems, worries, and anxieties. Into this web of issues came Saint Luke the Evangelist’s magical story of the birth of Christ. Chapter 2 of the Book of Luke tells us the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Our class will focus on the characters of Christmas and what their stories might have been like. What characters? you ask. Besides Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus, we have the shepherds, innkeepers, citizens of Bethlehem, the wisemen, Caesar Augustus, Quirinius, the Angel of the Lord, Simeon, and Anna. All have a part to play in the coming of the long-promised Messiah. After 400 years of silence, God delivers on his promise.
This Advent Study uses several sources to imagine what these people may have been like. Each class will include letters and stories that the characters could have written but didn’t in order to facilitate group discussion on Luke Chapter 2 and its significance to the world. The class promises to be entertaining as well as thought provoking.
All are welcome to attend. The class is offered at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays during Advent at Vista United Methodist Church at 3001 East Miravista Lane, Tucson, AZ 85739, in the Saint Elizabeth Room of the Administrative and Education building. Classes start on Nov. 20, skip Nov. 27 for Thanksgiving, and resume on Wednesdays until the last class on Dec. 18. If you wish to attend, please call 520-825 -985 and leave your name and how to get ahold of you. Ask the receptionist to deliver the message to Donna Boring.
Vista UMC’s classes are open to everyone! The church is located on the west side of Oracle Road, just south of the Golder Ranch stoplight.