Pastor: David Morelli
Editor: Dave Haugh
It seems that before I write the October pastor’s page I look at the ones I have written the years before. I find a common theme.
The first theme goes like this. I have just returned from the Lectionary Retreat at Mt. Angel that I have attended for the past 18 years. It was this time of year as I was driving to the retreat that I received a call from Woodburn asking if I would be the pastor of this church. I then go on to explain something new I learned.
This year we studied Romans with one of the few women Pauline scholars in the world today. It would take me many pages to explain all that I learned this weekend. I will leave you with this. Paul did not hate women. In fact he had many women apostles around him. The problem is later theologians interpreting the text said the interpreters in the first one thousand years of Christianity must be wrong because everyone knows women cannot be leaders in the church.
One troubling text is Romans 16 verse 7. The person, Junia (a female name) is also translated Junias (a male name) in some bibles. Check your bible and see how they have translated that name. I just did. The New Revised Standard Version, that is in our pews:
“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.”
The Revised Standard Bible translates the Greek like this:
Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners; they are men of note among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.
And there is more, most notably Romans 1:27 that split the church. After spending 24 hours studying Romans as a complete book one realizes how much we snatch one verse to make a case for our own bias. Anyway let me say the Lectionary Retreat is my favorite conference and it did not disappoint.
The other theme in the October newsletters is fall programs are beginning. There are students back to school across the street, and head start children running around the church. The garden is full of empty plants ready to be plowed under and leaves changing color and soon will fall off the tree. It is the beginning of the school year, the return of church choirs and Sunday School and first Sunday lunches.
Fall is here: My favorite time of year.
-Pastor David
Newsletter PDF: Newsletter 10 2013-WEB